John Shaw (colonial administrator)

Shaw in 1946

Sir John Valentine Wistar Shaw KCMG (14 February 1894[1] – 24 December 1982)[2] was a British colonial administrator.

Born in Derby on 14 February 1894, Shaw was educated at Repton School, and in the First World War did military service from 1914 to 1919. He then joined the Colonial Administrative Service.

Appointments

Source:[3]

Gold Coast

  • Assistant District Commissioner, 1921–1925
  • District Commissioner, 1925–1928
  • Assistant Secretary, 1928–1935

Palestine

  • Assistant Secretary, 1935–1938
  • Senior Assistant Secretary, 1938–1939
  • Departmental Chief Secretary, 1939–1940

Cyprus

  • Colonial Secretary 1940–1943

Palestine

  • Chief Secretary 1943

Palestine and Cyprus

  • Acting Governor, Cyprus and Acting High Commissioner for Palestine for several periods, 1940–1946.

Trinidad (Nowaday Trinidad and Tobago)

  • Governor and Commander-in-Chief, 1947–1950

Death

Shaw died on 24 December 1982 in Hastings, Sussex.

Honours and legacy

Shaw was awarded the CMG in 1942, became Knight Bachelor in 1946, and KCMG in 1947. His papers are held by the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House, with additional items[4] at the Brotherton Library, University of Leeds.

References

  1. ^ "World Biography". 1948.
  2. ^ "Shaw, Sir John Valentine Wistar KCMG (1894 - 1982)".
  3. ^ "Collection: Papers of Sir John Valentine W. Shaw | Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts".
  4. ^ "Sir John Shaw papers. (Livro, 1918) [WorldCat.org]". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2025.