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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|British colonial administrator (1882–1963)}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}<br />
'''Sir Ralph Edwin Hotchkin Griffith''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|KCSI|CIE}} (4 March 1882 – 11 December 1963) was an administrator in [[British India]] and served as the last Chief Commissioner and the first [[List of Governors of the North-West Frontier Province|Governor of the North-West Frontier Province]] during the British ''Raj''.<br />
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==Education and early career==<br />
Ralph Edwin Hotchkin Griffith was the younger brother of [[Francis Griffith (Chief Constable)|Sir Francis Griffith]] and the son of [[Francis Robert Griffith]] (1828–1901) Educated at [[Blundell's School]] and the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst|Royal Military College]]. He was commissioned in 1901 into the Middlesex Regiment and transferred to the [[Indian Army (1895–1947)|Indian Army]] and the [[26th Prince of Wales's Own Light Cavalry]] in 1903 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1903.<ref>January 1908 Indian Army List</ref> He was appointed Adjutant of the Governor's Body Guard, Bombay from 1907 to 1908.<ref>January 1908 Indian Army List</ref><br />
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Griffith joined the [[Indian Political Service]] (which was then recruited half and half from the Indian Army and the [[Indian Civil Service]]) in November 1908.<ref>January 1919 Indian Army List</ref> and served an apprenticeship under [[George Roos-Keppel|Sir George Roos-Keppel]], who, like him, was a fluent speaker of [[Pashto language|Pashto]]. He was promoted Captain in 1910 and Major in 1916.<br />
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His early positions included [[Deputy Commissioner (India)|Deputy Commissioner]] of [[Peshawar]], secretary to the head of the Province, and [[Resident (title)|Resident]] in the turbulent region of [[Waziristan]], where his influence and understanding of the [[Wazir (tribe)|Wazir tribesmen]] reduced tensions in the area.<br />
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When Assistant Political Agent, Mohmand he was mentioned in dispatches for services on the North West Frontier during the early part of [[World War I]].<ref>London Gazette 4 July 1916, page 6699</ref><br />
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==Governor of the North-West Frontier Province==<br />
Griffith succeeded [[Stuart Pearks]] as [[List of Governors of the North-West Frontier Province|Chief Commissioner of the North-West Frontier Province]] in 1931. He became the first Governor in 1932, when the importance of the northern shield was recognised by the raising of the status of the Pathan land to that of a Governor's province. He served as Governor until 1937, during the formative inter-war period.<br />
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Griffith was appointed a [[Order of the Indian Empire|Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire]] in 1917, promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1927,<ref>January 1936 Indian Army List</ref> and was made [[Order of the Star of India|Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India]] in 1932.<ref>[http://rulers.org/indprov.html Provinces of British India]</ref><br />
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==Sources==<br />
*Obituary, Lt-Col. Sir Ralph Griffith, ''The Times'', 13 December 1963; p.&nbsp;17; Issue 55883; column D<br />
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{{succession box |title=Chief Commissioner of the North-West Frontier Province|<br />
years=1931–1932|<br />
before= [[Stuart Pearks|Sir Stuart Edmond Pearks]]| <br />
after=abolished}}<br />
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{{succession box |title=Governor of the North-West Frontier Province|<br />
years=1932–1937|<br />
before= -| <br />
after=[[George Cunningham (governor)|Sir George Cunningham]]}}<br />
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{{end}}<br />
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==References==<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Ralph}}<br />
[[Category:1882 births]]<br />
[[Category:1963 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:People educated at Blundell's School]]<br />
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]<br />
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Political Service officers]]<br />
[[Category:Military personnel of British India]]<br />
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]<br />
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire]]<br />
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]</div>Bot