Hugh Clifford

In Court and Kampong (Dodo Press) Hugh Clifford

Sir Hugh Charles Clifford GCMG GBE (1866-1941) was a British colonial administrator. Clifford intended to follow his father, a distinguished colonial general, into the British Army, but later decided to join the civil service in the Straits Settlements. He was later transferred to the British Protectorate of the Federated Malay States. Clifford arrived in Malaya in 1883, at the age of 17. He first became a cadet in the State of Perak. During his twenty years in Perak, Clifford socialised with the local Malays and studied their language and culture deeply. He served as British Resident at Pahang, 1896-1900 and 1901-1903, and Governor of North Borneo, 1900-1901. Later he was appointed Governor of the Gold Coast, 1912-1919, Nigeria, 1919-1925, and Ceylon, 1925-1927. He continued to write stories and novels about Malayan life. His last posting was as Governor of the Straits Settlements and British High Commissioner in Malaya from 1927 until 1930. His works include: A Dictionary of the Malay Language (1894), In Court and Kampong (1897) and Studies in Brown Humanity (1898).