Arthur Grimble

Sir Arthur Grimble KCMG
Governor of the Windward Islands
In office18 May 1942 – 1948
Monarch	George VI
Preceded by	Sir Henry Bradshaw Popham
Succeeded by	Brigadier Sir Robert Arundell
Governor of the Seychelles
In office1936 – 5 January 1942
Monarchs	Edward VIIIGeorge VI
Preceded by	Sir Gordon Lethem
Succeeded by	William Marston Logan
Administrator of Saint Vincent
In office1933–1936
Monarchs	George VEdward VIII
Preceded by	Herbert Walter Peebles
Succeeded by	Arthur Alban Wright
Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands
In office1 January 1925 – December 1933
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	Herbert Reginald McClure
Succeeded by	Jack Barley
In officeApril 1919 – February 1922 acting
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	Edward Carlyon Eliot
Succeeded by	Herbert Reginald McClure
Personal details
Born	(1888-06-11)11 June 1888 British Hong Kong
Died	13 December 1956(1956-12-13) (aged 68) London
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Occupation	Colonial Service
Writing career
Notable works	A Pattern of Islands

Sir Arthur Francis Grimble, KCMG (11 June 1888 – 13 December 1956) was a British Colonial Service administrator and writer.

Biography

Grimble was educated at Chigwell School and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He then went to France and Germany for postgraduate studies. After joining the Colonial Office in 1914 he became the very first cadet administrative officer in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. From April 1919 he acted as the Resident Commissioner until Herbert Reginald McClure took up his appointment as Resident Commissioner. In 1925 Grimble succeeded McClure as Resident Commissioner. He learned the Gilbertese language, and became a specialist in the myths and oral traditions of the Kiribati people. He remained in the islands until 1933. He has been the source of many people's impressions of the islands through his radio broadcast on BBC in the 1950s and his bestselling book A Pattern of Islands.

Grimble later served as Administrator and Colonial Secretary of St Vincent from 1933,^[1] Governor of the Seychelles (1936–1942)^[2] and as Governor of the Windward Islands (1942–1948).^[3]

Grimble was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1930 New Year Honours,^[4] and promoted to Knight Commander of the Order (KCMG) in the 1938 New Year Honours.^[5]

He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Windward Islands Battalion in 1944.^[6]

Literary career

After retiring and moving to Britain in 1948 Grimble became a writer and broadcaster. He wrote A Pattern of Islands (London, John Murray 1952, published in the United States as We Chose the Islands) and Return to the Islands (1957), both of which were bestsellers. Pacific Destiny, a film based on his experiences, was released in 1956.^[7] Grimble's scholarly work on Gilbertese culture is covered in Henry Evans Maude's book Tungaru Traditions: Writings on the Atoll Culture of the Gilbert Islands (Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1989, ISBN 0-8248-1217-4).

Arms of the Gilbert & Ellice Islands on a stamp

Heraldic artist

In 1931 Grimble designed the coat of arms of the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, which was granted in 1937. The design has been retained for the flag of Kiribati.

References

1. "No. 33954". The London Gazette. 27 June 1933. p. 4298.
2. "No. 34272". The London Gazette. 7 April 1936. p. 2280.
3. "No. 35498". The London Gazette. 24 March 1942. p. 1331.
4. "No. 33677". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1929. p. 4.
5. "No. 34469". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1937. p. 5.
6. "No. 36388". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 February 1944. p. 885.
7. "Adrian Seligman". The Telegraph. 21 August 2003. Retrieved 29 March 2017.

External links

• Works by Arthur Francis Grimble at Faded Page (Canada)