Sir Thomas Spurgeon Page

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(19 October 1879 – 10 February 1958)Lorna E. Webb (1995) ''Chintali'', Newton Publishers was a Northern Rhodesian politician who was a member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

and its first

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

Biography

Page was born in Newington in Surrey to Thomas and Louisa Page; the family initially lived in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, before moving to

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

. One of six children, he was the only boy, and attended the

City of London School The City of London School, also known as CLS and City, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for Single-sex education, boys in the City of London, England, on the banks of the River Thames next to the Millennium Bridge, ...

.Nancy R. Purchase, H. Graham Purchase (2008) ''Genealogy of the Purchase Family in Britain and Southern Africa: The Ancestors of Harvey Spurgeon Purchase, 1906–1968, and the Descendants of James Purchase, 1689/90-1723/24'', pp70–71"Three New Members in N. Rhodesian Council", ''East Africa and Rhodesia'', 5 October 1944 After leaving school at 15, he worked at his father's solicitors offices, before joining a firm that imported German goods as a clerk. After volunteering for a Baptist church in

, he moved to

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

as a missionary in 1899. He was initially based in

Cholo ''Cholo'' () was a racial category used in 18th-century Spanish America to refer to people who were three-quarters Amerindians, Amerindian by descent and one-quarter Spanish people, Spanish. Its origin is a somewhat derogatory term for Multi ...

, where he was given the nickname 'Chintali' ("the long one") on account of his height. During his time in Nyasaland he learnt to speak

Chewa Chewa may refer to: *the Chewa people *the Chewa language Chewa ( ; also known as Nyanja ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in Malawi and a recognised minority in Zambia and Mozambique. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for lang ...

. Page moved back to England in 1901 after suffering from

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, but returned to Africa, relocating to Fort Jameson in

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

in 1907 to join his sister Grace and her husband farming cotton and tobacco. Page married Elsie Harris in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

on 4 June 1910, having met her in Long Sutton in 1902. The following year the couple created their own farm on virgin land, which was named Kapundi. They went on to have two daughters, born in 1911 and 1913. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he was away from Northern Rhodesia for three years, initially serving with the

Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve The Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve (NVR) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces unit raised in the British protectorate of Nyasaland (modern-day Malawi). The British Central Africa Volunteer Reserve was formally established by the colonial governme ...

and stationed near Fort Johnston, before joining the Nyasaland Field Force,"Sir Thomas S. Page", ''East Africa and Rhodesia'', 1958, p760 in which he became a captain. After the war he was offered a job managing a tobacco farm named Msekera, eight miles from Fort Jameson. In the mid-1920s he began managing a tobacco packing business, where he worked until starting a lorry transport business in 1932, moving goods between Northern Rhodesia and Salisbury. His wife died in February 1935. In the September 1935 general elections Page contested the Eastern seat, but was defeated by

John Bruce John Bruce may refer to: * Sir John Bruce, 2nd Baronet (before 1671–1711), Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland; MP * John Bruce (historiographer) (1745–1826), Scottish politician, East India Company historiographer and Secretary to the ...

. He ran again in the

1938 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1938. Africa * 1938 South African general election Asia * 1938 Philippine general election * 1938 Philippine legislative election * 1938 Soviet Union regional elections Europe * 1938 Estonian parliame ...

, this time winning the seat and becoming a member of the Legislative Council. In 1939 he bought a cottage on the outskirts of Fort Jameson and became the secretary of the Eastern Tobacco Board and the Farmers' Association, as well as doing bookkeeping. In the 1941 general elections he contested the new seat of

North-Eastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

and was re-elected unopposed. The following year saw Page appointed Price Controller and Fuel Controller for Northern Rhodesia, holding the former post until 1948 and the latter until 1945. The new jobs required him to move to

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

. He remarried in March 1943, taking Edith Mortlock as his wife. He was re-elected to the Legislative Council again in the

1944 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1944. Asia * 1943–1944 Iranian legislative election Europe * 1944 Icelandic constitutional referendum * 1944 Irish general election * 1944 Swedish general election United Kingdom * 1944 Berwick-upon ...

, defeating Grant Robertson. Page did not stand in the August 1948 elections, but on 10 November he was appointed the first Speaker of the Legislative Council, replacing the

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 ...

who had previously presided over the legislature.Ng'ona Mwela Chibesakunda (2001) ''The Parliament of Zambia'', p35 Having already been appointed a

in 1947, in 1956 he was knighted in the

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

for public service.Supplement to the London Gazette
31 May 1956, p3100 He retired as Speaker in October that year. He died on 10 February 1958 in

and was buried in the city three days later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Page, Thomas 1879 births 1958 deaths People from Newington, London People from Croydon People from Sutton, London People educated at the City of London School English Baptist missionaries British emigrants to Zambia British military personnel of World War I Zambian farmers Members of the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia Baptist missionaries in Malawi Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire