Sir Glyn Jones: A Proconsul in Africa

Sir Glyn Jones, as last governor of Nyasaland, oversaw the transition of the country to Malawi. Involving widespread unrest, the removal of a governor, a state of emergency and commision of enquiry from London, these were some of the most stormy episodes in the story of the end of empire.

This biography, based on original sources, including the Glyn Jones papers to which the author had first and exclusive access, reveals Jones’ relationship with Hastings Banda in a new and controversial light. Jones’ appointment was the pinnacle of a distinguished career in the colonial service, which began in Northern Rhodesia as an administrative cadet in 1931. In 1960, as the demand for early constitutional advance in the northern territories of the Central Africa Federation and secession from that federation became more insistent, Jones moved from Northern Rhodesia to neighbouring Nyasaland, where he stayed for the most critical years of his colonial service career. These years saw Jones’s promotion to Governor and Governor-General.

This revealing account is the third volume of Baker’s biographical studies of the last three governors of Nyasaland.