Major Sir Robert James Hudson, (15 May 1885 – 17 June 1963), was twice acting

Governor of Southern Rhodesia The Governor of Southern Rhodesia was the representative of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch in the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia from 1923 to 1980. The Governor was appointed by The Crown and acted as the local h ...

Early life and career

Born in

Mossel Bay Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the ...

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

, the son of George Matthews Hudson, Hudson was educated at

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established on ...

Rondebosch Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with shopping and business districts as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town. History Four years after the first Dutch s ...

and

Gonville and Caius College Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

,''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', "Sir Robert Hudson", 19 June 1963, p. 15. where in 1908 he became the first South African to gain a half blue for tennis. Hudson was called to the Bar

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1909 and moved to

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

to practice as a barrister in

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

. Following the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Hudson served with the 1st Rhodesia Regiment in

Southwest Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

and then moved to England to become a pilot for the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

and the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. He was awarded a

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

in 1917. While in England on active service, Hudson was called upon to give expert advice in a case involving mining in Rhodesia, which was later called "one of the most lengthy and costly court cases of its time."

Political career

Following the war, Hudson returned to Bulawayo and continued to work as a barrister, gaining praise as "the leading advocate in Southern Rhodesia." Following the confirmation of responsible government to

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

in 1923, the colony's first

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

, Sir Charles Coghlan, appointed Hudson as Attorney-General of Southern Rhodesia, an appointment considered "unusual" at the time as Hudson was not a member of Coghlan's

Rhodesia Party The Responsible Government Association (RGA), called the Rhodesia Party from 1923, was a political party in Southern Rhodesia. Founded in 1917, it initially advocated responsible government for Southern Rhodesia within the British Empire, as op ...

. Hudson subsequently joined the Rhodesia Party and successfully stood for the electorate of Bulawayo North in the

Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Rhodesia was the legislature of Southern Rhodesia and then Rhodesia from 1924 to 1970. Background In 1898, the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council, Southern Rhodesia's first elected representative body, was foun ...

at the 1924 election. Following the election, Hudson was appointed Minister of Justice (as the position of Attorney-General had been renamed) and Minister of Defence. Re-elected in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

, Hudson was considered one of the most outstanding members of the first Cabinet."

Judicial career

In 1933, Hudson resigned from the Legislative Assembly to sit on the High Court of Southern Rhodesia and served as resident judge in Bulawayo until 1943, when he was appointed Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia. While serving as Chief Justice, Hudson twice acted as

; the first from 26 October 1944 to 20 February 1945, and the second from 19 July 1946 to 14 January 1947. Hudson retired as Chief Justice on 15 May 1950, his 65th birthday. Hudson continued to be involved in public affairs, chairing the Rhodesian Board of the

Standard Bank of South Africa Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg. History ...

from 1957 to 1962, chairing the Federal Broadcasting Service (FBS), as well as serving on numerous other boards and Royal Commissions.

Awards and recognition

Hudson received numerous recognition for his work, being awarded C.M.G. in the

1938 New Year Honours The 1938 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 1 January 1938.United Kingdom and Britis ...

List

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1944 and promoted to K.C.M.G. in 1950. Additionally, on 19 August 1943, it was announced that Hudson was allowed to officially retain the title "Honourable", as he had served more than three years on the Executive Council of Southern Rhodesia. He was also appointed Grand Commander of the Order of the Phoenix by King Pávlos of the Hellenes in 1950.

Personal life

Hudson married Constance de Beer in 1920. Following her death in 1925, Hudson remarried in 1928 to Millicent Bruce, daughter of George Sutherland. They had a son and a daughter. Hudson died aged 78 in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

on 17 June 1963, survived by his wife, son and daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Robert James 1885 births 1963 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Governors of Southern Rhodesia Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George People from Mossel Bay Rhodesian politicians Rhodesian military personnel of World War I Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Grand Commanders of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Rhodesian lawyers Chief justices of Rhodesia South African knights South African Knights Bachelor South African Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia Standard Bank people Defence Ministers of Zimbabwe