Bruce Greatbatch

Sir Bruce Greatbatch, KCVO, CMG, MBE, KStJ (10 June 1917 – 20 July 1989)^[1] was a British Colonial Service officer and soldier who concluded his career as Governor of the Seychelles from 1969 to 1973.

Sir Bruce Greatbatch KCVO CMG MBE KStJ
Sir Bruce Greatbatch in 1970
Governor of the Seychelles
In office 1969–1973
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Sir James Mancham
Preceded by	Sir Hugh Norman-Walker
Succeeded by	Colin Allan
Personal details
Born	(1917-06-10)10 June 1917
Died	20 July 1989(1989-07-20) (aged 72)
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University of Oxford
Civilian awards	Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Member of the Order of the British Empire
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	Royal West African Frontier Force
Years of service	1940–1945
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	Second World War
Military awards	Mentioned in Despatches

Early life

Greatbatch was born on 10 June 1917, the son of W. T. Greatbatch. He was educated at Malvern College and Brasenose College, Oxford.^[2]

CV

Education

• 1931 to 1936 Malvern College
• 1936 to 1940 Brasenose College, Oxford
• Honours degree in Modern History. Postgraduate Colonial Service Course.

Career

• 1939 Appointed Colonial Service – Northern Nigeria
• 1940 Posted To Northern Nigeria
• 1940-1945 War Service - Royal West African Frontier Force [Field Artillery]
• Burma Campaign. Mentioned in despatches. Rank - Major.
• 1945 Resumed Colonial Service in Northern Nigeria.
• 1952 to 1954 Private secretary to Minister of Local Government Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto
• 1956 to 1958 Secretary to Cabinet and Executive Council, Northern Nigeria.
• 1958 to 1959 Resident, Kano Province.
• 1959 to 1963 Permanent Secretary to the Premier of Northern Nigeria, (Sir) A Ahmadu Bello Sardauna of Sokoto, and Head of the Regional Public Service
• 1963 to 1968 Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service. Deputy High Commissioner to Kenya
• 1967 to 1968 Acting High Commissioner, Kenya
• 1969 to 1974 Governor of the Seychelles and Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

  

  Sir Bruce Greatbatch inspecting a police guard of honour on the Seychelles, 1972

• 1974 to 1978 Head of the British Development Division in the Caribbean in Barbados.
• 1978 onwards. Private consulting work including 1979 to 1980 advice on land transfer problems in Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Visit to Salisbury funded by the Whitson Foundation.

Chagos

In the mid-1960s, the British government was requested and agreed to allow the United States government to have a military base on Diego Garcia.^[3] The agreement included the expulsion of the local population. About half of the islanders left as plantations were closed. In 1969 Sir Bruce was appointed Governor of The Seychelles and Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory. He oversaw the deportation of the remaining population. Foreign office memos show that he initially refused to use force and strongly recommended a resettlement scheme rather than the planned compensation which he said would not work for the long term. The British government changed its law in order to enforce expulsion and no resettlement scheme was introduced.

Honours

• Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE, 1954)^[2]
• Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO, 1956)^[2]
• Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG, 1961)^[2]
• Knight Bachelor (1969)^[2]
• Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO, 1972)^[2]