Major Thomas Bridges Boucher Skinner (22 May 1804 – 24 July 1877) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and engineer. He was a prominent road builder in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka).

Career

Skinner was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, on 22 May 1804, to William Thomas Skinner, a lieutenant-colonel in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, and his second wife Mary, daughter of Dr Monier of the Royal Artillery.Carlyle, E. I.; Jones, M. G. M., rev. "Skinner, Thomas Bridges Boucher (1804–1877)". ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004 ed.). Oxford University Press. . In 1811, he moved to England with his father and studied in

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

, Dorsetshire. Dissatisfied with education, he went to Ceylon in 1819 to visit his father who was stationed in

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

. There he was commissioned in

Ceylon Rifle Regiment The Ceylon Rifle Regiment (CRR) was a regular native regiment formed by the British in Ceylon. Its history goes back to 1795. The nucleus of the Regiment was two companies of Malays recruited from among prisoners at St Helena. In 1795 there were ...

as a second lieutenant. His first job was to carry a platoon of soldiers from Trincomalee to

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, shortly after the 1818 rebellion that was not completely suppressed yet. Soon after, Skinner was appointed to the

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 ...

department which is responsible for building the roads in the island. He gained his lifelong lasting fame for constructing the Colombo–

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

highway. He was appointed as head of the Colombo defence guard in 1825, lieutenant quartermaster general and surveyor general in 1833, and commissioner of highways in 1841. He is also noted for mapping previously uncharted parts of Ceylon. On 19 December 1838, he married Georgina, daughter of Lieutenant-General George Burrell. In 1848, Skinner gave a testimony before a Special Working Committee of the British

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

on the Matale Rebellion. His statement exposed the maladministration of the British that led to the rebellion and how British policies altered traditional ways of life of the native

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

. In 1857, Skinner designed the Holy Emmanuel Church in Moratuwa for Mudaliyar

Jeronis de Soysa Gate Mudaliyar Jeronis de Soysa (19 April 1797 – 28 May 1862) was a pioneering Ceylonese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was a pioneer coffee planter and an industrialist who became the wealthiest Ceylonese of the 19th century by establis ...

. He retired from civil service in 1867, and was celebrated for his achievements by the British administration, planters, newspapers as well as local Mudaliyars. He went to England and received a CMG from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

in the

1869 Birthday Honours The 1869 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen, and we ...

. Skinner wrote an autobiography, ''Fifty Years in Ceylon'', edited by his daughter Annie and published in 1891. Skinner had six children: Marianne Theresa (1839–1901); Thomas Edward Burnes (c.1842-1902) who served as the Postmaster General of Ceylon, between 1871 and 1896; George Burrell (c.1844-1883) a captain in the 15th Regiment; William Graham (C.1846-?) joined the Oriental Bank, and died after falling from his horse in Bombay; Henry Peareth (c.1848-?); Monier Williams (1849–1928) a Commander in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

; and Anne Harriet Barbara (1852-?).

Bibliography

Notes

References

* * http://www.divaina.com/2009/11/01/siya03.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Thomas 1804 births 1877 deaths British civil servants in Ceylon British colonial army officers Ceylonese military personnel Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Newfoundland Colony people People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Sri Lankan people of Canadian descent Sri Lankan people of English descent Elephant hunters

Career

Bibliography

See also

Notes

References