The British Empire was the most powerful empire known to the modern world, but power and confidence were ebbing by the mid-20th century. Aspects of Empire, a second anthology of writings from the Corona Club journal, shows the British Parliament, Government, the Colonial Office and leading actors preparing for decolonisation. This was against a backdrop of ever-growing needs in the territories when imperial resources were increasingly limited - reflecting Britain's diminished position especially following World War II. There were the political demands of future self-government, the implication of Colonial Development and Welfare acts, defence, policing and even 'emergencies'. And all these factors impacted upon work in the territories and looked forward to the end of the Colonial and Overseas Services in the vital field of district administration and in the professional and technical departments. Here is an illuminating account of the management of the end of a global empire and preparation for self-government - a drama no less striking for being couched in form of Parliamentary debate, and state papers.
The district officer - the D.O. - was the pivot of the British Colonial Administration throughout the British Empire, as was his counterpart in India - immortalized in Philip Woodruff's "The Men who Ruled India". The D.O. who was both administrator and magistrate and the essential link with the professional and technical services and essentially, with the indigenous population - the 600,000,000 people they served - in an empire of service rather than domination. In this book, Anthony Kirk-Greene, who was himself a distinguished member of the Nigeria Service, draws upon personal memoirs, diaries, private and official papers, and his own experience, to paint a vivid picture of the service and a never-to-be-repeated episode in British history.
On Crown Service fills a large gap in the historical literature on the British Empire and will be used widely as a work of reference as well as for a history of the Colonial Service. It is a balanced and thorough account of a subject that no other than Kirk-Greene could have written. I am listing it among the 20 most important works on the British Empire in the twentieth century._ Wm. Roger Louis, University of Texas at Austin. Published to commemorate the centenary of the Corona Club in 1999 and to mark the end of Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Services, this is the only institutional history of the Colonial Service to appear for over sixty years. Anthony Kirk-Greene has combined an extensive use of archival records and historical documentation with an unparalleled knowledge of secondary sources to produce a detailed, authoritative narrative of this most important era. This work will appeal to all historians and general readers with an interest in Britain's Colonial Service. It is destined to become the standard study of its history. Contents:_ An Expanding Empire to Staff, 1837-1899; The Evolution of the Modern Colonial Service, 1900-1939; The Expansion of the post-war Colonial Service, 1943-1954; HMOCS: Reshaping a Successor Service, 1954-1997.
The British Empire was the most powerful empire known to the modern world, but power and confidence were ebbing by the mid-20th century. Aspects of Empire, a second anthology of writings from the Corona Club journal, shows the British Parliament, Government, the Colonial Office and leading actors preparing for decolonisation. This was against a backdrop of ever-growing needs in the territories when imperial resources were increasingly limited - reflecting Britain's diminished position especially following World War II. There were the political demands of future self-government, the implication of Colonial Development and Welfare acts, defence, policing and even 'emergencies'. And all these factors impacted upon work in the territories and looked forward to the end of the Colonial and Overseas Services in the vital field of district administration and in the professional and technical departments. Here is an illuminating account of the management of the end of a global empire and preparation for self-government - a drama no less striking for being couched in form of Parliamentary debate, and state papers.
In this book, Anthony Kirk-Greene, who served as a district officer in Nigeria for over a decade, draws upon personal memoirs, diaries, private and official papers, and his own experience, to paint a vivid picture of the service from his perspective. Symbol of Authority explores the socio-educational status of district officers, their recruitment and training, and what they did in both their work and leisure.
In this unique collection of writings culled from the Corona Club Bulletin, we see the governor in council and the DO in the field and a myriad of professional officers--agricultural, educational, medical, veterinary, engineering, nursing--at work. The contributions range from the political, constitutional, and the ""daily round"" of administration and service, to personal, family, sporting and service life. The writings, chosen and edited by Anthony Kirk-Greene, a distinguished historian of Empire who also served in the Nigerian Service, give vivid insight into a unique and vanished lifestyle.
Democracy in Nigeria - Thoughts and Selected Commentaries" consists of a series of essays which address a variety of issues bordering on good governance and the stability of the Nigerian state. While the author is optimistic about the future of his nation and proposes measures that can drive its democracy forward, he is unhappy that corruption, in particular, has impeded progress in an otherwise vibrant nation. He believes that proper education and a realistic federal arrangement provide the solution to religious intolerance and all the ills that are associated with it, while a more proactive population can actually tame the monster of corruption if they are genuinely worried that corruption has been responsible for their individual and collective plights.
C.M. (Mary) Turnbull's contributions to historical writing on Singapore extended from her 1962 thesis, published in 1972 as "The Straits Settlements, 1826-1867: Indian Presidency to Crown Colony", to her magisterial history of Singapore, first published in 1977 and re-issued in 2009 in an updated edition as A History of Singapore, 1819-2005. Her approach to history involved detailed work with documents and published materials, with a particular focus on political and economic history. One contributor to the present volume described the book as an "exercise in endowing a modern 'nation-state' with a coherent past that should explain the present." As styles in history evolved, younger scholars including some of her former students and colleagues began exploring new approaches to historical research that drew on non-English-language souce material and asked fresh questions of the sources. Mary enjoyed controversy and expected debate, and had a deep interest in these accounts, which were in many ways a natural progression from her own publications even when they raised questions about her interpretations and conclusions. Studying Singapore's Past had its origins in a conference organised to discuss her work. The volume includes ten contributions, some from long-established scholars of Singapore's history, others from a new generation of researchers. Their work offers an evaluation of established understandings of Singapore's history, and gives an indication of new directions that researchers are exploring. In publishing the book, the editor not only pays tribute to a distinguished historian but also seeks to make a contribution to the historiography of Singapore and to ongoing debates about Singapore's past.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.