Gordon Guggisberg
Encyclopedia
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, (20 July 1869 - 21 April 1930), soldier and administrator, was born in Galt, Ontario, Canada, a second-generation descendant of an immigrant from Uetendorf, Canton Bern, Switzerland, the eldest son of Frederick Guggisberg, retail-goods merchant, of Galt, by his wife, Dora Louisa Willson. Guggisberg published a number of works on military topics and Africa.
Moving to England about 1879, Guggisberg was educated at Burney's School, near Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
; entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in 1887, and was commissioned in the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
in 1889. He served in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
from 1893 to 1896, and became instructor in fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
in 1897, where he distinguished himself by reforming the methods and syllabus of instruction. In 1900 he published The Shop: The Story of the Royal Military Academy, and, under the pseudonym "Ubique", Modern Warfare, in 1903.
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
on a special survey of the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
Colony and Ashanti, and in 1905 was appointed director of surveys in that colony. In 1908 he returned to Chatham
Chatham, Medway
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
for regimental work: but in 1910 was appointed director of surveys in Southern Nigeria.
Nigeria gave him full scope for his energies and organizational skills, and he compiled The Handbook of the Southern Nigeria Survey (1911) for the guidance of his assistants. Of this work the director-general of the ordnance survey wrote: The duties of all members of the staff were strictly defined and, in particular, sensible rules were laid down as to the relations of the staff with the civil administration. Much attention was paid to the treatment of villagers; unpaid labour was forbidden; all goods bought were to be paid for at the recognized rate, and great care was to be exercised not to damage the crops... They were model instructions and the survey of Nigeria was a model survey.
On the union of Southern Nigeria and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate
Northern Nigeria Protectorate
Northern Nigeria was a British protectorate formed in 1900. The basis of the protectorate was the 1885 Treaty of Berlin which broadly granted Northern Nigeria to Britain, on the basis of their protectorates in Southern Nigeria...
in 1913, Guggisberg was appointed surveyor-general of Nigeria. In 1914 he was appointed director of public works on the Gold Coast, but he rejoined the army on the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He commanded the 94th field company, Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, from 1915 to 1916, and was in command of the Royal Engineers in the 8th division during the battle of the Somme (July 1916), and in the 66th division from November 1916. He was brigadier-general commanding the 170th infantry brigade 1917-1918, assistant-inspector-general of training, general headquarters, France, in 1918; and in command of the 100th infantry brigade in 1918. He was mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
five times, and was awarded the D.S.O.
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(1918).
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
's Korle Bu Teaching Hospital
Korle Bu Teaching Hospital
The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is the premier health care facility in Ghana. It is the only tertiary hospital in the southern part of Ghana and it is also a teaching hospital affiliated with the medical school of the University of Ghana...
, the finest and most modern institution of its kind in colonial Africa at the time. During his time in the Gold Coast, as during his time in Nigeria, Guggisberg was lucky to be able to benefit from the advice of the geologist Albert Ernest Kitson
Albert Ernest Kitson
Sir Albert Ernest Kitson KBE, CMG was a British/Australian geologist and naturalist, winner of the Lyell Medal in 1927.-Early life:...
, who took a keen interest in developing local infrastructures.
Close association with native Africans during his survey work convinced Guggisberg that the African races are capable of eventually attaining the development levels of Europe. Toward the close of his life he wrote: "My practical experience... during the last twenty-seven years has convinced me that what individuals have achieved, in spite of ill-selected systems of education, can be achieved by the race generally, provided we alter our educational methods". In order to carry out that purpose he founded Achimota College for the training of native teachers and instructors; it was to become the largest and most complete establishment for the education of native Africans.
The aim of Guggisberg's policy was the development of the country by and for the natives rather than for the benefit of European capitalists. In 1928 Guggisberg was appointed governor and commander-in-chief of British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
, but owing to failing health he was obliged to leave the colony in 1929, and soon afterwards resigned the appointment. He introduced drastic administrative reforms and devoted himself energetically to the problems of maintaining and improving the system of drainage and irrigation upon which the sugar and rice cultivation of the colony depended. He also promoted immigration and peasant settlement and the development of the production and marketing of rice. These activities were cut short by his illness and resignation in 1929. He died at Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea is a town and seaside resort in the county of East Sussex, in the south of England, within the District of Rother. It has a population of approximately 40,000...
at the age of 60.
During his last illness Guggisberg addressed to his personal friends a remarkable letter setting forth the aims which he had had in view in his administrative work in British Guiana, his confidence in divine guidance and in the spirit of Christianity, and his hope of being able to return to Africa "to try to do some more work for the African races.... As you know", he concluded, "my heart is in Africa, and I believe that away from the trammels of the Colonial Office, there is opportunity for me to do something useful both for the Empire and for the natives of Africa."
Guggisberg was a tall and athletic figure, as a young man very handsome, and always of impressive and dignified presence. His personality was attractive and inspiring. He was for some years captain of the Royal Engineers' cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
eleven, and was a fine player of polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
, racquets
Racquets
Racquets may refer to:* The plural of Racquet, a piece of sporting equipment* Racquets , an indoor sport using long wooden racquets and a small, hard ball...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, and football. He was created C.M.G.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
in 1908, and K.C.M.G. in 1922, and was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1917.
Guggisberg was twice married:
- on 20 September 1895 in Trichinopoly, Madras Presidency, South India, he married Ethel Emily Hamilton Way, daughter of Colonel Wilfred FitzAlan Way, of the Northumberland Fusiliers, whom he divorced in 1904 and by whom he had three daughters
- on 15 August 1905 in Staines to (Lilian) Decima MooreDecima MooreLilian Decima, Lady Moore-Guggisberg, CBE , better known by her stage name Decima Moore, was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and in musical comedies. She was the youngest of ten siblings...
, the actress, daughter of Edward Henry Moore, of Brighton, county analyst. She accompanied him on his survey journeys, and their joint book, We Two in West Africa (1909), is an interesting study of a transitional phase in West African development.
In 1973 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the construction of Korle-Bu Hospital in Accra, the Ghanaian government honoured Guggisberg with the erection of a large statue, a rare tribute paid by a post-colonial government to one of its colonial governors.