Sir Ralph Edwin Hotchkin Griffith (4 March 1882 – 11 December 1963) was an administrator in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

and served as the last

Chief Commissioner A chief commissioner is a commissioner of high rank, usually in chief of several commissioners or similarly styled officers. Colonial In British India the gubernatorial style was chief commissioner in various (not all) provinces (often after bein ...

and the first Governor of the North-West Frontier Province during the British Raj.

Education and early career

Ralph Edwin Hotchkin Griffith was the younger brother of Sir Francis Griffith and the son of Francis Robert Griffith (1828–1901) Educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent co-educational boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon, T ...

and the

Royal Military College Royal Military College may refer to: ;Australia * Royal Military College, Duntroon, Campbell, Australian Capital Territory ;Canada * Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario * Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean, Quebec ;Indi ...

. He was commissioned in 1901 into the Middlesex Regiment and transferred to the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and the 26th Prince of Wales's Own Light Cavalry in 1903 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1903. He was appointed Adjutant of the Governor's Body Guard, Bombay from 1907 to 1908. Griffith joined the Indian Political Service (which was then recruited half and half from the Indian Army and the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

) in November 1908. and served an apprenticeship under Sir George Roos-Keppel, who, like him, was a fluent speaker of

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

. He was promoted Captain in 1910 and Major in 1916. His early positions included

Deputy Commissioner A deputy commissioner is a police, income tax or administrative official in many countries. The rank is commonplace in police forces of Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, usually ranking below the Commissioner. Australia In all Aust ...

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

, secretary to the head of the Province, and

Resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceut ...

in the turbulent region of

Waziristan Waziristan (Persian language, Persian, Pashto, Ormuri, , ) is a mountainous region of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan Dis ...

, where his influence and understanding of the Wazir tribesmen reduced tensions in the area. When Assistant Political Agent, Mohmand he was mentioned in dispatches for services on the North West Frontier during the early part of

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 ...

Governor of the North-West Frontier Province

Griffith succeeded Sir Steuart Pears as Chief Commissioner of the North-West Frontier Province in 1931. He became the first Governor in 1932, when the importance of the northern shield was recognised by the raising of the status of the

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

land to that of a Governor's province. He served as Governor until 1937, during the formative inter-war period. Griffith was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

in 1917, promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1927, and was made

Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

in 1932.Provinces of British India
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Sources

*Obituary, Lt-Col. Sir Ralph Griffith, ''The Times'', 13 December 1963; p. 17; Issue 55883; column D

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Ralph 1882 births 1963 deaths People educated at Blundell's School People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Alford Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Indian Army officers Indian Political Service officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Bachelor