Synopses & Reviews
The District Officer (DO) was the pivot of Britain's Colonial Administration throughout the Empire. In the eyes of many, the DO was the government. But who were these men, called to serve in a position of such extraordinary breadth and endless generality? This is a fascinating look at this unique job through the eyes of those who undertook it. Written by a leading imperial scholar and former DO, Anthony Kirk-Greene, the book will be an essential reference for scholars of imperial history.
Review
"This is a wonderful book, a full and illuminating survey of the work of the District Officer in Africa but it also establishes the DO's mystique in political thought and literary imagination."--Wm. Roger Louis, University of Texas
Synopsis
The district officer (DO) was the pivot of the British Colonial Administration throughout the British Empire, as was his counterpart in India. The DO was both administrator and magistrate; he was also the essential link with the professional and technical services and with the indigenous population - the 600 million people they served - in an empire of service rather than domination. In this book, Anthony Kirk-Greene, who was himself a distinguished member of the Nigeria Service, draws upon personal memoirs, diaries, private and official papers, and his own experience, to paint a vivid picture of the service and a never-to-be-repeated episode in British history.
Synopsis
The district officer - the D.O. - was the pivot of the British Colonial Administration throughout the British Empire, as was his counterpart in India - immortalized in Philip Woodruff's The Men who Ruled India. The D.O. who was both administrator and magistrate and the essential link with the professional and technical services and essentially, with the indigenous population - the 600,000,000 people they served - in an empire of service rather than domination. In this book, Anthony Kirk-Greene, who was himself a distinguished member of the Nigeria Service, draws upon personal memoirs, diaries, private and official papers, and his own experience, to paint a vivid picture of the service and a never-to-be-repeated episode in British history.
About the Author
Anthony Kirk-Greene is Emeritus Fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford, and is the author of Glimpses of Empire: a Corona Anthology (I.B.Tauris).
Table of Contents
Abbreviations * Foreword by J.H. Smith, CBE. * Introduction * Stepping Stones * The Colonial Administrative Service: Chronology and Context * Towards a Colonial Service Career * Training for the Colonial Service * The Heart of the Matter * First Tour * The Day's Work: In Station * The Day's Work: On Tour * The Day's Work: The Secretariat * After the Day's Work * Through Female Eyes * All Change * The District Officer and Decolonization * Looking Back: the Image and the Memory of the DO * The Image of the DO in the Colonial Novel * Bibliography * Index