Dowbiggin Herbert Layard

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Biografie:
Herbert Layard Dowbiggin (1880-1966)
Whatever may be said today about the rights and wrongs of British rule in the Colonies, whatever the verdict of history, there can be no doubt that a very large number of those who served in the various colonial administrations were men dedicated to the welfare of the people they governed. Certainly Sir Herbert Dowbiggin was one of these. Born in 1880, he joined the Ceylon Police in I go I. His outstanding ability led to his rapid promotion, and twelve years later, when he was barely thirty-three, he was appointed Inspector-General, a post which he held for twenty-four years until his retirement in 1937. His term of service saw the complete transformation of the Ceylon Police from a semi-military force run on the lines of the Royal Irish Constabulary, into an unarmed civilian body fully trained in the modern techniques of crime prevention and detection. Though this process had been started by his predecessor as early as 1906, it was Dowbiggin who saw it through, and it was very largely due to his devoted efforts that, when Ceylon achieved independence, the new Dominion inherited an extremely efficient police force, highly respected for its integrity and its tradition of public service.
Dowbiggin's influence extended. throughout the British Colonies; so much so that he was often referred to as the 'father' of the Colonial Police Service. He was called upon, in troubled times, to make special enquiries into police organisation in Cyprus, Palestine and Northern Rhodesia, and his advice was frequently sought by the Colonial Office and also by British and even foreign police authorities. He received a knighthood in 1931. Throughout his distinguished career he was activated by a high sense of duty and warm compassion for his fellow men.
During most of his service, home leave was only granted every five years; thus, although his favourite form of recreation was mountaineering, his opportunities to visit the Alps were rare.1 But he always took a keen interest in climbing ventures throughout the world, and he was very proud of his membership of the Alpine Club, to which he was elected in 1933·
E. E. Shipton
Quelle: Alpine Journal Volume 71, 1966, Seite 345-346


Geboren am:
1880
Gestorben am:
1966