Papers of Sir Kennedy Trevaskis, 1944-1966

Scope and Content

  • Typescript social survey of the Hamasien, Eritrea, 1944
  • Notes, survey, report, etc. on Eritrea's history, inhabitants, etc.,[1940s?]
  • Photographs of Trevaskis and family, [1940s?]
  • Papers concerning the Four Power Commission of Investigation of the FormerItalian Colonies (Eritrea), 1947
  • Papers concerning the appointment of the United Nations Commissionerin Eritrea, 1950
  • Papers mostly concerning the accession of Aden to the Federation ofSouth Arabia, 1962-1964
  • Papers relating to the Western Aden Protectorate, including a typescriptlist of numbers of men in each tribe, typescript report on the country,draft estimates of revenue and expenditure, and development plan,[1955-1966]
  • Official correspondence, 1954-1963
  • High Commissioner's file of typescript items concerning the threat from theYemen, counter measures and the future of Aden and the Federation

Administrative / Biographical History

Sir Gerald Kennedy Nicholas Trevaskis entered the colonial service as anadministrative cadet, Northern Rhodesia in 1938. During the Second World Warhe enlisted with the Northern Rhodesian Regiment, was captured by Italianforces at Tug Aqan, British Somaliland in 1940, was seconded to BritishMilitary Administration, Eritrea, 1941-1948, and was made Senior DivisionalOfficer, Assab, 1943. After the war, he served as a member of the Britishdelegation to the Four Power Commission of Investigation into ex-ItalianColonies, 1947-1948. He worked as District Commissioner at Ndola, NorthernRhodesia and Liaison Officer for the United Nations Commission, Eritrea,1950. He served as Political Officer, Western Aden Protectorate, 1951,Deputy British Agent from 1952 and British Agent to Western Aden Protectoratefrom 1954. In 1957 he was a member of the British Delegation at theAnglo-Yemeni meeting in London. He held the post of High Commissioner forAden and the Protectorate of South Arabia, 1963-1965. Awarded the OBE and KCMG,he published Eritrea: A Colony in Transition,1941-52 (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1960) and Shades of Amber: A South Arabian Episode (London,Hutchinson, 1968). In 1945 he married Sheila James Harrington.

Access Information

Bodleian reader's ticket required.

Note

Collection level description created by Paul Davidson, Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House.

Other Finding Aids

Listed as no. 24 in Manuscript Collections of Africana in Rhodes House Library Oxford (Supplement), compiled by Louis B. Frewer (Oxford, Bodleian Library, 1971). A handlist is also available in the library reading room.

Alternative Form Available

A microfilm copy of the Hamasien social survey (Bodleian stock number 5411)is held by the library.

Conditions Governing Use

No reproduction or publication of papers without permission. Contact the library in the first instance.

Custodial History

Sir Kennedy Trevaskis's papers were received as two separate deposits in1968 and 1993. Receiving the second deposit after such a lengthy intervalnecessitated its treatment as a separate collection for listing purposes.A file containing material mainly relating to Western Aden Protectorate andthe Federation of Arab Emirates of the South, 1952-1961 was withdrawn by thedepositor in March 1970.

Related Material

Diaries, etc., and material relating to the publication of Eritrea: A Colony in Transition, 1941-1952 (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1960) (ref. MSS.Brit. Emp. s. 546); letters to Dr. Rita Hinden regarding developments inEritrea, 1945-1948 (ref. MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 365, box 180/3); diaries ofPeter Davey, 1932-1947 (ref. MSS. Ind. Ocn. s. 214); letters from Eritrea,1941-1944 (ref. MSS. Brit. Emp. s. 27, vol. 2: ff 1-140, 228-245).