Godfrey Huggins, 1st Viscount Malvern
Encyclopedia
Godfrey Martin Huggins, 1st Viscount Malvern, CH
, KCMG
, PC
(6 July 1883 – 8 May 1971) was a Rhodesia
n politician and physician. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1933 to 1953 and remained in office as the first Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
until 1956, becoming the longest serving prime minister in British Commonwealth history.
in north Kent
(now a borough of London
), the second child, but eldest son of a stockbroker. The family later moved to a property his father built, 'Shore House' in Sevenoaks, a town about 27 miles from London. He was educated at Brunswick House, a preparatory school in Hove and then moved to Sutherland House, a similar school in Folkestone.
He suffered a severe infection of the left middle ear at the age of 11, which left him deaf on that side and delayed his move to Malvern College
in 1898, a school from which he later took part of his title. From there he moved on to study medicine at St. Thomas's Hospital, London
after some difficulty obtaining the necessary entrance examinations.
After practicing medicine and training as a surgeon in London
, spending some time as a Resident Superintendent at Great Ormond Street Hospital, Huggins travelled to Salisbury
, Southern Rhodesia
in 1911, initially to act as a locum to some doctors there, but eventually deciding to stay on.
Doctors only had to serve for a year at that point in the war so in 1916 Huggins went out again to Southern Rhodesia but returned to the UK within a few months. This time he was posted to the Hammersmith Orthopaedic Hospital and then the Pavilion Hospital in Brighton. In 1917, he finally got to go to France with the 5th Cavalry Field Ambulance, attached to the 2nd Cavalry Division near Amiens. His surgical work at this time led to his writing a book, Amputation Stumps: Their Care and After Treatment (Frowde, Hodder & Stoughton, London 1918).
Having become a spokesman for the local Comrades of the Great War Association, he began to have contact with government, intervening for the Association with the then Administrator, Sir Drummond Chaplin. Although he was on the side of union with South Africa when there was a referendum on the matter in 1922, he accepted the Rhodesian decision to 'go it alone' and accept responsible government.
of the newly created self-governing colony. He became Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia
in 1933 when his Reform Party won that year's general election. (The Reform Party subsequently merged with the Rhodesian Party to form the United Party
). Huggins won successive elections and was knight
ed in 1941 by King George VI
.
Huggins became an advocate of federating Southern Rhodesia with some of the neighbouring British colonies in the region so that they would become an independent state within the British Empire
while maintaining white minority rule with only a small number of educated Black
s having the vote in addition to white settlers. As a result of his effort the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
was created in 1953 uniting Northern Rhodesia
, Southern Rhodesia
and Nyasaland
with Huggins as the federation's first prime minister after his new United Federal Party
won the federation's first general election. Huggins remained in office until 1956 and was elevated to the British peerage as Viscount Malvern
prior to his retirement. He was succeeded as prime minister by Sir Roy Welensky
. The biggest political issue of his tenure as Federal Prime Minister was the question of race relations. Huggins and other proponents of Federation claimed to stand for a policy of Partnership, which was claimed to be much more enlightened than the apartheid that the new Nationalist Party Government was then installing in South Africa. Partnership never got off the ground, not least because of the endless humiliations that white politicians including Huggins visited upon the few black members of parliament. One infamous quotation attributed to Huggins was that Partnership would be akin to "the partnership of rider and horse". Huggins' successor, Welensky, spent his time in office trying to prevent an inevitable breakup of the Federation.
Having served 23 years as Prime Minister, Huggins became the longest serving Prime Minister in British Commonwealth history, beating the records of Mackenzie King of Canada and Sir Robert Walpole of Great Britain and Ireland.
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
, KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(6 July 1883 – 8 May 1971) was a Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
n politician and physician. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1933 to 1953 and remained in office as the first Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
This is a list of the men who served as Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland . The Federation was formed on 1 August 1953 from the former colonies of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was formally dissolved on 31 December 1963.-List of Prime Ministers of...
until 1956, becoming the longest serving prime minister in British Commonwealth history.
Youth and education
Huggins was born at 'Dane Cottage', Knoll Road, BexleyBexley
Bexley is an South East London]] in the London Borough of Bexley, London, England. It is located on the banks of the River Cray south of the Roman Road, Watling Street...
in north Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
(now a borough of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
), the second child, but eldest son of a stockbroker. The family later moved to a property his father built, 'Shore House' in Sevenoaks, a town about 27 miles from London. He was educated at Brunswick House, a preparatory school in Hove and then moved to Sutherland House, a similar school in Folkestone.
He suffered a severe infection of the left middle ear at the age of 11, which left him deaf on that side and delayed his move to Malvern College
Malvern College
Malvern College is a coeducational independent school located on a 250 acre campus near the town centre of Malvern, Worcestershire in England. Founded on 25 January 1865, until 1992, the College was a secondary school for boys aged 13 to 18...
in 1898, a school from which he later took part of his title. From there he moved on to study medicine at St. Thomas's Hospital, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
after some difficulty obtaining the necessary entrance examinations.
After practicing medicine and training as a surgeon in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, spending some time as a Resident Superintendent at Great Ormond Street Hospital, Huggins travelled to Salisbury
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
, Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
in 1911, initially to act as a locum to some doctors there, but eventually deciding to stay on.
World War I
Huggins returned to the UK in late 1914 following the outbreak of war and joined the RAMC with the rank of Captain, stationed at Colchester Hospital which had become a casualty clearing station. Although he wanted to go to France he was sent to Malta where he dealt with incoming casualties from Gallipoli.Doctors only had to serve for a year at that point in the war so in 1916 Huggins went out again to Southern Rhodesia but returned to the UK within a few months. This time he was posted to the Hammersmith Orthopaedic Hospital and then the Pavilion Hospital in Brighton. In 1917, he finally got to go to France with the 5th Cavalry Field Ambulance, attached to the 2nd Cavalry Division near Amiens. His surgical work at this time led to his writing a book, Amputation Stumps: Their Care and After Treatment (Frowde, Hodder & Stoughton, London 1918).
Practice in Rhodesia
He returned to Southern Rhodesia at the end of the war, just in time to deal with the influenza epidemic, and bought Craig Farm on the outskirts of Salisbury, now Harare, which was to remain his home for the rest of his life. He began again as a surgeon, quickly becoming the best known, albeit in a small field, in Rhodesia. He married in 1921 to Blanche Slatter of Pietermaritzburg, the daughter (some sources say stepdaughter) of a Major in the South African Constabulary. He and his wife had two sons, born in 1922 and 1928.Having become a spokesman for the local Comrades of the Great War Association, he began to have contact with government, intervening for the Association with the then Administrator, Sir Drummond Chaplin. Although he was on the side of union with South Africa when there was a referendum on the matter in 1922, he accepted the Rhodesian decision to 'go it alone' and accept responsible government.
Political career
He entered politics in 1924 and was elected, unopposed in the Salisbury North constituency, to the Legislative CouncilLegislative Council
A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures, or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies.A Member of the Legislative Council is commonly referred to as an MLC.- Unicameral legislatures :...
of the newly created self-governing colony. He became Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia
Prime Minister of Rhodesia
The Prime Minister of Rhodesia was the head of government in the colony of Rhodesia. Rhodesia's political system was modelled on the Westminster system and the Prime Minister's role was similar to that of the same position in other countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New...
in 1933 when his Reform Party won that year's general election. (The Reform Party subsequently merged with the Rhodesian Party to form the United Party
United Federal Party
The United Federal Party, previously known as the United Party and the United Rhodesia Party, was one of Southern Rhodesia's most successful political parties, and governed the country for over 30 years...
). Huggins won successive elections and was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1941 by King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
.
Huggins became an advocate of federating Southern Rhodesia with some of the neighbouring British colonies in the region so that they would become an independent state within the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
while maintaining white minority rule with only a small number of educated Black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
s having the vote in addition to white settlers. As a result of his effort the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation , was a semi-independent state in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963, comprising the former self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia,...
was created in 1953 uniting Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
, Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
and Nyasaland
Nyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
with Huggins as the federation's first prime minister after his new United Federal Party
United Federal Party
The United Federal Party, previously known as the United Party and the United Rhodesia Party, was one of Southern Rhodesia's most successful political parties, and governed the country for over 30 years...
won the federation's first general election. Huggins remained in office until 1956 and was elevated to the British peerage as Viscount Malvern
Viscount Malvern
Viscount Malvern, of Rhodesia and of Bexley in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1955 for the first Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Sir Godfrey Huggins...
prior to his retirement. He was succeeded as prime minister by Sir Roy Welensky
Roy Welensky
Sir Raphael "Roy" Welensky, KCMG was a Northern Rhodesian politician and the second and last prime minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland...
. The biggest political issue of his tenure as Federal Prime Minister was the question of race relations. Huggins and other proponents of Federation claimed to stand for a policy of Partnership, which was claimed to be much more enlightened than the apartheid that the new Nationalist Party Government was then installing in South Africa. Partnership never got off the ground, not least because of the endless humiliations that white politicians including Huggins visited upon the few black members of parliament. One infamous quotation attributed to Huggins was that Partnership would be akin to "the partnership of rider and horse". Huggins' successor, Welensky, spent his time in office trying to prevent an inevitable breakup of the Federation.
Having served 23 years as Prime Minister, Huggins became the longest serving Prime Minister in British Commonwealth history, beating the records of Mackenzie King of Canada and Sir Robert Walpole of Great Britain and Ireland.
Legacy
- Godfrey Huggins School of Medicine at the University of Rhodesia and Lord Malvern High School of Salisbury, Rhodesia were named in his honor.
External links
- Collection of the National Portrait Gallery : Godfrey Martin Huggins, 1st Viscount Malvern of Rhodesia and Bexley (1883-1971), Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia.
- Godfrey Martin Huggins, Viscount Malvern, 1883-1971: his life and work. Edited by Michael Gelfand and Joseph Ritchken. Central African Journal of Medicine in Salisbury, Rhodesia, 1971.
- Lord Malvern, Chairman of the Council of University College, Rhodesia, receiving the Queen Mother. British Pathé. 1960.
- Rhodesian Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins ALS. www.worthpoint.com. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- Statesman and Surgeon. British Medical Journal, 20 November 1971, pp. 497.