Papers of Sir Percy Wyn-Harris

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Papers of Sir Percy Wyn-Harris relating to his time in the Colonial Service in Kenya, 1926-1949, as Governor in the Gambia, 1949-1958, and as Administrator in Northern Cameroons, 1960-1961, with autobiographical writings.

Dates

Creation: 1932-1981

Extent

0.5 Linear metres (3 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Some material relating to living individuals is closed.

Preferred Citation

Oxford, Bodleian Libraries [followed by shelfmark and folio or page reference, e.g. MS. 5947/1, file 1].

Please see our help page for further guidance on citing archives and manuscripts.

Full range of shelfmarks:

MSS. 5947/1-3

Collection ID (for staff)

CMD ID 5947

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers of Sir Percy Wyn-Harris, colonial governor and mountaineer.

Biographical / Historical

Sir Percy Wyn-Harris was born in 1903 and educated at Gresham's School and the University of Cambridge where he was secretary of the Mountaineering Club. He joined the Colonial Service and was posted to Kenya where he spent twenty years rising from district officer to the governor's executive council. He was governor of the Gambia from 1949 to 1958 and was a member of the Nyasalsnd Commission of Inquiry led by Sir Patrick Devlin in 1959. From October 1960 to June 1961 he was administrator of the northern Cameroons during the period of the plebiscite.

Wyn-Harris was an eminent mountaineer making the second ascent of the Batian peak of Mount Kenya and the first ascent of its Nelion peak in 1929. He participated in both the 1933 and 1936 Everest expeditions.

Sir Percy Wyn-Harris died in Hampshire in 1979.

For further information see the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.