Graeme Thomson
Encyclopedia
Sir Graeme Thomson G.C.M.G. K.C.B. (1875–1933) was a British Civil Servant in the Admiralty, who served as a colonial civil servant and then governor in several British colonies.

Civil Servant

Graeme Thomson was educated at Winchester
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...

 and New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...

 and joined the civil service in 1900, being assigned to the Admiralty. Some years before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he asked about the plans to get the British Expeditionary Force to France in the event of war and found they were scanty. He and Alfred Faulkner were then permitted to compile a register of ships suitable for requisitioning as transports, after they had completed their normal work each day. This they did, thus enabling the British Expeditionary Force rapidly.

In September 1914, shortly after the outbreak of war, as some one in the Admiralty, who knew about merchant shipping, he was appointed Assistant Director of Transports, then in December Director. In 1917, the Directorate of Shipping for the Ministry of Shipping and Admiralty was created and Thomson was placed in charge of it.

Colonial Service

After the war, government involvement in shipping declined and his post was abolished. He then joined the Colonial Service, being appointed as Secretary for Ceylon in 1919, then Governor of British Guiana in 1923 and of Nigeria in 1925, and finally of Ceylon. He died at Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

in his way home from there.

He had been appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1928 New Years honours.
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