Sir Roland Evelyn Turnbull (9 June 1905 – 23 December 1960) was a British colonial official and

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

British North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo was originally establish ...

. His major influence is mentoring Brunei's former ruler, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III. He stated that in 1959 to one of his Colonial Office colleagues that the Sultan came to regard him as ‘his father’.

Biography

Turnbull was the son of George Turnbull. He attended

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

Career

1920s and 1930s

In 1929 Turnbull joined the British Colonial Service as a cadet and was first attached to the District Office at

Tampin Tampin is a town in Tampin District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, which borders Pulau Sebang town in Alor Gajah District, Malacca. It is situated at the southern tip of the longest mountain range in Malaysia, the Titiwangsa Mountains. Tampin ...

in Malaya. In 1931 he went to

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...

as Collector of Land Revenue. In 1933 he became assistant secretary to the High Commissioner in Malaya. In 1934 he was appointed British Resident in

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

where he remained until going on leave in 1936. From 1937 to 1940 he was attached to the Colonial Secretariat.

1940s

From 1940 to 1943 Turnbull was Colonial Secretary in the

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

. During the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

from 1943 to 1945 he was employed in the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. Following the war he was Colonial Secretary in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

until 1950. On 9 September 1948, he married Sylvia Emily Woodman Burbidge, a daughter of Sir Richard Woodman Burbidge, 2nd of the Burbidge baronets.

1950s

From 1950 to 1953 Turnbull was based in Cape Town while serving as the Chief Secretary and Deputy High Commissioner for

Basutoland Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho, bordered with the Cape Colony, Natal Colony and Orange River Colony until 1910 and completely surrounded by South Africa from 1910. Though the Basot ...

, Bechuanaland and

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

(BBS). In his final position he was based in Jesselton as the penultimate

Governor of North Borneo The Governor of North Borneo was the appointed head of the government of North Borneo. Originally the Governor was appointed by the North Borneo Chartered Company, which was responsible for the administration of the protectorate. Upon North Bor ...

from 4 March 1954 until 1959. It was during this time that he appointed Keith Wookey as Resident in 1956 to Sandakan, North Borneo.

Honours

Turnbull was invested in 1956 as a

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

in 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Roland Evelyn 1905 births 1960 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Governors of North Borneo British colonial governors and administrators in the Americas British Honduras people Administrators in British Brunei British colonial governors and administrators in Europe People from British Cyprus British colonial governors and administrators in Africa Basutoland people Bechuanaland Protectorate people