Thomas Edward Barnes Skinner (1840 - September 1902) was the Postmaster General of Ceylon, between 1871 and 1896. Thomas Edward Barnes Skinner was born c.1842 in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

the oldest son, of six children, to Maj. Thomas Bridges Boucher Skinner CMG (1804-1877), acting Surveyor-General of Ceylon and Georgina née Burrell (1818-1866). His father named him after

Sir Edward Barnes Lieutenant General Sir Edward Barnes, (28 October 1776 – 19 March 1838) was a British soldier who became governor of Ceylon. Military career Barnes joined the 47th Regiment of Foot in 1792 as an ensign, and quickly rose to field rank. He ...

, the Governor of Ceylon (1820-1822), of whom he was a great admirer. Skinner joined 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 ...

on 24 October 1860 and retired on 2 June 1896, after serving 25 years as Postmaster General. His first position was at the Colonial Fiscal Office in Kandy, where he was commended by Sir Richard Francis Morgan in correspondence to the Governor

Hercules Robinson Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, (19 December 1824 – 28 October 1897), was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong and subsequently, the 14th Governor of New South Wales, the first Gover ...

. He was then appointed as acting assistant Government Agent for Kurunegala in March 1862 and was confirmed in the position in May. In 1863 he was made the assistant Government Agent for Nuwara Eliya, then acting District Judge

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...

in January 1866, and Fiscal for Central Province in 1867 before being appointed Postmaster General in 1871. Skinner was responsible for establishing the Ceylon Post and Telegraph Department in 1905, following the transfer of the responsibility for telegraphs from India to the Ceylon Colonial government in 1880, when on 1 July he was appointed as first Director of Telegraphs. In May 1895 he was appointed as acting Auditor, Accountant General and Controller of Revenue, in addition to his duties of Postmaster General, until the arrival of William Thomas Taylor to the colony. Skinner married Sophia Sconce (c.1846-?), they had two children, Ethel Mia (1869-1961) and Percy Cyriac Burrell (1871-1955). Percy served with Northamptonshire Regiment, where he reached the position of Major-General and commander of the

14th (Light) Division The 14th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener during the First World War. All of its infantry regiments were originally of the fast marchin ...

. Percy was awarded a

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

CMG CMG may refer to: Companies * Capitol Music Group, a music label * China Media Group, the predominant state radio and television broadcaster in the PRC * China Media Group Co., Ltd., publicly listed Chinese holding company in the media sector * ...

, CB and DSO for his military service. In 1896 Skinner, following his retirement at age 55, returned to England, where he died in September 1902. He is buried at St Mary the Virgin's Church in Shalford, Surrey, England. The Skinner Memorial Ward at the

National Hospital of Sri Lanka The National Hospital of Sri Lanka (sometimes General Hospital) is a government hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1864 as the General Hospital, it is the leading hospital in Sri Lanka and is controlled by the central government. The hosp ...

is named after him.

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Thomas 1840 births 1902 deaths Postmasters General of Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon British civil servants in Ceylon