Aubrey Denzil Forsyth-Thompson
Aubrey Denzil Forsyth-Thompson, CMG, CVO, CBE (3 October 1897 – 13 June 1982) was a Colony of Natal-born British colonial administrator who served as British Resident Commissioner in Bechuanaland and Basutoland.
Life and career
[edit]The son of Ernest Alfred Thompson, Aubrey Denzil Forsyth-Thompson was born in Natal and grew up on a farm in the Mooi Riverarea.[1] He was educated at Weenan County College in Mooi River, which his parents founded and where they taught.[1][2] In 1917, he went to England to join the British Army, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery, seeing combat in France.[1][3]
In 1919, he left the Army and went to New College, Oxford, to study for a shortened degree in Modern History, graduating BA in 1920.[4]
Forsyth-Thompson joined the British Colonial Service in 1921, and was posted to Uganda. In 1937, he was transferred to the Bechuanaland Protectorate as Assistant Resident Commissioner and Government Secretary, and in 1942 he was promoted to Resident Commissioner for Bechuanaland. In 1946, he was transferred to Basutoland as Resident Commissioner. He retired in 1951.[4] He was appointed CBE in 1941,[5] CMG in 1944, and CVO in 1947.
Family
[edit]Forsyth-Thompson married Kathleen Esther Murray in 1942; they had three children, all born in Uganda.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Forsyth-Thompson, Aubrey Denzil / Papers". University of KwaZulu-Natal. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021.
- ^ "Obituary: E. A. Thompson". Ostrich. 4 (1): 39–42. May 1933. doi:10.1080/00306525.1933.9632772.
- ^ "No. 30385". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 16 November 1917. p. 11913.
- ^ a b "Forsyth-Thompson, Aubrey Denzil". Who's Who & Who Was Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "No. 35184". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 6 June 1941. p. 3293.
- 1897 births
- 1982 deaths
- Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Commissioners of the Bechuanaland Protectorate
- Alumni of New College, Oxford
- Royal Field Artillery officers
- British Army personnel of World War I
- People from Natal
- South African Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
- South African Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order
- South African Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Bechuanaland Protectorate people
- Resident Commissioners in Basutoland
- Colonial Administrative Service officers