Sir Edward Noël Walker KCMG (28 April 1842 – 20 September 1908) was a British colonial administrator who served as acting

Governor of British Ceylon The governor of Ceylon was the representative in British Ceylon, Ceylon of the British The Crown, Crown from 1795 to 1948. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council of Ceylon, Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief o ...

. Walker was the son of Sir James Walker, also a colonial administrator, and Anne Brand. He was educated at

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

and

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

. Walker entered on a colonial administrative career at an early age. In 1862, aged 20, he was posted to the office of the Governor of the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

, becoming the official's private secretary in 1866, having from 1864 to 1866 acted in the same capacity to the Lieutenant-Governor of St Vincent. In 1867, he was appointed assistant Government Secretary and clerk of the Court of Policy and Combined Court of

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

. In 1874, he went to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and took up the post of assistant Colonial Secretary, becoming the Colonial Secretary in 1883. In 1887, he was transferred to

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

where he served as Colonial Secretary until 1890, when he became Lieutenant-Governor and was frequently called upon to manage the Government. He was appointed acting Governor of British Ceylon on 24 October 1895 and was acting Governor until 10 February 1896. He was succeeded by

Joseph West Ridgeway Sir Joseph West Ridgeway, (16 May 1844 – 16 April 1930) was a British civil servant and colonial governor. He was known as "Sir West Ridgeway". He was involved in the sodomy and child molestation charges against Hector Archibald MacDonald, co ...

. Walker retired to London in 1901, and participated in local municipal affairs as a member of Kensington Borough Council. He was created a CMG in 1885 and a KCMG in 1888. In 1871, he married a daughter of H.S.Buscom of British Guiana. He died in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

on 20 September 1908.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Edward Noel Governors of British Ceylon British expatriates in Sri Lanka 19th-century British people 1842 births 1908 deaths Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Chief secretaries of Ceylon Colonial secretaries of Jamaica People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of the University of Glasgow Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George