Cyril George Fox Cartwright (18 April 1911 – 23 April 1943) was a British

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

administrator. He died during the

Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands The Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands was the period in the history of Kiribati between 1941 and 1945 when Imperial Japanese forces occupied the Gilbert Islands during World War II, in the Pacific War theatre. From 1941 to 1943, Imper ...

Biography

Cartwight was the third son of the Rev. G. F. Cartwright. He attended

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

from 1924 to 1930; then he proceeded to

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

and obtained his degree in 1933. He was appointed to the

British Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

and was posted to Ocean Island, which was the administrative centre of the

Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean was part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. It was a British protectorate, protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a crown colony, colony until 1 January 1 ...

Colony. He was acting

Resident Commissioner Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates (such a ...

of the

Colony on Ocean Island from December 1941 to August 1942. He was acting on behalf of

Vivian Fox-Strangways Vivian Fox-Strangways (29 July 1898 – 21 November 1974) was a British officer (Colonel, British Army), Resident Commissioner of the partly occupied by Japan Gilbert and Ellice Islands, from 1941 to 1946. Because of the Pacific War, Fox-Stra ...

, who had been appointed as Resident Commissioner, but because of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, Fox-Strangways was seconded into the army and was located on

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1896 t ...

in the

British Solomon Islands The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first established in June 1893, when Captain Herbert Gibson of declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate.''Commonwealth and Colonial Law'' by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, S ...

. While he had the opportunity to leave Ocean Island when the personnel of the

British Phosphate Commission The British Phosphate Commissioners (BPC) was a board of Australian, British, and New Zealand representatives who managed extraction of phosphate from Christmas Island, Nauru, and Banaba (Ocean Island) from 1920 until 1981. Nauru was a mandate te ...

were evacuated, he choose to stay to safeguard the people of Ocean Island. Japanese forces occupied Ocean Island on 26 August 1942. He was subjected to ill-treatment and malnutrition. He died on 23 April 1943. He is named on the memorial inscriptions in Chapel Passage, East Wall of

Bibliography

* Ellis, Albert Fuller, Sir. 1946. ''Mid-Pacific Outposts''. xx, 303pp, (8vo), 21 cm, with intro. by Brigadier J.R. Stevenson...in command of the Nauru and Ocean Island expedition. appendix 299–303, Instrument of Surrender, attachment (vi) to report by Brig. J.R.S. on surrender of Japanese on Ocean Island dated 2nd Oct. 1945. Brown & Stewart, Auckland. BM DU/711/E47, UH D767.9.E4.

References

1911 births 1943 deaths Governors of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People educated at Winchester College British civilians killed in World War II {{UK-gov-bio-stub