Sir (Charles) Robert Smith (13 November 1887 – 4 November 1959) was a British Governor of North Borneo from 1937 until 18 January 1942, and again from 11 September 1945 until October 1946. During the period from 1942–1945 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, North Borneo was under Japanese occupation and Smith's Governorship was suspended. Smith was educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...

, and joined the North Borneo Civil Service as a cadet in 1913. He was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of North Borneo in 1937. He was awarded the CMG in 1941. Smith was interned by the Japanese at Berhala Island near Sandakan in North Borneo and then at Batu Lintang camp, Sarawak, Borneo, from 18 January 1942 until May 1943, after which time he was transferred to another camp in

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

, and he was in a camp in

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

in late 1943. After the war he took up his position as Governor briefly, before retiring in October 1946. He was awarded the

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

in 1947, and died in 1959.

Marriages

Smith married twice. In 1920 he married Violet Mure Slight, and they had a son and a daughter. In 1948 he married Gwendoline Jessie Holdcroft."Smith, Sir (Charles) Robert" in ''Who Was Who'', 2008

References

*"Smith, Sir (Charles) Robert" in ''Who Was Who'', 2008, A&C Black

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Robert 1887 births 1959 deaths People educated at Christ's Hospital North Borneo Chartered Company administrators Governors of North Borneo Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George World War II civilian prisoners held by Japan Internees at Batu Lintang camp