Evelyn Charles Villiers

Last updated

Evelyn Charles Arthur Villiers JP UPM (16 July 1884 - 27 October 1968) was a British planter and politician in colonial Ceylon.

Evelyn Charles Arthur Villiers was born 16 July 1884, the fourth (and youngest son) of seven children to Frederick Ernest Villiers (1840-1922) and Jane Isabella née Baird. [1] [2]

Villiers married Dorothy Katherine née Moore-Lane (1884-1976) on 17 July 1907, they had three children: Robert Alexander (b. 1908), Marjorie Frances (b. 1909) and Kenneth Charles Howard (b. 1912).

In 1909, at the age of twenty-five, he moved to Ceylon and worked on several tea plantations. [3] [4] In 1924 he became the manager of the Hemingford Group, a major tea company based in the Kelani Valley.

He was one of eight members appointed by Governor Sir Graeme Thomson to the 1st State Council of Ceylon in July 1931, [5] where he served on the Executive Committee for Communication and Works. [6]

Villiers was subsequently appointed as one of the nominated European members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon on 12 March 1936. [7] [8] He resigned from the State Council on 30 April 1938 and was replaced by Reginald Percy Gaddum. [9] On 14 February 1939 he was re-appointed as a member of the State Council, [10] replacing Gaddum who resigned from the State Council in January that year. He resigned from the State Council a second time on 7 April 1947.

Villiers served on the Planter's Association of Ceylon, including a term as chairman (1928-29), [3] and was the Association's representative on the State Council.

He died on 27 October 1968 at age 84.

Related Research Articles

General Ranjan Wijeratne was a Sri Lankan planter and politician. He served in the Premadasa cabinet as Minister of Foreign Affairs and then Minister of Plantation Industries, while holding the office of State Minister for Defence.

Sir Thomas Lister Villiers was a British planter in Ceylon. He was appointed the European unofficial member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon from 1924 to 1931, appointed member of the State Council of Ceylon (1932) and chairman of George Steuart Group.

Norman Rowsell was an Englishman who was one of the first tea planters in British Ceylon. He was also a well known sportsman and became the first Ceylon Labour Commissioner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st State Council of Ceylon</span>

The 1st State Council of Ceylon was a meeting of the State Council of Ceylon, with the membership determined by the results of the 1931 state council election held between 13 and 20 June 1931. The parliament met for the first time on 7 July 1931 and was dissolved on 7 December 1935.

Major John William Oldfield, was a prominent figure in the commercial and public life in Ceylon, serving as the chairman of the Ceylon Planters' Association between 1924 and 1925, an appointed member of the State Council of Ceylon in 1931 and as an appointed member of the first Parliament of Ceylon in 1947.

Frederick Charles Loos was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician.

George Roland Whitby was a British tea planter, businessman and a member of parliament.

Francis Huntly Griffith JP, UM was a tea and rubber planter in Ceylon and a member of parliament.

Reginald Percy Gaddum was a tea planter in Ceylon and a member of parliament from 1952 to 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd State Council of Ceylon</span> Meeting of the State Council of Ceylon

The 2nd State Council of Ceylon was a meeting of the State Council of Ceylon, with the membership determined by the results of the 1936 state council election held between 22 February and 7 March 1936. The parliament met for the first time on 17 March 1936 and was dissolved on 4 July 1947.

Maurice John Cary JP UPM was an appointed member of the 1st and 2nd State Councils of Ceylon.

Upali Batuwantudawe was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician.

Richard Charles Kannangara was a Ceylonese tea plantation owner and politician.

Henry Abeywickrema Goonesekera was a Ceylonese politician, who was a member of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon.

Howard Frank Parfitt was a British tea planter, businessman and politician in colonial Ceylon.

Henry 'Harry' Abdy Fellowes-Gordon was a British tea planter and politician in Colonial Ceylon.

Colonel Oswald Boyd Forbes was a tea-broker, military officer and politician in Colonial Ceylon.

Adriaan Constant Tutein-Nolthenius was a Dutch-born Ceylonese tea planter, amateur naturalist, author and appointed member of parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. H. Z. Fernando</span>

Charles Hubert Zaleski Fernando was a Ceylonese lawyer and colonial era politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and the Colombo Municipal Council.

James Adrianus Martensz was a proctor and member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon (1865-1872).

References

  1. ↑ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929). Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-Armour. Hurst & Blackett Ltd. p. 2009.
  2. ↑ Freer, Alan. "Villiers Genealogy". William the Conqueror Database. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  3. 1 2 Ukers, William Harrison (1935). All About Tea. Vol. 1. Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Company. p. 193.
  4. ↑ Colin-Thome, David (ed.). "Planters Registry - E. C. Villiers - Career Details". History of Ceylon Tea. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  5. ↑ "Election Statistics. Positions of the Parties. Notes from Ceylon". Malaya Tribune. 11 July 1931. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  6. ↑ Ferguson's Ceylon Directory 1933. Colombo, Ceylon: Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. 1933. pp. 211–212.
  7. ↑ Ferguson's Ceylon Directory 1937. Colombo, Ceylon: Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. 1937. pp. 218–219.
  8. ↑ The Ceylon Blue Book. Government Printer, South Africa. 1937. p. 50.
  9. ↑ "Members of the Legislatures of Ceylon: 1931-1972". Parliament of Sri Lanka. 1972: 52.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ↑ "Appointments" (PDF). London Gazette . 17 February 1939. p. 1136. Retrieved 11 April 2019.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.