Sir Selwyn Macgregor Grier (1 April 1878 – 8 November 1946) was a British colonial administrator, Governor-in-Chief of the Windward Islands from 1935 to 1937. He was the eldest child of Richard Macgregor Grier (1835 – 1894), the then

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...

Rugeley Rugeley ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase District in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent; it is situated north of Lichfield, south-east of Stafford, nort ...

and

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...

, and his wife, Grace Allen. His sister,

Lynda Grier Lynda Grier, CBE (3 May 1880 – 21 August 1967) was a British educational administrator, policy advisor, and the principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, from 1921 to 1945. Born in Staffordshire, Grier was profoundly deaf as a child, which resu ...

, was a British educational administrator, and the principal of

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formall ...

, Oxford, from 1921 to 1945. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

. He taught for a year at

Berkhamsted School Berkhamsted School is an independent day school in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The present school was formed in 1997 by the amalgamation of the original Berkhamsted School, founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, ...

in 1901-02 and at

Cheam School Cheam School is a mixed preparatory school located in Headley, in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in Hampshire. Originally a boys school, Cheam was founded in 1645 by George Aldrich. History The school started in Cheam, Surrey. ...

from 1902 to 1905. He then joined the Colonial Service and went out to Nigeria as Assistant Resident in

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

Province in 1906, being later transferred to

Bauchi Bauchi (earlier Yakoba) is a city in northeast Nigeria, the Administrative center of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate. It is located on the northern edge of the Jos Plateau ...

in 1912 and to

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

in 1913. From 1921 to 1925 he served as Secretary for Native Affairs and in 1925 was appointed Director of Education of the Southern Provinces. He was one of the founding fathers of

Government College, Ibadan Government College Ibadan (founded 28 February 1929) is a boys' secondary school located on the hills of Apata Ganga in Ibadan, Nigeria. History The founding fathers of Government College Ibadan were Selwyn MacGregor Grier, Director of Education ...

. In 1929 he was transferred to the Caribbean as Colonial Secretary for

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. In 1935 he was appointed

Governor of the Windward Islands This is a list of viceroys in the British Windward Islands. The colony of the Windward Islands was created in 1833 and consisted of Grenada, Barbados (to 1885), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago (to 1889), St. Lucia (from 1838), and Domin ...

but obliged to resign in 1937 due to blindness. He was awarded the CMG in 1929, made a Knight Bachelor in 1934 and upgraded to KCMG in 1936. Grier returned to England and died in Surrey on the 8 November 1946.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grier, Selwyn MacGregor 1878 births 1946 deaths People from Rugeley People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Governors of the Windward Islands Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Bachelor People of colonial Nigeria British expatriates in Nigeria Founders of Nigerian schools and colleges