Papers of Charles Richard M. O'Brien

This material is held atBodleian Library, University of Oxford

  • Reference
    • GB 161 GB 162 Micr. Afr. 431
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1900-1902
  • Language of Material
    • English.
  • Physical Description
    • 1 reel

Scope and Content

Copies of letters, in diary form, 1900-1902, including regimental experiences, South African War, January-June 1900, as President of the Military Tribunal in Johannesburg, June 1900-April 1901, the Johannesburg Civil Police, May 1901- May 1902; with illustrations, photographs and press cuttings.

Administrative / Biographical History

Sir Charles Richard Mackey O'Brien (1859-1935) was educated at Felsted and Sandhurst. In 1878 he joined the 30th Cambridgeshire Regt. as 2nd Lieut., rising to the rank of brevet Lieut.-Colonel in 1902, serving in the South African War, 1899-1902 with the East Lancashire Regiment and as President of the Military Tribunal, Johannesburg. He was Deputy Commissioner of the Transvaal Town Police, 1901-1908, Acting Commissioner of Police, 1903-1907 and during the strike on the Witwatersrand. He served as Colonial Secretary, Gambia, 1910-1912 and Acting Governor, 1910-1912. He was Governor, Seychelles, 1912-1918, Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Barbados, 1918-1925, and Special Government Commissioner, Sierra Leone, 1926. From 1929-1930 he was a member of the Colonial Films Committee. Awarded the KCMG in 1920, he was married twice, to Christina Mary Harrison, 1884-1899, with whom he had two sons and one daughter, and to Selina Beatrice Elphinstone from 1902, with whom he had two daughters.

Access Information

Bodleian reader's ticket required.

Note

Collection level description created by Paul Davidson, Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House.

Other Finding Aids

Listed as no. 747 in Manuscript Collections of Africana in Rhodes House Library Oxford, by Louis B. Frewer (Oxford, Bodleian Library, 1968).

Conditions Governing Use

No reproduction or publication of personal papers without permission. Contact the library in the first instance.

Related Material

Correspondence with the Colonial Office relating to appointment as a Special Commissioner in Sierra Leone, to inquire into the affairs of the Freetown City Council; with published report and issues of local newspapers, 1926-1927 (ref. MSS. Afr. s. 1977).

Bibliography

The Rand at war 1899-1902. the Witwatersrand and the Anglo-Boer war, by Diana Cammack (London, James Currey, 1990).

Additional Information

Original papers were retained by Lady O'Brien.