Sir Walter Joseph Sendall (24 December 1832 – 16 March 1904) was a British colonial governor.

Early life

Sendall was born in

Langham, Suffolk Langham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around seven miles north east of Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well a ...

and attended

King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds King Edward VI School is a co-educational Comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The school in its present form was created in 1972 by the merging of King Edward VI Grammar School, with the Silv ...

. He then entered

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

in 1854. Here he became friends of

Walter Besant Sir Walter Besant (; 14 August 1836 – 9 June 1901) was an English novelist and historian. William Henry Besant was his brother, and another brother, Frank, was the husband of Annie Besant. Early life and education The son of wine merchant Wi ...

, John Peile,

John Robert Seeley Sir John Robert Seeley, Order of St. Michael and St. George, KCMG (10 September 1834 – 13 January 1895) was an English Liberal Party (UK), Liberal historian and political essayist. A founder of British imperial history, he was a prominent adv ...

, and

Charles Stuart Calverley Charles Stuart Calverley (; 22 December 1831 – 17 February 1884) was an English poet and wit. He was the literary father of what has been called "the university school of humour". Early life He was born at Martley, Worcestershire, and give ...

. He later married Sophie Calverley, his sister. Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement: Sendall, Walter Joseph

Career as a colonialist

As Director of Public Instruction in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, he expanded the system of schools, teaching in English and the vernacular. He was Governor-in-Chief of the Windward Islands, from 1885 to 1889. There he promoted road construction in

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

, and founded a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

. He suspended the Legislative Council on

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305 ...

, rather than appoint black members he felt were unqualified. After some hesitation, he supported finance for the Grenada Boys' Secondary School. He was

Governor of Barbados This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...

from 1889 to 1891. He was High Commissioner of Cyprus, from 1892 to 1898. He was Governor of British Guiana, from 1898 to 1901. He was the brother-in-law of the English poet and wit

Honours

He was

Companion of 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 I ...

in 1887, knighted in 1889, and

GCMG 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 ...

in 1899. In July 1902 he received an honorary degree

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

Notes

External links

Bust by Edward Lanteri, National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sendall, Walter Joseph 1832 births 1904 deaths Colonial Education Service officers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Governors of the Windward Islands Governors of Barbados Governors of British Cyprus Governors of British Guiana