Talk:Governor of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands

Complete list

• From https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Kiribati.htm

Resident Commissioners

• Oct 1893 - Nov 1895 Charles Richard Swayne (b. 1843 - d. 1921)
• Nov 1895 - Jun 1903 William Telfer Campbell (1st time) (b. 1863 - d. 1929)
• Jun 1903 - Apr 1904 R.H. Cogswell (1st time)(acting)
• Apr 1904 - Jan 1907 William Telfer Campbell (2nd time)
• Jan 1907 - Apr 1907 R.H. Cogswell (2nd time)(acting)
• Apr 1907 - Jan 1909 William Telfer Campbell (3rd time)
• Jan 1909 - Jun 1909 Arthur William Mahaffy (acting) (b. 1866 - d. 1919)
• Jun 1909 - Sep 1909 R.H. Cogswell (3rd time)(acting)
• Sep 1909 - Feb 1913 John Quayle-Dickson (b. 1860 - d. 1945)
• Feb 1913 - Oct 1913 George McGhee Murdoch (acting) (b. 1857 - d. 19..)
• Oct 1913 - Sep 1915 Edward Carlyon Eliot (1st time) (b. 1879 - d. 1940)
• Sep 1915 - Dec 1915 Charles H. Workman (1st time)

                            (acting)

• Dec 1915 - May 1916 Edward Carlyon Eliot (2nd time)
• May 1916 - Jan 1917 Charles H. Workman (2nd time)

                            (acting)

• Jan 1917 - May 1918 Edward Carlyon Eliot (3rd time)
• May 1918 - Sep 1918 S.F. Anderson (1st time)(acting)
• Sep 1918 - May 1919 Edward Carlyon Eliot (4th time)
• May 1919 - Nov 1919 Charles Robert Keyte (acting) (b. 1883 - d. 19..)
• Nov 1919 - Apr 1920 Edward Carlyon Eliot (5th time)
• Apr 1920 - Jul 1920 Arthur Francis Grimble (1st time) (b. 1888 - d. 1956)
• Jul 1920 - May 1921 Thomas Dundas Hope Bruce (acting) (b. 1885 - d. 1940)
• May 1921 - Sep 1921 S.F. Anderson (2nd time)(acting)
• Sep 1921 - Jan 1922 William Thomas Lockhart Bentley (b. 1890 - d. 19..)

                            (acting)

• Jan 1922 - Feb 1922 Arthur Francis Grimble (2nd time)

                            (acting)

• Feb 1922 - 1 Jan 1926 Herbert Reginald McClure (b. 1883 - d. 1926)
• Oct 1925 - 1933 Arthur Francis Grimble

                            (acting to Jan 1926)

• Aug 1932 - Dec 1933 Charles A. Swinbourne (b. 1884 - d. 1956)

                            (acting for Gimble) 

• 3 Dec 1933 - 19 Dec 1941 Jack Charles Barley (b. 1887 - d. 1956)

Japanese Commanders

• 9 Dec 1941 - 1942 Shigetoshi Miyazaki (b. 1897 - d. 1942)
• 1942 - 17 Aug 1942 Kyuzaburo Kanemitsu (d. 1942)
• Sep 1942 - 22 Feb 1943 Keisuke Matsuo (b. 1890? - d. 1943)
• 22 Feb 1943 - Jul 1943 Saichirō Tomonari (b. 1887 - d. 1962)
• Sep 1943 - 20 Nov 1943 Keiji Shibazaki (b. 1894 - d. 1943)

Resident Commissioners

• Mar 1942 - Aug 1942 S.G. Clarke (acting)
• Aug 1942 - Nov 1945 Vivian Fox-Strangways (b. 1898 - d. 1974)
• Dec 1941 - Aug 1942 Cyril George Fox Cartwright (b. 1920 - d. 1943) (acting for Fox-Strangways)
• 18 Dec 1943 - 1 Oct 1944 Carl Henry Jones (b. 1893 - d. 1958) (U.S. commander Gilbert Islands Subarea)
• Nov 1945 - Jan 1946 Henry Evans Maude (1st time) (b. 1906 - d. 2006) (acting)
• Jan 1946 - Oct 1946 David Curtiss Innes Wernham (b. 1912 - d. ....) (acting)
• Oct 1946 - Dec 1948 Henry Evans Maude (2nd time) (acting to Dec 1946)
• Dec 1948 - Feb 1949 Robert James Keegan (acting) (b. 1901 - d. 19..)
• Feb 1949 - Feb 1952 William John Peel (b. 1912 - d. 2004)
• Feb 1952 - 5 Aug 1952 Brian Cuthbert Cartland (1st time) (b. 1913 - d. ....) (acting)
• 5 Aug 1952 - Nov 1953 Michael Louis Bernacchi (1st time) (b. 1911 - d. 1983)
• Nov 1953 - Mar 1954 Brian Cuthbert Cartland (2nd time) (acting)
• Mar 1954 - Aug 1955 Michael Louis Bernacchi (2nd time)
• Aug 1955 - May 1956 Frederick Nigel Molière Pusinelli (b. 1919 - d. 2010) (1st time)(acting)
• May 1956 - Nov 1956 Michael Louis Bernacchi (3rd time)
• Nov 1956 - Jul 1957 Frederick Nigel Molière Pusinelli (2nd time)(acting)
• Jul 1957 - Apr 1959 Michael Louis Bernacchi (4th time)
• Apr 1959 - Sep 1959 Roy Davies (1st time)(acting) (b. 1922? - d. 1982)
• Sep 1959 - Oct 1961 Michael Louis Bernacchi (5th time)
• Oct 1961 - Apr 1962 Roy Davies (2nd time)(acting)
• Apr 1962 - Jun 1964 Valdemar Jens Andersen (1st time) (b. 1919 - d. 2004)
• Jun 1964 - Oct 1964 Richard Angeloni (acting) (b. 1920 - d. 2018)
• Oct 1964 - Nov 1966 Valdemar Jens Andersen (2nd time)
• Nov 1966 - Mar 1967 Michael M. Townsend (acting) (b. 1920 - d. 2015)
• Mar 1967 - Jun 1969 Valdemar Jens Andersen (3rd time)
• Jun 1969 - Jan 1970 Derek George Cudmore (acting) (b. 1923 - d. 1981)
• Jan 1970 - 31 Dec 1971 Sir John Osbaldiston Field (b. 1913 - d. 1985)

Governors

• 1 Jan 1972 - Apr 1973 Sir John Osbaldiston Field
• 23 Jul 1973 - 1978 John Hilary Smith (b. 1928)
• 10 May 1978 - 12 Jul 1979 Reginald James Wallace (b. 1919 - d. 2012)

Presidents (title Beretitenti)

• 12 Jul 1979 - 10 Dec 1982 Ieremia Tienang Tabai (1st time) (b. 1950)

Reliable sources

I assume this list is from rulers.org? I'm not sure that is a reliable site (during the course of my research I have found it contains numerous errors, particularly for term start/end dates). It's been mentioned a couple of times at WP:RSN: this one recommended avoiding it if possible. The list on the article is from the Henige book.

I also assume many of the "acting" RCs listed above were simply people who deputised while the RC was abroad, so not sure whether they are really worth listing? Number 57 17:48, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

Ah, I see it's from WorldStatemen.org. This is definitely not a reliable source (per this and this). Number 57 17:55, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

ok. Worldstatesman.org should not always be the perfect one. But what about the British Museum? I have checked this list, one by one, and found some minor discrepancies. But it appears that for Swayne it is the good version, confirmed by THE PRECEDENCE OF TARAWA ATOLL by H.E. Maude and Edwin Jr. Doran, First published: June 1966. [1] -Arorae (talk) 18:30, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

There are a few other sources with the 1901 date: Pacific Islands Year Book and The British Empire: An Encyclopedia of the Crown's Holdings. The British Museum is undoubtedly reliable, but the Henige and PIYB sources are specifcally lists of the terms of RCs, which I think should probably be given more weight. While the Maude and Doran book is also reliable, and I see there are a few others with the 1895 date, this official publication by the British Government, also gives the 1901 date...

Re his start date, it may well be the case that he was appointed in 1892 but arrived in 1893 – this doesn't seem to be an uncommon state of affairs from my reading over the last few years. Number 57 18:52, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

”he [Campbell] resigned two years later [after December 1893] on being offered the Residency of the Gilbert and Ellice.” Cinderellas of the Empire (Barrie Macdonald).…-Arorae (talk) 18:56, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

Reply to « date... Re his start date, it may well be the case that he was appointed in 1892 but arrived in 1893 – this doesn't seem to be an uncommon state of affairs from my reading over the last few years. User:Number 57»:

he was appointed in 1892. Arrived in 1892 on the Ellice Islands and fixed headquarters in Gilberts in 1893. Not uncommon but more precise. I only like precision and facts.-Arorae (talk) 19:00, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

What gives you certainty that your sources are "more reliable", especially considering the British Government one?

I am quite happy to have this discussion and have my mind changed, but you cannot continue reverting until consensus has been reached to make the change. Please stop your habit of hitting the undo button – this only serves to piss people off. Thanks, Number 57 19:45, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

and on 1 Oct 1898, Swayne was already Stipendiary Magistrate in Rewa, Fiji [2] no more a RC.-Arorae (talk) 19:50, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

« What gives you certainty that your sources are "more reliable", especially considering the British Government one?»: I have no certainty. Never ! As an Historian even the very good books are filled with errors and false interpretations. And sometimes big ones. When I read the Precedence of Tarawa by H.E. Maude and al., the choice of Tarawa as the headquarters of the Gilberts had questioned me. Swayne made this choice in 1895 and then returned to Fiji with another position. Of course Maude could fail and may mistake, but the very last papers sent by Swayne to Fiji are dated of 1895. And Campbell was the RC in Dec 1895. But of course, I could be wrong.-Arorae (talk) 19:58, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

Tuvalu. A History gives the same period. [3].-Arorae (talk) 20:09, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

Alterations in spelling adopted by the Roman Catholic Mission. From: Swayne, British Resident C. R., at Suva, Fiji.. WPHC 4/IV: Inwards correspondence, 1895., MSS & Archives.2003/1.WPHC 4/IV.1895. File 393/1895. Special Collections, The University of Auckland. https://archives.library.auckland.ac.nz/repositories/2/archival_objects/116412 Accessed July 27, 2020. — confirms to my humble point of view that Swayne was back in Fiji at the very end of 1895, replaced already by Campbell.-Arorae (talk) 20:27, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

Fair enough, on the balance of things, it looks like 1895 is correct. Please add one of the other sources to the table though – as it stands, if anyone checks the only source listed, they will find contradictory information. Cheers, Number 57 21:35, 26 July 2020 (UTC)

ulteriorly confirmed by Barrie Macdonald (May 1971) Policy and Practice in an Atoll Territory: British Rule in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, 1892-1970, Canberra, ANU (online) that confirms the RC mandates.-Arorae (talk) 19:16, 28 July 2020 (UTC)