Sir Ralph Champneys Williams, (9 March 1848 – 22 June 1927) was a British colonial governor.

Life and career

Williams was educated at The King's School, Chester, and at

Rossall School Rossall School is a private Day school, day and boarding school, boarding school in the United Kingdom for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey, St Vincent Beechey as a ...

. He joined the colonial service in 1884 and his first post was to Bechuanaland. He then served at

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, South Africa,

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

and

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, for which he was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(CMG) in the 1901 New Year Honours List. In early 1901 he returned to Bechuanaland as Resident Commissioner at the height of the

Second Boer 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 ...

. Williams was governor of the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

prior to his appointment as governor of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

in 1909. While governor of

Williams travelled throughout the island and the coast of

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

. He was opposed to

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

with Canada and desired to maintain Newfoundland's individuality and hold fast

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

's last tie to North America. In 1913 he published his memoirs, ''How I Became a Governor''.

Legacy

Two Newfoundland towns were renamed for him: Salmon Cove, Trinity Bay, became Champneys, and Greenspond, White Bay, became Williamsport.

References

External links

Biography at Government House
''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador'' *Neil Parsons

at University of Botswana History Department site. {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Ralph Champneys 1848 births 1927 deaths People from Holyhead Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Commissioners of the Bechuanaland Protectorate Governors of the Dominion of Newfoundland People educated at Rossall School People educated at The King's School, Chester Colonial secretaries of Barbados

Life and career

Legacy

See also

References

External links