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 on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

and served as the last Chief Commissioner and the first

Governor of the North-West Frontier Province The Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the appointed head of state of the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province), Pakistan. Although the governor is the head of the province on paper, it is largely a ce ...

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 Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural M ...

(1828–1901) Educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the 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 ;Mala ...

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

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...

and the

26th Prince of Wales's Own Light Cavalry 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

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 The Indian Political Department (IPD), formerly known as the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India, was a government department in British India. It originated in a resolution passed on 13 September 1783 by the board of direc ...

(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 rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

) in November 1908. and served an apprenticeship under

Sir George Roos-Keppel Sir George Olaf Roos-Keppel, (7 September 1866 – 11 December 1921) was a British military officer who served in the capacities of Political Agent to the Governor-General in Kurram and Khyber, and later as Chief Commissioner, North West Front ...

, who, like him, was a fluent speaker of

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languag ...

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

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

, 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 * Residency (pharmacy), Resident (pharmacy), a stage of post ...

in the turbulent region of

Waziristan Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

, 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

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 Pathan 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) No app ...

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 appointment ...

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 Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Indian Army officers Indian Political Service officers Military personnel of British India Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Bachelor