Sir Herbert James Stanley, (25 July 1872 – 5 June 1955) was a leading British colonial administrator, who served at different times as Governor of

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and

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 ...

Life and career

Born in England, Stanley was educated at

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

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 ...

,''The Times'', 6 June 1955 "Sir Herbert Stanley", p. 8. and worked in the foreign service in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

before serving as the Resident Commissioner for Southern and

from 1911 to 1914. Stanley proved controversial in this role when he refused to allow settlers to take land from Africans, instead assigning in perpetuity exclusively for the use of Africans. Based in South Africa during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Stanley married Reniera van Oosterzee Cloete, from a leading

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

family, in 1918. She was described as ''"one of the most beautiful women of the century in any country of the world"''. She predeceased her husband, dying in 1950. In 1918, Stanley was appointed imperial secretary in South Africa, a position he held until 1924, when he was appointed the inaugural governor of Northern Rhodesia. Taking office on 1 April 1924 as governor of Northern Rhodesia, Stanley sought an amalgamation of the central African colonies and an extension of the Northern Rhodesian Railway into Southern Rhodesia. He was also active in establishing and promoting Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. In 1927, Stanley was transferred to

as its governor, which drew criticism due to his lack of background knowledge of Asian affairs, although he is reported to have acquitted himself well. Whilst in Ceylon he served as president of the

Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (RASSL) is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest learned societies in Sri Lanka with a history of over 160 years. It was established on 7 February 1845, paralleling the Royal Asiatic Society ...

in 1929–30. In 1932, he was made Knight of Grace of the

Venerable Order of Saint John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

He returned to Africa in 1931 to serve as High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in South Africa before his appointment as Governor of Southern Rhodesia in 1935, initially for a two-year term, but he was persuaded to remain in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

until 1942, when he retired from active service. Upon his retirement, Stanley settled in Cape Town and was appointed chief commissioner of the Boy Scouts of South Africa. He died a widower in a

nursing home, aged 82, survived by two sons and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Herbert 1872 births 1955 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Governors of British Ceylon Governors of Northern Rhodesia Governors of Southern Rhodesia Ambassadors and high commissioners of the United Kingdom to South Africa Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Politicians from Cape Town Scouting and Guiding in South Africa 1920s in Northern Rhodesia 1920s in Ceylon 1930s in Ceylon 1930s in Southern Rhodesia 1940s in Southern Rhodesia 20th-century British politicians Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon British expatriates in the German Empire