Sir Gerald Hallen Creasy (1 November 1897 – 9 June 1983) was a British
colonial administrator. He served as
Governor of the
Gold Coast and
Malta.
The "Christiansborg cross-roads shooting incident" that led to the
1948 Accra Riots occurred while Creasy was Governor in Gold Coast.
Gold Coast
Creasy was appointed governor on 12 January 1948. He succeeded
Sir Alan Burns
Sir Alan Cuthbert Maxwell Burns (9 November 1887 – 29 September 1980) was a British civil servant who rose through the ranks to become governor of several colonies. He also wrote a number of books on politics and history, including a book o ...
.
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 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 (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') 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, , ...
.
This played into the hands of the local political leadership, the
United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC).
Led by
the Big Six, 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.[ He was replaced in an acting capacity by ]Sir Robert Scott
Sir Robert Scott, (10 March 1903 – 28 May 1968) was a British colonial governor who served as the 27th Governor of Mauritius, 22 March 1954 to 10 July 1959. He wrote a history of the Islands called ''Limuria: The Lesser Dependencies of Mauri ...
as governor of the Gold Coast on 15 February 1949.[
]
Malta
Creasy succeeded Sir Francis Campbell Ross Douglas as Governor of Malta on 16 September 1949. He was succeeded by Sir Robert Laycock on 3 August 1954.
See also
* The Big Six (Ghana)
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)
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