Sir Arthur Francis Grimble, (Hong Kong, 11 June 1888 – London, 13 December 1956) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

administrator and writer.

Biography

Grimble was educated at

Chigwell School Chigwell School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition located in Chigwell, in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It consists of a pre-prep (ages 4–7), Junior School (ages 7–11), Sen ...

and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He then went to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for postgraduate studies. After joining the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

in 1914 he became the very first cadet administrative officer in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. From April 1919 he acted as the

Resident Commissioner Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such ...

until Herbert Reginald McClure took up his appointment as Resident Commissioner. In 1925 Grimble succeeded McClure as Resident Commissioner. He learned the

Gilbertese Gilbertese or taetae ni Kiribati, also Kiribati (sometimes ''Kiribatese''), is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Kiribati. It belongs to the Micronesian branch of the Oceanic languages. The word ''Kiribati'', the current name of the i ...

language, and became a specialist in the myths and oral traditions of the

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

people. He remained in the islands until 1933. He has been the source of many people's impressions of the islands through his radio broadcast on BBC in the 1950s and his bestselling book ''

A Pattern of Islands ''A Pattern of Islands'' (also known as ''We Chose the Islands'' in American editions) is a memoir by Sir Arthur Grimble recounting his time in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands as a cadet officer and Resident Commissioner between 1914 and 1933. T ...

''. Grimble later served as Governor of the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

(1936–1942) and as Governor of the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean Sea No ...

(1942–1948). He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) on 1 January 1930.

Literary career

After retiring and moving to Britain in 1948 Grimble became a writer and broadcaster. He wrote ''

'' (London, John Murray 1952, published in the United States as ''We Chose the Islands'') and ''Return to the Islands'' (1957), both of which were bestsellers. ''

Pacific Destiny ''Pacific Destiny'' is a 1956 British drama film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Denholm Elliott, Susan Stephen and Michael Hordern. The screenplay concerns a young British couple who win the respect of the inhabitants of a South Pacific i ...

'', a film based on his experiences, was released in 1956. Grimble's scholarly work on Gilbertese culture is covered in

Henry Evans Maude Henry Evans Maude, (1 October 1906 – 4 November 2006) was a British Colonial Service administrator, historian and anthropologist. Life and career Maude was born in Bankipore, India.MAUDE, Henry Evans (1926) died on 4 November 2006, aged ...

's book ''Tungaru Traditions: Writings on the Atoll Culture of the Gilbert Islands'' (

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

Press, 1989, ). Coat of arms of Kiribati

Heraldic artist

In 1931 Grimble designed the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, which was granted in 1937. The design has been retained for the

flag of Kiribati The flag of Kiribati (Gilbertese: ''buraki ni Kiribati'') is red in the upper half with a gold frigatebird ( ''Fregata minor'', in Gilbertese: ''te eitei'') flying over a gold rising sun (''otintaai''), and the lower half is blue with three hori ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimble, Arthur 1888 births 1956 deaths British memoirists British non-fiction writers People educated at Chigwell School Governors of British Seychelles Governors of the Windward Islands British male writers Colonial Administrative Service officers Governors of British Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Governors of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century memoirists Male non-fiction writers British people in British Hong Kong