Ronald Storrs

Ronald Storrs in Jerusalem, 1920

Sir Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs , KCMG , CBE (born November 19, 1881 in Bury St Edmunds , † November 1, 1955 in London ) was a British colonial official who served as Oriental Secretary in Cairo , as Governor of Jerusalem and as Governor of Cyprus and Northern Rhodesia served.

Life

King George Street in Jerusalem, inaugurated in 1924 in the presence of Ronald Storrs

Storrs was born to the Anglican priest John Storrs and educated at the Charterhouse School and Pembroke College at Cambridge University.

In 1904 he joined the Egyptian Treasury and a few years later he was appointed Oriental Secretary at the British Agency , the British administrative authority in occupied Egypt . In this capacity he served under the Consuls General and High Commissioners Gorst , Kitchener and McMahon and exercised a considerable influence on British politics in the Middle East during the First World War . He envisioned an Arab federation or a significantly expanded sultanate of Egypt under British leadership as a replacement for the Ottoman Empire. Not convinced of the Hashemite's claim to rule , he nevertheless supported the Arab revolt and brought its leader into contact with TE Lawrence .

After the conquest of Jerusalem in 1917 , he became the military governor of the city, succeeding the sick Neville Travers Borton , for which he was given the military rank of colonel . As such, he officiated until the arrival of the newly appointed High Commissioner Herbert Samuel in June 1920, then until 1926 as civil governor of Jerusalem and Judea. Together with Gilbert Clayton , General Allenby's political advisor and later Chief Secretary for Palestine, he advocated a narrow interpretation of the Balfour Declaration , which weighed Jewish and Arab interests against one another. Together with the architect Charles Robert Ashbee , he founded the Pro-Jerusalem Society in 1918 , which was dedicated to the preservation of the city's cultural heritage.

Storrs then served as governor of the Crown Colony of Cyprus from 1926 to 1932 . During this time there were riots directed against British rule in 1931. His last post in the colonial administration was from 1932 to 1934 the post of governor in Northern Rhodesia , after which he resigned from the service for health reasons.

In 1935, Storrs was one of the pallbearers at TE Lawrence's funeral. In 1937 he published his memoir. He served on London County Council from 1937 to 1945 and appeared on radio broadcasts for the Ministry of Information during World War II . He found his final resting place in the Pebmarsh cemetery .

Works

• Orientations (1937; online )
• Lawrence of Arabia, Zionism and Palestine (1940)

literature

• Middle East Politics & Diplomacy, 1904–1956: The Private Letters and Diaries of Sir Ronald Storrs (1881–1955) from Pembroke College, Cambridge. Adam Matthew Publications, 1999, ISBN 1-85711-152-4 .

Web links

Commons : Sir Ronald Henry Amherst Storrs  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

predecessor	Office	successor
Malcolm Stevenson	Governor of Cyprus 1926–1932	Reginald Edward Stubbs
James Crawford Maxwell	Governor of Northern Rhodesia 1932–1934	Hubert Winthrop Young