William Jervois

Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois , GCMG , CB (born September 10, 1821 in Cowes , Isle of Wight , † August 17, 1897 in Bitterne, Hampshire ) was a British military engineer and governor of the Straits Settlements , South Australia and New Zealand .

Jervois joined the British Army in 1839 and trained with the Royal Engineers . After serving in South Africa , he became an expert in land-based fortifications to protect against attacks from the sea. He suggested several options for a defensive ring around London .

In 1864 and 1865 he checked the fortifications in Canada . His report stated that the Great Lakes and Upper Canada area could not be defended and led to fierce political controversy.

In 1866 he toured the Mediterranean region ( Malta , Gibraltar , Aden ) and India and Burma until 1873 with the same assignment . His report from 1866 led to the expansion of the fortifications on Malta.

Jervois noted a dependency between the security of England and the colonies. He criticized the fact that the British defense efforts were primarily aimed at the security of England and neglected the colonies, noted a loss of mobility and range of the Royal Navy that began with the transition to steamships and suggested the construction of coal stations protected by fortifications at strategically important points in front.

After British troops withdrew from Australia in 1870, Jervois and Lt. Col. Peter Scratchley were appointed as defense advisers by a group of colonies. A review of the colonies resulted in the Jervois-Scratchley reports of 1877. Jervois and Scratchley also recommended the construction of fortifications here. The reports served as the basis for defense planning in Australia and New Zealand for the next 30 years.

Jervois was Governor General of the British Crown Colonies of the Straits Settlements (Penang, Malacca and Singapore) in Singapore from May 1875 to April 1877, Governor of South Australia from October 1877 to January 1883, and Governor of New Zealand from January 1883 to March 1889 .

literature

Donald M. Schurman , John F. Beeler : Imperial Defense, 1868-1887 (= Cass Series: Naval Policy and History ). Routledge , 2000, ISBN 978-0-7146-5006-7 (English).

Web links

Ian McGibbon : Jervois, William Francis Drummond . In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , September 1, 2010, accessed August 19, 2012 .
Jervois, Sir William Francis Drummond . Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online,accessed August 19, 2012.
Carl Benn : Toronto Harbor and the Defense of the Great Lakes Region, 1783-1870 . (PDF 618 kB) Canadian Nautical Research Society , accessed on September 3, 2018 .
The North West Front . Malty Military, archived from the original onNovember 21, 2015; accessed on September 3, 2018(English, original website no longer available).

Individual evidence

^ Defenses of Canada - Reports of Colonel Jervois . UK Parliament , February 20, 1865, accessed September 3, 2018 .
↑ Schurman, Beeler : Imperial Defense, 1868–1887 . 2000, p. 33 f .

predecessor	Office	successor
Andrew Clarke	Governor of the Straits Settlements 1875–1877	Edward Anson
Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Baron Stanmore	Governor of New Zealand 1883–1889	William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow

personal data
SURNAME	Jervois, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Jervois, William Francis Drummond
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British Colonial Administrator
DATE OF BIRTH	September 10, 1821
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cowes , Isle of Wight
DATE OF DEATH	17th August 1897
Place of death	Bitter, Hampshire

[UK_Parliament_1865_02_20-1] Defenses of Canada - Reports of Colonel Jervois . UK Parliament , February 20, 1865, accessed September 3, 2018 .

[Schurman_Beeler_S33f-2] Schurman, Beeler : Imperial Defense, 1868–1887 . 2000, p. 33 f .