Colonel Sir William Owen Lanyon KCMG CB (21 July 1842 – 6 April 1887) was a British colonial administrator and

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 Gurkha ...

officer.

Early life and career

Lanyon was born in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population ...

, Ireland, to Sir Charles Lanyon and his wife Elizabeth Helen Owen. He was educated at Bromsgrove School before joining the army; he was commissioned into the 6th Foot in 1860, but transferred to the 2nd West India Regiment in 1866. He became private secretary to Sir John Peter Grant,

Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jama ...

from 1868 to 1873, and was invalided in the Ashanti campaign in West Africa.

Colonial administration in Africa

IY188 pg310 ANNEXATION - MELANCHOLY END OF GRIQUALAND WEST

Lanyon served as administrator in southern African territories in the 1870s. His autocratic outlook and low opinion of the local peoples made him immensely unpopular during his terms of office.

Lieutenant Governor of the Griqualand West Colony (1873–1879)

In South Africa, he served as Lieutenant Governor of

Griqualand West Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, wh ...

from 1873 until 1879. Known at the time as "the Major", his term in office was beset with controversy. Racial tensions, lawsuits as well as territorial disputes with neighbouring states caused immense turmoil. He was also extremely unpopular with the local inhabitants and had to subdue armed rebellions. The neighbouring

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a 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 it united with ...

, semi-independent and the largest state in the region, was considered the only local entity with the resources to govern Griqualand West. The Cape Prime Minister

John Molteno Sir John Charles Molteno (5 June 1814 – 1 September 1886) was a soldier, businessman, champion of responsible government and the first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. Early life Born in London into a large Anglo-Italian family, Molten ...

, after repeatedly refusing to annex the costly and unstable territory, eventually consented to incorporate it. With the Cape signing of the '' Griqualand West Annexation Act'', direct British rule over the territory ended. Lanyon famously referred to Griqualand West as the most "hideous and disgusting" place he had ever seen.

Acting-Administrator of the Transvaal Colony (1879–1881)

He then took over administration of Transvaal from Sir Theophilus Shepstone on 4 March 1879, and assisted the Governor

Henry Bartle Frere Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere, 1st Baronet, (29 March 1815 – 29 May 1884) was a Welsh British colonial administrator. He had a successful career in India, rising to become Governor of Bombay (1862–1867). However, as High Commissioner for ...

in dealing with the restive Boer population. As in his previous position, Lanyon was immensely unpopular, with both the Boer and the Black African populations. Boer unrest steadily increased but Lanyon remained in his position until 8 August 1881, during which time the disastrous outbreak of the

First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...

took place. This saw the British defeated and evicted from the Transvaal, which returned to being an independent state. Some British historians have argued that the defeat marked the beginning of the decline of the British Empire. Lanyon then served in the

1882 Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. I ...

Later life and death

Lanyon became a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...

in 1878 and a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

in 1880. He died of cancer in 1887 in New York.

References

External links

*
Memorial

Background from wakkerstroom.org.za

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanyon, Owen 1842 births 1887 deaths British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Burials at Brompton Cemetery Companions of the Order of the Bath Governors of the Transvaal Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Bromsgrove School People from County Antrim Political office-holders in South Africa Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers South African Republic politicians West India Regiment officers