Granville St John Orde Browne was born in Woolwich, Kent, on 26 Oct 1885, the only son of Captain Charles Orde Browne, Royal Artillery. He was educated at Wellington College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and in 1902, was commissioned in the Royal Artillery, serving in the Zulu Rising of 1906. In 1909, he became Assistant District Commissioner of the East African Protectorate (Kenya).

He was recommissioned in the Royal Artillery in 1915 and served throughout the East African campaign; he was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) and mentioned four times in despatches. He retired with the rank of Major in 1920, and the following year was appointed Senior Commissioner, Tanganyika Territory (Tanzania). In 1925, he married Margaret Florence Fearnley-Whittingstall, by whom he had three daughters. In 1926, he became Labour Commissioner for Tanganyika (Tanzania); he retired from the Colonial Service five years later.

In 1934, he was appointed Substitute Member of the Committee of Experts on Native Labour, International Labour Office, attending meetings in Geneva in place of Lord Lugard (MSS. Afr. s. 1117/3, folder 4), and in 1938 became Labour Adviser to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, a post created for him by Mr Ormsby-Gore (MSS. Afr. s. 1117/2, folder 5). Between 1937 and 1941, he undertook special investigations of labour conditions in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), the West Indies, West Africa, and the Far East. He was awarded the CMG (Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George) in 1942, and knighted shortly before his death on 12 May 1947.