Showing posts with label Civil Servant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Civil Servant. Show all posts

Saturday, 21 September 2019

1936: Sir Josiah Stamp GCB GBE FBA (later Lord Stamp)

Updated August 2021

Sir Josiah Stamp was not an obvious President of the GA, with no apparent geographical education background, but a great deal of influence.

He did, however, have a high public profile, and this was a period when non-geographers were given the Presidency, as mentioned previously. He was also apparently a very wealthy man because of his links with the Bank of England.

This was already changing to a period when GA officers were rewarded for their long service, such as the previous President.

Stamp's background was in railways. He was the Chairman of a number of railways.

 He was the third of seven children, and his youngest brother was L Dudley Stamp, who later became President of the GA in 1950, and one of the most prolific authors of geographical support material for teachers.

 These are the only brothers to have been GA Presidents.
I wonder whether other GA Presidents have brothers with a geographical background? I can't think of many brother and brother/sister geographer teams.

Stamp became a civil servant, and worked as a tax inspector at first, alongside his studies in economics.

In 1919 Stamp changed career, leaving the civil service for business, to join as secretary and director of Nobel Industries Ltd, from which Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) developed.
In 1928 he was appointed a director of the Bank of England.
He was knighted in 1920.
He joined the railway company LMS and served on many committees in this regard.

From 1927 until his death he was Colonel commanding the Royal Engineers Railway and Transport Corps, and became Honorary Colonel of Transportation Units in the Royal Engineers Supplementary Reserve in 1938.

Here he is, on YouTube, speaking in 1931... about savings... another early sighting of a GA President.


And here on Pathe News talking about the "Gold Standard" in his role at the Bank of England.


Stamp was widely regarded as the leading British expert on taxation, and took an active part in the work of the Royal Statistical Society, serving as its president from 1930 to 1932.

He also served as the Mayor of Beckenham in Kent. He was raised to the peerage on 28 June 1938 as Baron Stamp of Shortlands, Kent.

His GA Presidential Address was not surprisingly on Economic Geography.


I like this quote attributed to him, a timely one:

Image result for sir josiah stamp

Also from his







 Wikipedia page, we get the story of his untimely death.

Stamp refused to be moved out of his house, in Park Hill Road, Shortlands, because of German bombing during The Blitz. He, aged sixty, and his wife were killed by a bomb's direct hit on the air-raid shelter at their home on 16 April 1941. They were buried at Beckenham Cemetery.

Ironically in 1935, he had been a founder member of the Anglo-German Fellowship and had made low key visits to Nuremberg in 1936 (when he met Adolf Hitler – whom Stamp noted was a "statesman and demagogue combined").

He was remembered in an issue of 'Geography' in 1941

Image credit:
Josiah Charles Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp of Shortlands
by Lafayette
whole-plate film negative, 21 March 1930
NPG x70222
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Shared under CC license

 References
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah_Stamp,_1st_Baron_Stamp

I amended this entry to add his GA Presidency role, as I have with all the others who have Wikipedia pages. If anyone knows more about this interesting person's work while at the GA, please get in touch.

Bibliography: http://www.steamindex.com/people/stamp.htm

https://www.norwoodsociety.co.uk/articles/129-josiah-stamp-1st-baron-stamp.html

https://sydney.edu.au/secretariat/senate-committees/honorary-awards/Citations/Pre-2016/S/Citation_Sir_Josiah_Stamp.pdf - an Honorary degree from the University of Sydney

Remembrance: “LORD STAMP.” Geography, vol. 26, no. 2, 1941, pp. 87–87. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40562086.
Books - he wrote many - on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28%28Josiah+Stamp%2C+1st+Baron+Stamp%29%20OR%20%28%221880-1941%22%20AND%20Stamp%29%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29

Presidential Address:
STAMP, JOSIAH C. “GEOGRAPHY AND ECONOMIC THEORY.” Geography, vol. 22, no. 1, 1937, pp. 1–14. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40560061

Updated August 2021


Sir Josiah and Lady Stamp perform the opening ceremony of the new Sandilands esplanade in Saltcoats.

Preservation of this film supported by the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
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Sunday, 8 September 2019

1934: Rt. Hon Lord James Scorgie Meston

Last updated August 2023

When I started this blog post, I couldn't find a great deal about Lord Meston's geographical 'credentials', so had to do a little more digging than usual. 

We are moving into a period when the Presidents don't have Wikipedia pages which are as detailed in all cases as some of the earlier, or slightly later ones.

 I then came across a piece on the RSGS website, which gave me a way in to finding out more.

 Lord Meston was involved with Geography for many years it seems, particularly in Scotland, although there was still little about his time at the GA.

On 24th October 1934, the Royal Scottish Geographical Society celebrated its Golden Jubilee. The newspapers were full of the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of York, who were visiting the Society as representatives of its Patron, King George V.
In the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, RSGS members joined delegates from other scientific and geographical societies at an afternoon reception for 2,000 guests. This was the opening session of the Society’s Edinburgh branch, and the Duke of York had agreed to present some awards. Among the recipients were Isobel Wylie Hutchison, who was awarded the Mungo Park Medal for her explorations in the Arctic, and Lord Meston of Agra and Dunnottar, who received the Scottish Geographical Medal “for distinguished services to geography over a period of many years.” 

After the ceremony, Lord Meston, a statesman whose family hailed from Aberdeen, addressed the company on the subject of India.

Source: https://rsgs.org/the-kings-speech/

His interests were wide, and he was also the President of the Royal Statistical Society.
There was a strong connection with the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, which continued.

He received the Scottish Geographical Medal from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in 1934. This led me to a useful biography, and as an RSGS medal winner myself gave me a connection with Scorgie Meston.

Sir James Scorgie Meston. 1st Baron Meston KCSI, was a prominent British civil servant, financial expert and businessman. He served as Lieutenant-Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh from 1912 to 1918. He passed the Indian civil service examination in 1883 and was posted to the North-Western Provinces and Oudh in 1885 (which later became the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh), where he was director of land records between 1897 and 1899 and financial secretary to the government between 1899 and 1903. From 1905 to 1906 he briefly left India to act as an adviser to the Cape Colony and Transvaal governments in South Africa.

After his return to India in 1906, Meston was secretary to the finance department of the government of India until 1912, when he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. He remained in this position until 1918, when he became finance member of the Viceroy of India's executive council. In 1917, along with Sir Satyendra Prasanno Sinha and Maharaja Ganga Singh, he assisted the Secretary of State for India in representing India in the Imperial War Cabinet and Conference.
After the war, Meston, along with Lionel Curtis, was the main designer of the Institute of International Affairs, and served as chairman of its first governing body from 1920 to 1926, of its publications committee and of the editorial board of International Affairs. Apart from this, Meston was also vice-chairman of the Supervisory Commission of the League of Nations. He sat on the Liberal benches in the House of Lords and served as President of the Liberal Party organization. He was also involved in business and served as chairman and as a board member of several companies.

Meston was made a CSI in 1908 and a KCSI in 1911 and in 1919 he was further honoured when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Meston, of Agra in the Indian Empire and Dunottar in the County of Kincardine.
In 1935, he gave his Presidential Address, which was on 'The Geography of an Indian Village.' He had spent a considerable time involved in the administration of India.


In the Address, he described his travels in India, from the perspective of someone who had lived there for a long period.
He also suggested that, as Fairgrieve explained the following year, the object of the Association was to spread interest in the population about the subject through supporting teachers.
I could find little else about his time working for the GA, but then came across an obituary. See the Update.

Image from the National Portrait Gallery.
Image - shared under CC license
James Scorgie Meston, 1st Baron Meston
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 9 October 1923
NPG x122702
© National Portrait Gallery, London
A plaque with his name can be seen at Aberdeen University.

References
https://rsgs.org/the-kings-speech - link to medal ceremony at the RSGS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Meston,_1st_Baron_Meston - more details once I'd established the correct Lord Meston. Added his GA Presidency to the page.

“THE GEOGRAPHY OF AN INDIAN VILLAGE. ADDRESS TO THE GEOGRAPHICAL ASSOCIATION, By the Rt. Hon. BARON MESTON OF AGRA AND DUNOTTAR President, 1934-35.” Geography, vol. 20, no. 1, 1935, pp. 1–12. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40559216.

Obituary: G. F. S. “Lord Meston 1865-1943.” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, vol. 106, no. 3, 1943, pp. 294–296. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2979981.
I amended this entry to add his GA Presidential role and RSGS Medal award.

Some papers: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F42492

https://saalg.blogspot.com/2018/04/meston-formation-of-civil-servant.html

If anyone has further information on this President and his time at the GA please get in touch. This is quite a slight entry compared with some of the others.

 Update - late September

 “LORD MESTON.” Geography, vol. 28, no. 4, 1943, pp. 120–120. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40562330

Updated November 2020
Sir James Scorgie Meston succeeded Sir John Hewett as the Lieutenant Gov. of the United Provinces of Agra & Oudh in 1912. He was looked upon as progressive and was very keen on public constructive works.

This may not have been the view of those in the United Provinces at the time of course.

Updated August 2021



James Scorgie Meston, 1st Baron Meston

by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 9 October 1923
NPG x122705

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Updated August 2021


Updated August 2022

I came across this document with his Presidential Address in 1934 from the Scottish Educational Journal. It has been posted separately.


Updated August 2023

Wikipedia page

An image of his memorial is here, which provides further personal details.

He was appointed Secretary to the Finance Department, the Government of India in 1906 and, while holding that position was a temporary Finance Member of the Governor-General's Council and a member of the Imperial Legislative Council. Awarded the C.S.I. in 1908, he was knighted in 1911.
In 1912, he was made Lieut-Governor of the United Provinces and was in that post when the last World War began.
His wide knowledge of conditions in India led to his being summoned to London in 1917 and made representative for India in the Imperial War Cabinet.
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Thursday, 27 June 2019

1920: Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas KCMG, KCB

Updated August 2023

Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas, by Bassano Ltd - NPG x75124
Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas was announced as the new President of the Association in a piece published in 'The Geographical Teacher' in 1919.

"We have pleasure in announcing that Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas, K.C.M.G., K.C.B., has accepted the Presidency of the Association for 1920, and will deliver his PresidentiaĆ® Address on " Islands, Peninsulas and Empires " on Friday evening, January 9th, at the Day Training College, Southampton Row, London, W.C.1. 
Details will be announced shortly, and the meetings will be spread over January 9 and 10. Sir Charles Lucas is well known, both as a Colonial Administrator and as a student of Historical Geography. 

 He presided over the Geographical Section of the British Association at Adelaide in 1914, and his work for the Royal Colonial Institute during the War has strengthened that valuable organisation in many ways. His chief writings are the History of Canada."

Lucas was born in Brecon, Wales. He was educated at Winchester College and Balliol College, Oxford.
Lucas was called to the bar, in Lincoln's Inn, on 30 April 1885. He became a civil servant in the Colonial Office which led to his becoming head of the Dominion Department and, in 1907, to his knighthood.
He is one of a number of GA Presidents who came to the role following a distinguished career in Law or the Civil Service, or a Colonial administrator. Those years are perhaps gone now, and the 21st Century has moved more towards those with a closer connection to teacher education or academic geography.

His Presidential Address was on the theme of 'Islands, Peninsulas and Empires', and he also published other articles on the parts of the world which he knew the best. This was also a time when Presidential addresses sometimes focussed on particular parts of the world in detail - the era of the "expert" - Michael Gove would have hated it.

In his address, he discussed the significance of islands and peninsulas in geopolitics. He ended by saying "Perhaps air power may supersede both land and sea power."

In the same year, he produced a piece on 'The Place Names of Empire', which had been read at the Colonial Institute in April 1917.

He was thanked for his work in an issue of 'The Geographical Teacher', which he helped to produce.


His Obituary was published in the Times in 1931, outlining his work in a number of locations around the world, but not saying much about his time as President. 
He was serving on the GA's Council until his death, so remained actively involved with the GA.
He is described as a Civil Servant and Historian. 
He wrote about the Colonies.


References

Announcement in 'The Geographical Teacher': H.J.F. “[Editorial].” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 10, no. 3, 1919, pp. 77–79. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40555739.

 Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Prestwood_Lucas

I have amended the entry to add his GA Presidential role, as I have with all the Presidents who have Wikipedia pages.

Presidential Address: Lucas, Charles P. “Islands, Peninsulas and Empires.” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 10, no. 4, 1920, pp. 126–130. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40555032.

“SIR CHARLES PRESTWOOD LUCAS, K.C.B., K.C.M.G.” Geography, vol. 16, no. 2, 1931, pp. 153–153. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40557915.
Obituary in the Times:
 https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Times/1931/Obituary/Charles_Prestwood_Lucas

Image credit: National Portrait Gallery
CC Attribution:
Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate glass negative, 11 August 1920
NPG x75124© National Portrait Gallery, London

He wrote a History of Canada.

If anyone knows any further information about Sir Charles Prestwood Lucas please get in touch to help expand this entry as it is rather brief and I couldn't find much about what he did while President.

Update March 2023



Updated August 2023

He lived from 1853-1931.



Given the importance of decolonising the curriculum currently, it's also interesting that Prestwood Lucas wrote about the history of Jamaica as a colony, including this section on the Maroons.


Article in Scottish Geographical Magazine


Sir Charles P. Lucas K.C.B. K.C.M.G. (1914) Man as a geographical agency, Scottish Geographical Magazine, 30:9, 449-467, DOI: 10.1080/14702541408541564
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