Geoffry Northcote

Sir Geoffry Alexander Stafford Northcote, KCMG KStJ (羅富國;9 February 1881 – 10 July 1948)^[1][2] was a British colonial administrator.

Sir Geoffry Northcote KCMG KStJ
20th Governor of Hong Kong
In office 28 October 1937 – 6 September 1941
Monarch	George VI
Colonial Secretary	Norman Lockhart Smith
Preceded by	Sir Andrew Caldecott
Succeeded by	Sir Mark Aitchison Young
Personal details
Born	Geoffry Alexander Stafford Northcote[1] (1881-02-09)9 February 1881
Died	10 July 1948(1948-07-10) (aged 67) Sanderstead, Surrey, England
Spouse	Edith Juliet Mary Adams
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford
Profession	colonial administrator
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	羅富國
Simplified Chinese	罗富国
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Luó Fùguó Yue: Cantonese Jyutping lo4 fu3 gwok3

Early life, education, and early colonial services career

Northcote was the son of Reverend the Hon. Arthur Francis Northcote, fourth son of the 1st Earl of Iddesleigh. The 1st Baron Northcote was his uncle. He was educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton and Balliol College, Oxford. He entered the Colonial Service in 1904 and served in Kenya (the East African Protectorate) from 1904 to 1927. He became Chief Secretary of Northern Rhodesia a year later, and served there until 1930. Afterwards, Northcote served as the Chief Secretary of Gold Coast, until 1934 and as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of British Guiana from 1935 to 1937.

Attack in Kenya

When he arrived in Kenya in 1904 as a political attache, Northcote was posted to Nyanza Province which was then part of Uganda. In early 1905, he accompanied a punitive expedition to Kisii land in South Nyanza. The expedition seized and slaughtered livestock and torched houses as punishment for raids the Kisii had carried out on neighbouring groups. In 1907, Northcote was deployed as the District Commissioner of Kisii. The Kisii, who nicknamed him Nyarigoti, considered him their mortal enemy. On 18 January 1908, in the middle of a punitive expedition he was leading, Northcote was attacked with a spear and injured by a warrior called Otenyo. When Otenyo was caught, he was tried and executed in public by a firing squad and then beheaded. When Northcote learned of these attacks to revenge the attack on him, which ended up costing 160 lives, he wrote to his father, "It would take too long to describe the idiocy, obstinacy and want of military operations."^[3]

Hong Kong Governorship

Sir Geoffry Northcote (centre) and his secretaries; businessman Robert Kotewall is 2nd on the right

He became Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Hong Kong in 1937. During his tenure, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, and battles broke out throughout Mainland China. In order to safeguard the Colony, Northcote immediately declared Hong Kong a neutral zone. As the war proceeded, Canton (Guangzhou) was occupied by the Japanese, causing a population boom as refugees rushed into Hong Kong. Northcote proposed more provision of housing and social services to serve the needs of the poor.^[4] Meanwhile, the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) also started encroaching upon Sham Chun (Shenzhen), leading the Hong Kong government to adopt various measures to cope with the emergency, such as the construction of air-raid shelters and blackout practices. Northcote also withdrew the plan of expanding social services.

After taking six-months' leave in the UK, Northcote returned to Hong Kong in March 1941. Poor health forced him to retire that year, and he left when his appointment expired in September 1941.

Personal life

Northcote married Edith Juliet Mary Adams on 27 October 1910; she was the daughter of James Adams VC. The couple had three sons: Maxwell Adams Stafford, Arthur Geoffrey Stafford, and Amyas Henry Stafford. Northcote died in July 1948, aged 67.

Honours

• C.M.G., 1931^[5]
• K.C.M.G., 1935^[6]
• K.St.J. 1937^[7]

Places named after him

Northcote Close, a road on Hong Kong Island, and Northcote Teachers' College (the premises is now occupied by Bonham Road Government Primary School) were named after him.

See also

• History of Hong Kong
• Earl of Iddesleigh
• Warrior Otenyo