Sir Gerald Hallen Creasy (1 November 1897 – 9 June 1983) was a British

colonial administrator Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

. He served as

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the Gold Coast and of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. The "Christiansborg cross-roads shooting incident" that led to the

1948 Accra Riots The Accra riots started on 28 February 1948 in Accra, the capital of the then British colony of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast (present-day Ghana). A protest march by unarmed ex-servicemen who were agitating for their benefits as vet ...

occurred while Creasy was governor in the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast

Creasy was appointed governor on 12 January 1948. He succeeded Sir Alan Burns. He is however most remembered in Ghana for the "Christiansborg cross-roads shooting incident" on 28 February 1948, about six weeks into his job. Three unarmed former

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veterans were killed and 60 wounded that day while demonstrating about end of service benefits. The protests had followed the Association of West African Merchants (AWAM) boycotts in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

. This played into the hands of the local political leadership, the

United Gold Coast Convention The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was an early nationalist movement British colony of the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) that sought independence after the Second World War. It was founded in August 1947 with the aim of self-government "i ...

(UGCC). Led by

the Big Six ''The Big Six'' is the ninth book of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of children's books, published in 1940. The book returns Dick and Dorothea Callum, known as the Ds, to the Norfolk Broads where they renew their friendship with ...

, they sent a cable on the same day to the Secretary of State in London:

unless Colonial Government is changed and a new Government of the people and their Chiefs installed at the centre immediately, the conduct of masses now completely out of control with strikes threatened in Police quarters, and rank and file Police indifferent to orders of Officers, will continue and result in worse violent and irresponsible acts by uncontrolled people.

They also blamed "Crazy Creasy" for all the unrests. The Riot Act was read the next day, 1 March 1948 and the Big Six were arrested and detained. The Watson commission of enquiry chaired by Aiken Watson was set up to look into the riots. He was replaced in an acting capacity by Sir Robert Scott as governor of the Gold Coast on 15 February 1949.

Malta

Creasy succeeded Sir Francis Campbell Ross Douglas as

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

on 16 September 1949. He was succeeded by Sir

Robert Laycock Major-General Sir Robert Edward Laycock, (18 April 1907 – 10 March 1968) was a senior British Army officer best known for his influential role in the establishment and command of British Commandos during the Second World War. Early life La ...

on 3 August 1954.

References

External links

Creasy in Malta

Memorial of Adjetey, Attipoe and Lamptey
1897 births 1983 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire Governors and governors-general of Malta Colonial Administrative Service officers Politics of Ghana 1948 in Gold Coast (British colony) {{UK-gov-bio-stub

Gold Coast

Malta

See also

References

External links