Sir George Stewart Symes, (29 July 1882 – 5 December 1962) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and colonial governor.

Career

Symes was born in Kent, the son of Lieutenant Colonel William Alexander Symes of the 71st Highland Light Infantry, and Emily Catherine (''née'' Shore), daughter of Charles Shore, 2nd Baron Teignmouth. Aden Lahej Meeting

Symes was commissioned a second lieutenant in The Hampshire Regiment in August 1900, and served in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

during the end of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

in 1902, receiving the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 21 April 1902. Symes took part in the Battle of Rooiwal and was stationed for a while in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

. He later stayed briefly in the town of Hermanus which he described as "peaceful." Later that year he was posted in the Aden Hinterland, where he served 1903–1904. He is said to have been the only British army officer to be awarded a

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO) for services in the

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...

. He was Governor of the

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

North District from 1920 to 1925, Chief Secretary to the Government of Palestine from 1925 to 1928, Resident at

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

from 1928 to 1931, Governor of Tanganyika from 1931 to 1934 and

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

of the

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ') was a condominium (international law), condominium of the United Kingdom and Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day South Sudan and Sudan. Legally, sovereig ...

from 1934 to 1940. During his time in Tanganyika he gained a reputation for governing in the interest of the indigenous African population. This led to him becoming unpopular with some of the white settlers in that country and in neighboring Kenya, and he was known as being one of the most "pro-African" colonial governors. On every issue in which there was conflict between indigenous Africans and European settlers he governed in favor of the Africans. On multiple occasions he had European settlers deported from the country on the grounds they were mistreating Africans. There were British District Commissioners who were administrators under previous governors, and during their time in Tanganyika had learned to speak the Tongwe and Bende languages before being rotated out, Symes had them recalled to Tanganyika and stationed in areas that spoke Tongwe and Bende. He also devoted government resources towards water purification projects, literacy programs and the administration of antibiotics to natives. On numerous issues he promoted encouraging the native population to vote on matters that affected them. He also insisted, as did his predecessor, that Africans be paid the same wages as Europeans and Indians for the same work. When asked in the 1950s if he supported African independence movements he said that he did.

References

External links

The Malvern Register, 1905

{{DEFAULTSORT:Symes, Stewart 1882 births 1962 deaths Governors-general of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Royal Hampshire Regiment officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath British Army personnel of the Second Boer War People educated at Malvern College British colonial governors and administrators in Asia British Army personnel of World War I Governors of Tanganyika (territory) People from the Colony of Aden Chief secretaries of Palestine People from Wateringbury Knights_Commander_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George