Bede Clifford

Captain Sir Bede Edmund Hugh Clifford (3 July 1890 – 6 October 1969) was a British diplomat and colonial administrator, born in New Zealand, where his parents had moved in an unsuccessful attempt at sheep-farming. His parents were William Hugh Clifford, 10th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh and Catherine Mary Bassett. After New Zealand they moved to Tasmania; he did not attend a regular school until he was 10. He attended Xavier College, Melbourne where he was a gifted student. This was followed by study at Melbourne University, becoming a surveyor, then a merchant navy officer. Career After serving as an army captain in the Royal Fusiliers during World War I, where he gained the rank of Captain, he worked in imperial administration and diplomacy. From 1917 he was aide-de-camp, then Private Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia, Sir Ronald Ferguson. From 1921 to 1931, he was Secretary to the Governor-General of South Africa, first to Prince Arthur of Connaught and then to Prince Alexander of Teck. In 1931, it was announced that Clifford would be appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahamas. He was later appointed the 24th Governor of Mauritius from 23 October 1937 to 16 April 1942. He then became Governor of Trinidad and Tobago from 1942 to 1947. and was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.