The Watson Commission was a commission of enquiry appointed by Sir Gerald Hallen Creasy, governor of the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

(1948–1949) to investigate the disturbances that occurred in the Gold Coast in February and March 1948. The commission was chaired by Aiken Watson.

Background

On 28 February 1948 the shooting of protesting ex-service men lead to looting and rioting in Accra and other major towns in the Gold Coast. The leadership of the

United Gold Coast Convention The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was a political party founded in 1947 whose aim was to bring about Ghanaian independence from their British colonial masters after the Second World War. The United Gold Coast Convention appointed its leade ...

sent a telegram to the Secretary of State of the Colonies Arthur Creech Jones in London blaming Governor Creasey as the cause of the disturbance. These leaders were arrested and detained; they become known as

the Big Six ''The Big Six'' is the ninth book of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books, published in 1940. The book returns Dick and Dorothea Callum, known as the Ds, to the Norfolk Broads where they renew their friendship with ...

. The disturbance lasted for five days and the colonial government commissioned the Watson Commission to probe the cause of the disturbance. The reference of the commission was "To enquire into and report on the recent disturbances in the Gold Coast and their underlying causes; and to make recommendations on any matter arising from the enquiry." The commission was made up of Aiken Watson (chairman), Andrew Dalgleish and Keith A. H. Murray.

Findings and recommendation

The commission submitted its report on 26 April 1948 to the Governor of the Gold Coast and Secretary of State of the Colonies. It found that the shooting of the ex-serviceman and the detaining of the Big Six was the immediate cause of the disturbance.

References

History of Ghana Politics of Ghana Investigation Discovery original programming {{Ghana-stub