Sir Edward Brandis Denham (1876 – 2 Jun 1938) was a British colonial administrator. He served as

Governor of the Gambia This is a list of colonial governors and administrators in the Gambia from the establishment of a British settlement on St Mary's Island, now known as Banjul Island, in 1816, through to the Gambia Colony and Protectorate's independence from the U ...

(1928–1930),

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

(1930–1935) and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

(1935–1938).

Life

Edward Brandis Denham was educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...

and

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

. Joining the colonial service as a cadet in the

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...

, he later served as colonial secretary of

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

(1920–1923) and acting governor of

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(1923–1928). He became Governor of the Gambia in November 1928, finding it hard to deal with the

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

called by the

Bathurst Trade Union The Bathurst Trade Union (BTU) was the first trade union in The Gambia and the first legally registered trade union in the African continent. Founded by Edward Francis Small in 1929 in Bathurst (now Banjul), the organisation emerged from the Carpent ...

in late 1929. In January 1930 he left the Gambia to become Governor of British Guiana. He was appointed Governor of Jamaica by the colonial office in 1935. His short three-year stint was troubled with political and

social unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty m ...

. There had been serious riots at the docks in Kingston and Falmouth in May and October 1935. 1938 opened with a

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking *Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are b ...

cutters' strike on

Serge Island Estate Serge may refer to: *Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitchi ...

in the parish of St. Thomas. In response, Governor Denham fired off anxious

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

s to the colonial office in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. To head off trouble, Governor Denham appointed commissions to investigate wage rates and unemployment, followed by emergency

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

initiatives. The Governor found the islands' problems complex and difficult to solve. Denham thought the real problems of Jamaica were less economic than political. The recent emergence of a group of well-educated mixed-raced Jamaican politicians posed the main threat to

British colonial rule The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

Imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

and democracy proved difficult to merge, but a system of democratic ruling of the Jamaican people allowed Sir Edward Denham to continue his rule of the islands. Denham died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at Kings House, the Governors' residence, on 2 June 1938. On Friday 3 June 1938 the crew of

HMS Ajax (22) HMS ''Ajax'' was a ''Leander''-class light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy during World War II. She became famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, the Battle of Crete, the Battle of Malta and as a supply escort in the s ...

buried the Jamaican Governor's body at sea at sunset outside the three-mile limit offshore after his bronze coffin was taken to the ship on a gun carriage.

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

sent a cable to Jamaica "I have learned with the deepest regret of the death in Jamaica of Sir Edward Denham. Captain General and Governor-in-chief. In him, the Empire has lost a public servant of long experience and distinguished ability. His death is a grave loss to the colony and will, I know, bring sorrow to the hearts of all my people in Jamaica". In 1944, six years after his death, Jamaicans were granted universal adult

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

, an idea initiated by Governor Edward Denham. An area in the western section of Kingston called '

Denham Town Denham Town is a predominantly residential neighbourhood in western Kingston, Jamaica. It has a reputation as one of Kingston's more violent areas. It was named in memory of Edward Brandis Denham, Governor of Jamaica 1935–1938. Amenities Th ...

' is named after him and in his memory the ''Sir Edward Denham Memorial Prize'' is awarded at

Royal College Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

since 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denham, Edward Brandis 1876 births 1938 deaths Governors of the Gambia Governors of British Guiana Governors of Jamaica People educated at Malvern College Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Colonial Secretaries of Mauritius