Colonial Service

The Colonial Service was the British government service which administered Britain's colonies and protectorates, under the authority of the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Colonial Office in London.

Before the 1930s there was no unified Colonial Service and not even any unified sub-services. Each colony and protectorate had its own services and prospective officers applied directly to each one. If they wanted to transfer to another colony or protectorate they had to apply separately to the government of that entity.

The Colonial Service amalgamated with Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service in the late 1960s.

Ranks

Commissioned into the Colonial Service, the ranks and positions were as follows-

• District Officer Cadet
• Assistant District Officer (awarded if suitable after two year's probation^[1]
• District Officer
• District Commissioner
• Provincial Commissioner

Services

It was technically divided into sixteen separate services:

• Colonial Administrative Service
• Colonial Agricultural Service
• Colonial Audit Service
• Colonial Chemical Service
• Colonial Customs Service
• Colonial Education Service
• Colonial Forest Service
• Colonial Geological Survey Service
• Colonial Legal Service
• Colonial Medical Service
• Colonial Mines Service
• Colonial Nursing Service
• Colonial Police Service
• Colonial Postal Service
• Colonial Survey Service
• Colonial Veterinary Service

Notes

1. ^ p.10 Lumley, E.K. Forgotten Mandate: A British District Officer in Tanganyika 1976 C. Hurst & Co. Publishers

References

• Colonial Office, Colonial Regulations, 1945