15 Facts About Ransford Slater

Slater, Plymouth, Slater was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

In 1892, Ransford Slater joined the Ceylon Civil Service, and by 1906, was District Judge of Badulla.

Ransford Slater was Governor of Sierra Leone from 1922 to 1927, Governor of the Gold Coast from 1927 to 1932, and Governor of Jamaica from 1932 to 1934.

In Sierra Leone, Ransford Slater ordered the wages of all Africans who worked for the British government to be raised.

Ransford Slater had 17 British employees in that district transferred to other colonies replaced by the 17 British-educated Sherbro officers.

Ransford Slater oversaw the introduction of the 1924 constitution, which allowed Africans to gain representative power in Sierra Leone's government.

Ransford Slater oversaw the 1924 Sierra Leonean general election which saw three Africans elected including Ernest Beoku-Betts and Herbert Bankole-Bright.

Ransford Slater was put in a somewhat awkward position as he agreed with the strikers but was instructed by the colonial office not to "capitulate" with their demands as they believed this would set a negative precedent.

Ransford Slater agreed with the striking workers on both of these points and communicated that to the colonial office.

On January 14,1926, the strike officially began and the colonial office instructed Ransford Slater to adopt a staunch resistance policy, which resulted in Freetown being placed under police and military surveillance and the sale of intoxicating liquors to be prohibited for specific periods.

Governor Ransford Slater perceived the strike as a challenge to and revolt against civil authority.

Ransford Slater referred to the entire episode as a "tragedy" that could have been avoided.

Such activities were banned in French colonies, including neighboring French Guinea as well as nearby Portuguese Guinea and the Belgian Congo, however Ransford Slater believed that allowing civil disobedience to continue is what distinguished the British Empire from other colonial powers.

Ransford Slater departed Sierra Leone in September 1927, having generally established a reputation as being a very "pro-African" governor, despite the "drama" of the strike episode.

Ransford Slater was appointed CMG in 1916, CBE in 1918, KCMG in 1924, and GCMG in 1933.