Sir Cecil William Hunter-Rodwell (29 December 1874 – 23 February 1953) was a British colonial administrator who served as

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Biography

Born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, Rodwell attended

Cheam School Cheam School is a mixed preparatory school located in Headley, in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in Hampshire. Originally a boys school, Cheam was founded in 1645 by George Aldrich. History The school started in Cheam, Surre ...

and

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and went up in 1892 to study at

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

, graduating with a BA in 1896. Upon the outbreak of the

South African War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, Rodwell joined the

Suffolk Yeomanry The Duke of York's Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. Originally formed as a volunteer cavalry force in 1793, it fought in the Second Boer War as part of the Imperial Yeomanry. In World War I the regiment fough ...

and was awarded the Queen's Medal with two clasps for bravery.''The Times'' (1953) "Sir Cecil Rodwell A Progressive Colonial Governor", 24 February 1953; p. 10. Rodwell remained in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

after the war, working on the staff of

Lord Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a very important role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and ear ...

, the British High Commissioner in South Africa, from 1901 to 1903 and as Imperial Secretary for the High Commission from 1903 to 1918, during which time he was made a CMG. In 1918 Rodwell was appointed Governor of

and High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, positions he held until 1924 when he was appointed Governor of

. During his term the Legislative Council of British Guiana was established and Rodwell did much to develop the economic resources of the colony. In 1928 Rodwell was appointed Governor of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a 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 known as South ...

, where he left a controversial legacy. Remembered fondly by the white settlers (in one case he was referred to as a "top-hole person"), Rodwell's response to a plea by a Jesuit missionary for funds to build a hospital for the black community around

Kutama College Kutama College (officially St Francis Xavier's Kutama College) is a private Catholic independent boarding high school near Norton, Zimbabwe in the Zvimba area, 80 kilometres southwest of Harare. Grown out of a Mission station founded in 1914 a ...

; "Why do you worry about a hospital? After all, there are too many natives in the country already", would have been concerning enough had it not been said in the presence of a young

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 th ...

.Grundty, T. (2005) "Mugabe Birthday: No Cause for Celebration" ''Institute for War and Peace Reporting'

Retrieved 11 August 2007. Mugabe later said that he never forgot nor forgave Rodwell's response. Rodwell returned to South Africa to work in the mining industry at the end of his term as Governor of South Rhodesia in 1934, serving on the board of directors of the oil company Ultramar. After retiring and moving to England Rodwell was appointed Controller of Industrial Diamonds in the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed on 1 August 1939 by the Ministry of Supply Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38) to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Ministe ...

in 1942, serving until 1945. Rodwell died at his home near

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, survived by his wife, three sons, and two daughters. He was appointed CMG in 1909, KCMG in 1919 and GCMG in 1934.Perham, M. (1974) ''African Apprenticeship: An Autobiographical Journey in Southern Africa, 1929'', Africana Pub. Co

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodwell, Cecil Hunter 1874 births 1953 deaths Businesspeople from Ipswich British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Governors of Fiji Members of the Legislative Council of Fiji Governors of British Guiana Governors of Southern Rhodesia Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Cheam School People educated at Eton College Suffolk Yeomanry officers High commissioners for the Western Pacific