Sir Wilfrid Thomas SouthornKCMGKBE (4 August 1879 – 15 March 1957) (Chinese Translated Name: 修頓, Old Translated Name:蕭敦), known as Tom, was a British colonial administrator, spending the large part of his career in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) before serving as Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong, then Governor of The Gambia.
He had joined the Ceylon Civil Service in 1903, and was appointed Additional Assistant Colonial Secretary in 1909, Principal Assistant Colonial Secretary in 1920, and Principal Collector of Customs and Chairman of the Post Commission in 1923.[1]
In 1936, he was made Governor of the Gambia, notably describing the colony as "a geographical and economic absurdity".[3] He left The Gambia in March 1942.[4]
Personal life
In 1921 he married author Bella Sidney Woolf (1877–1960), whom he met through her (later) more famous brother Leonard Woolf, when the two men were colleagues in Ceylon. In 1904, then a humble 'Office Assistant', Southorn had met Leonard Woolf on his arrival in Ceylon from England.[3][5]
^ abcOut and about - Bella Southorn's stories reflect the life she loved as the wife of a colonial civil servant, SCMP Magazine, Jason Wordie, 24 Apr 2011
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