William Sydney Marchant (10 December 1894 – 1 February 1953) was a British colonial administrator. He served as the Resident Commissioner of the Solomon Islands from 1939 to 1943.

Biography

Marchant became an Assistant District Commissioner in

East Africa Protectorate East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Britai ...

in 1919. In 1926 he was promoted to District Officer in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, and then became Deputy Provincial Commissioner and Assistant Secretary in

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

in 1935. In 1937 he moved to neighbouring

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

to continue as a Deputy Provincial Commissioner. As commissioner, he directed the evacuation of European settlers from the Solomon Islands prior to the Japanese occupation of the islands during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as well as leading the organisation of

coastwatcher The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II t ...

units throughout the islands. Marchant relocated from this headquarters at

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 18 ...

Malaita Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...

about two months before the Japanese

occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...

Tulagi in May, 1942. On Malaita he helped operate a coastwatcher radio relay station in support of the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

Solomon Islands campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, du ...

until the end of his appointment in 1943. Marchant was then appointed as Chief Native Commissioner for the

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Colony from 1943 until 1947. Marchant died in 1953.Gillison, p. 516.

References

;Notes ;Books * * * * * ;Web * * 1894 births British colonial governors and administrators in Africa British Kenya people Sultanate of Zanzibar people Tanganyika (territory) people Governors of the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands in World War II 1953 deaths British people in the British Solomon Islands {{UK-gov-bio-stub