Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Robert Chancellor (20 October 1870 – 31 July 1952) was a British soldier and

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

official.

Biography

Chancellor was the younger son of Edward Chancellor, of Woodhall House,

Juniper Green Juniper Green is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated about south-west of the city centre. It bridges the city bypass, and extends along the foothills of the Pentlands. It is bordered by Colinton to the east, Baberton ...

, Midlothian, and Anne Helen Tod (d. 1932), daughter of John Robert Tod, WS. The Chancellor family had held the lands of Shieldhill,

Quothquan Quothquan (also formerly spelled Couth-Boan, meaning "the beautiful hill"; gd, A’ Choitcheann, pronounced , meaning "the common") is a village in Libberton parish, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is northwest of Biggar, and southeast of L ...

from 1432.Burke's Landed Gentry, eighteenth edition, vol. I, ed. Peter Townend, 1965, p. 130 He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and after graduation was commissioned into the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Corps of Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

as a second lieutenant on 25 July 1890. Promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 25 July 1893, he took part in the 1896

Dongola Expedition The Mahdist War ( ar, الثورة المهدية, ath-Thawra al-Mahdiyya; 1881–1899) was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese of the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided O ...

under Sir Herbert Kitchener, and served in the 1897–98

Tirah campaign The Tirah campaign, often referred to in contemporary British accounts as the Tirah expedition, was an Indian frontier campaign from September 1897 to April 1898. Tirah is a mountainous tract of country in what was formally known as Federally ...

on the North West Frontier of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

as part of the Sirmoor Imperial Service Snappers. For his service in India he was mentioned in despatches, received the

India Medal The India Medal was a campaign medal approved in 1896 for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies. The India Medal was awarded for various minor military campaigns in India, chiefly for service on the North-West Frontier duri ...

, and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) in 1898. He was promoted to captain on 20 May 1901, and later served as Secretary of the

Colonial Defence Committee The Colonial Defence Committee (CDC) was a standing committee of the British Colonial Office between 1885 and 1908. During the second half of the 19th century British Army troops were being progressively withdrawn from colonial garrisons, with t ...

. After a career in the Royal Engineers he became a colonial administrator serving as the 20th

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

from 13 September 1911 to 28 January 1916,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

(1916–1921) and

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 kno ...

(1923–1928). He also served as Principal Assistant Secretary to the Committee of Imperial Defence From 1922 to 1923. In 1898 he was awarded the

(DSO). In 1909 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. He was knighted in the 1913

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...

when he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG). In the 1922 Dissolution Honours List he was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG). He was appointed a Knight of Justice in the

Venerable Order of Saint John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

on 19 December 1928.

High Commissioner

In 1928, he became High Commissioner of the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

, where he was perceived as being cool to

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

and the

Jewish people Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

. Though he admired some Zionist leaders, in particular

Pinhas Rutenberg Pinhas Rutenberg (russian: Пётр Моисеевич Рутенберг, Pyotr Moiseyevich Rutenberg; he, פנחס רוטנברג: 5 February 1879 – 3 January 1942) was a Russian Jewish engineer, businessman, and political activist. He pl ...

, in general Chancellor's attitude towards Jews was negative. He wrote to his son that "truly the Jews are an ungrateful race". His attitude towards Arabs was politically supportive but paternalistic; he wrote to his son: "they are like children, and very difficult to help". While he was in London in 1929, Arab riots protesting Jewish immigration broke out. On his return, he initially condemned Arab attacks but was subsequently less critical. He helped write Lord Passfield's

White Paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white pape ...

of 1930, which aimed to reinterpret the Balfour Declaration. He left Palestine in 1931. In 1931,

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

's Straus Street was renamed Chancellor Avenue in his honour. The street reverted to its original name after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. In 1937 he was appointed chairman of the Livestock Commission, which was set up following the passing of the Livestock Industry Act, 1937. In the 1947 King's Birthday Honours he was created a Knight Grand Cross in the Civil Division of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) for services to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Family

In 1903, Chancellor married Mary Elizabeth Howard (1881–1976), daughter of George Rodie Thompson, DL, JP, of Lynwood,

Ascot, Berkshire Ascot () is a town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is south of Windsor, east of Bracknell and west of London. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the Royal Ascot meeting, ...

. They had two children: a son, Christopher John Howard Chancellor (1904–1989), who married Sylvia Mary Paget in 1926; and a daughter, Elizabeth Rosemary Alice Chancellor (1906–1971), known as Rosemary, who married Air Chief Marshall William Elliot in 1931. Christopher and Sylvia had two children: John Paget Chancellor and

Alexander Chancellor Alexander Surtees Chancellor, CBE (4 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was a British journalist. Chancellor was educated at Eton College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was the editor of the conservative '' Spectator'' magazine from 1975 ...

; Rosemary and William also had two children: Louise Elliot (Halsey) and Simon Elliot.

Legacy

Chancellor Avenue in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, now

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

, was named after him and still bears his name. However, his grandson,

, suggested that it be changed on account of it now being the street on which

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

President of Zimbabwe The president of Zimbabwe is the head of state of Zimbabwe and head of the executive branch of the government of Zimbabwe. The president chairs the national cabinet and is the chief commanding authority of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. The i ...

lived.Despite Mugabe's hatred of British colonialism, the road he lives in is still named after my grandfather
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 27 June 2008

References

External links

World Statesmen - Mauritius
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chancellor, John 1870 births 1952 deaths Military personnel from Edinburgh Royal Engineers officers Anti-Zionism in Mandatory Palestine Colonial Administrative Service officers Mandatory Palestine British High Commissioners of Palestine Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Governors of Trinidad and Tobago Governors of British Mauritius Governors of Southern Rhodesia Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Civil servants from Edinburgh