Major William Edmund Willoughby-Tottenham (died 22 August 1962) was British army major and later a politician in Fiji, where he served as a member of the Legislative Council in two spells between 1922 and 1937.
William Edmund Willoughby-Tottenham | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Legislative Council | |
| In office 1922–1923 | |
| Preceded by | Herbert Valentine Tarte |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Hallam Roberts |
| Constituency | Vanua Levu & Taveuni |
| In office 1926–1937 | |
| Preceded by | Arthur Hallam Roberts |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Constituency | Vanua Levu & Taveuni |
| Personal details | |
| Died | Suva, Fiji 22 August 1962 |
Biography
editWilloughby-Tottenham fought in both the Second Boer War and World War I.[1] He moved to Fiji after World War I and became a planter in Savusavu.[2] In 1920 he married Mabel Attenborough, who was later awarded an MBE for her work on social services.[3]
After moving to Fiji, Willoughby-Tottenham successfully contested the Vanua Levu & Taveuni seat on the Legislative Council in a 1922 by-election.[4] Although he was defeated by Arthur Hallam Roberts by two votes in the general elections the following year, he returned to the Legislative Council after winning the seat in the 1926 elections. He was subsequently re-elected in 1929 and 1932.
The Legislative Council was reorganised prior to the 1937 elections, with the number of elected European seats reduced from five to three. Willoughby-Tottenham ran in the Eastern constituency, but was defeated by Harold Brockett Gibson. He later unsuccessfully challenged Gibson in the 1940 and 1953 elections.
Outside politics, Willoughby-Tottenham was president of the Fijian St John Ambulance Association and owned the Hot Springs Hotel in Savusavu together with 210 acres of land.[5] He later sold his holdings to Sathi Narain.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b Major W.E. Willoughby-Tottenham Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1962, p153
- ^ Four Hundred Capitalists The Shannon News, 15 February 1924
- ^ Parish pump Uckfield - September 19, 2014 Sussex Express, 19 September 2014
- ^ Fiji Blue Book for the Year 1922, p83
- ^ Philip Snow (1997) Years of Hope: Cambridge, Colonial Administrator in the South Seas, and Cricket, p287
- ^ Satya Colpani (1996) Beyond the Black Waters: A Memoir of Sir Sathi Narain, pp58–59