Sir Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott, KCMG (20 August 1857 – 9 April 1941) was a British colonial administrator who was in turn governor of the British Seychelles, British Honduras, British Leeward Islands and British Fiji.
Sir Bickham Sweet-Escott | |
|---|---|
 Sweet-Escott in 1924 | |
| 3rd Administrator of the Seychelles | |
| In office August 1899 – November 1903 | |
| Preceded by | Henry Cockburn Stewart |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as Governor) |
| 1st Governor of the Seychelles | |
| In office November 1903 – 1904 | |
| Monarch | Edward VII |
| Preceded by | Himself (as Administrator) |
| Succeeded by | Walter Edward Davidson |
| 4th Governor of British Honduras | |
| In office 15 April 1904 – 1906 | |
| Monarch | Edward VII |
| Preceded by | David Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Eric John Eagles Swayne |
| 34th Governor of the Leeward Islands | |
| In office 1906–1912 | |
| Preceded by | Clement Courtenay Knollys |
| Succeeded by | Henry Hesketh Bell |
| 9th High Commissioner for the Western Pacific | |
| In office 25 July 1912 – 10 October 1918 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Henry May |
| Succeeded by | Cecil Hunter-Rodwell |
| 10th Governor of Fiji | |
| In office 25 July 1912 – 10 October 1918 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Henry May |
| Succeeded by | Cecil Hunter-Rodwell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 August 1857 Bath, Somerset, England |
| Died | 9 April 1941 (aged 83) Worthing,[1] England |
| Spouse(s) |
Mary Jane Hunt, Lady Sweet-Escott
(m. 1881) |
Early years
editSweet-Escott was born at Bath, the fifth son of the Rev. Hay Sweet-Escott, headmaster of Somersetshire College, Bath, and Rector of Kilve, Somerset, by his wife Eliza, daughter of Rev. John Coombes Collins, Vicar of St John's Bridgwater.[2] He was educated at the Royal Somersetshire College, Bath, Bromsgrove School[3] and Balliol College, Oxford. From 1881 he was professor of classics at the Royal College of Mauritius.[4]
In 1886 he became assistant colonial secretary at Mauritius and was promoted in 1889 to acting colonial secretary. His next posting was in British Honduras from May 1893 until September 1898 when he returned to take up a post as acting government clerk at the Colonial Office.[5]
Colonial administrator
editSweet-Escott then became administrator of the Seychelles in June 1899 and then Governor of the Seychelles when the post was created from 1903 to 1904.[6] He was knighted in 1904 and became Governor of British Honduras from 15 April 1904 to 13 August 1906.[7] From 1906 until 1912 he was Governor of the Leeward Islands.[8]
Sweet-Escott became Governor of Fiji on 25 July 1912 and was also High Commissioner and Consul General for the West Pacific region. During World War I a German squadron under Maximilian von Spee was a day away from Fiji. Sweet-Escott wired a message to the Australian fleet, then 2000 miles away, which the Germans intercepted and von Spee was convinced that he was heading for a trap, turned away and laughed at the "fool of a governor for giving the show away".[8] Sweet-Escott's term of office ended on 10 October 1918.
Miscellaneous
editSweet-Escott instituted the Escott Shield as a rugby trophy in 1913, which was first won by the Pacific Club.[9]
Sweet-Escott married Mary Jane Hunt on 14 December 1881 and had five children.[4]
Sweet-Escott was appointed a Order of St Michael and St George in the 1895 Birthday Honours,[10] and a Knight Companion of the Order in the 1904 Birthday Honours.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ British Census 1881 RG11 3060/122 p. 29
- ^ Alfred Edward Housman, Archie Burnett: The Letters of A.E. Housman, p. 272.
- ^ a b SWEET-ESCOTT Sir Ernest Bickham 1857–1941 Archived 21 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "No. 26934". The London Gazette. 1 February 1898. p. 588.
- ^ "Seychelles". Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). - ^ Rulers. Countries Ba-Bo. rulers.org
- ^ a b "Sweet-Escott v. Von Spee". Time 5 January 1931
- ^ "History". Fiji Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 30 March 2008.
- ^ "No. 26628". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 May 1899. p. 3080.
- ^ "No. 27732". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 November 1904. p. 7255.