British colonial official
Sir Anthony Foster Abell KCMG (11 December 1906 – 8 October 1994) was a British colonial official who was the Governor of Sarawak and British High Commissioner to Brunei .[ 1]
Career
Abell was born in Bridgnorth , Shropshire , on 11 December 1906, the son of George and Jessie Abell, his father was a Bank Manager.
Abell (brother of George Abell , who became a civil servant) was educated at Repton School and Magdalen College, Oxford , though he failed to get a degree.[ 2] He joined the then Colonial Administrative Service in 1929 and was posted to Nigeria. In 1942 he took part in Operation Postmaster , a successful raid on German and Italian ships in the port of Santa Isabella on Fernando Po , then a Spanish colony, although Spain was neutral in World War II .[ 3] [ 4] He was appointed Resident of Oyo Province in western Nigeria in 1949, but the following year he was offered the governorship of Sarawak ,[ 5] where he was concurrently High Commissioner to Brunei .[ 6]
During the opening ceremony of the Brunei Airport by Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III on 8 May 1957, he was there to attend and witness the ceremony together with other officials.[ 7] On 17 December 1958, Abell flew from Kuching to Brunei after being invited by Dennis White to officiate the opening of his namesake school in Seria , Anthony Abell College on the next day. He would return to Kuching on the following day.[ 8]
Later life and death
Abell retired in 1959 but was a member of selection boards for both the Colonial Service and the police,[ 2] and was also invited to sit on the Cobbold Commission on the future of North Borneo and Sarawak. He was Gentleman Usher of the Blue Rod 1972–79.[ 9]
Abell died on 8 October 1994 in Winchester district of Hampshire aged 87.
Legacy
Namesakes
Honours
Abell was appointed CMG in 1950[ 11] and knighted KCMG in the 1952 New Year Honours .[ 12] In 1954 the Sultan of Brunei awarded him the Family Order of Brunei , First Class, "in recognition of valuable services rendered".[ 13]
National
Foreign
References
^ ABELL, Sir Anthony (Foster) , Who Was Who , A & C Black, 1920–2016 (online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014)
^ a b "Sir Anthony Abell" (obituary), The Times , London, 14 October 1994, page 23
^ Fernando Po Cutting out Expedition
^ Anthony Kirk-Greene , Symbol of Authority: The British District Officer in Africa (I.B. Tauris, 2006), p.116
^ "No. 38853" . The London Gazette . 3 March 1950. p. 1098.
^ "The Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei Conference" (PDF) . Institute of Asian Studies . 2014. p. 14.
^ "Upachara Pembukaan Rasmi Padang Kapal Terbang Brunei" (PDF) . Pelita Brunei . 15 May 1957. p. 1.
^ "Pembukaan Rasmi Anthony Abell College" (PDF) . Pelita Brunei . 15 December 1958. p. 6.
^ "No. 45565" . The London Gazette . 4 January 1972. p. 99.
^ "Anthony Abell College Feted 75 High Achieving Students | Brunei's No.1 News Website" . www.brudirect.com . Retrieved 24 January 2023 .
^ "No. 38843" . The London Gazette . 17 February 1950. p. 856.
^ a b "No. 39421" . The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1951. p. 4.
^ a b "No. 40205" . The London Gazette . 15 June 1954. p. 3542.