Monarch Edward VII
George V Name Ralph Williams Monarch Victoria
Edward VII | Monarch Edward VII | |
 | ||
Preceded by Sir Robert Baxter Llewelyn Governor The Lord Milner
The Earl of Selborne Died June 22, 1927, London, United Kingdom | ||
Preceded by Sir William MacGregor Succeeded by Walter Edward Davidson | ||
Sir Ralph Champneys Williams CMG (9 March 1848 – 22 June 1927) was a British colonial governor.
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Life and career
Williams was educated at The King's School, Chester, and at Rossall School. He joined the colonial service in 1884 and his first post was to Bechuanaland. He then served at Pretoria, South Africa, Gibraltar and Barbados, for which he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1901 New Year Honours List. In early 1901 he returned to Bechuanaland as Resident Commissioner at the height of the Second Boer War. Williams was governor of the Windward Islands prior to his appointment as governor of Newfoundland in 1909.
While governor of Newfoundland Williams travelled throughout the island and the coast of Labrador. He was opposed to confederation with Canada and desired to maintain Newfoundland's individuality and hold fast Britain's last tie to North America. In 1913 he published his memoirs, How I Became a Governor.
Legacy
Two Newfoundland towns were renamed for him: Salmon Cove, Trinity Bay, became Champneys, and Greenspond, White Bay, became Williamsport.