Sir Reginald Henry Craddock, (11 March 1864 – 10 February 1937) was a British colonial official and politician, who served in 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 ...

and as

Lieutenant-governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. He later became a Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) and sat on the Joint Committee on Indian Constitutional Reform as a strong opponent of

Indian nationalism Indian nationalism is an instance of civic nationalism. It is inclusive of all of the people of India, Composite nationalism (India), despite their Demographics of India, diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian national ...

Life

Craddock's father Surgeon Major William Craddock had been attached to the

1st Gurkha Rifles 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), often referred to as the 1st Gorkha Rifles, or 1 GR in abbreviation, is the most senior Gorkha Infantry regiment of the Indian Army, comprising Gurkha soldiers of Indian Gorkha or Nepalese nationality, pa ...

; he was therefore born into a family with strong links to the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. He studied at the prestigious

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

before going on to

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

. He qualified for the

in 1882, and two years later was sent on his first posting to the

Central Provinces The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Nagpur was the primary ...

. Craddock spent many years in the Central Provinces, moving steadily up the civil service ladder. He was an industrious worker and his diligence was duly recognized by the authorities. From 1893 onwards, he held the following positions in succession: Commissioner of Excise; head of the

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

District; Chief Secretary to the head of the Province; Commissioner of the Nagpur Division; and finally

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 ...

(or governor of the province) in 1907. He was appointed a Companion 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 ...

(CSI) in the

1903 Durbar Honours The 1903 New Year Honours, announced at the time as the Durbar Honours, were appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was announced on the day of the 1903 Delhi Durbar held to celebrate the suc ...

, and in 1911 promoted to a Knight Commander in the order (KCSI). In 1923 he was appointed a Knight Grand Commander in 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 (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

(GCIE). At the 1931 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament for the

Combined English Universities Combined English Universities was a university constituency represented in the United Kingdom Parliament (from 1918 until 1950). It was formed by enfranchising and combining all the English universities, except for Cambridge, Oxford and London ...

, and held the seat until his death in 1937.

Titles

*1864–1902: Reginald Henry Craddock *1903–1911: Reginald Henry Craddock, CSI *1911–1923: Sir Reginald Henry Craddock, KCSI *1923–1937: Sir Reginald Henry Craddock, GCIE, KCSI

Publications

* * * * *

References

External links

Myanmar (Burma)
at www.worldstatesmen.org 1864 births 1937 deaths Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the Combined English Universities UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Administrators in British Burma Alumni of Keble College, Oxford British people in colonial India {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1860s-stub