Biographical entry: Luddington, Donald Collin Cumyn (1920 - 2009)

Born
18 August 1920
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Died
26 January 2009
Easingwold, United Kingdom
Occupation
Governor

Details

Donald Collin Cumyn Luddington was born on 18 August 1920 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His early years were spent in Ceylon where his mother was a tea planter and his father a civil servant. He attended Harrogate School and Dover College, and then served in the British Army during the Second World War. He was initially commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the King's Own Yorkshire Infantry and transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps, in which he saw action in India, Arakand and Burma. After the war Luddington earned an M.A. degree at the University of St Andrews. He began his career as a British colonial government official in Hong Kong in 1949, and rose through several positions to become District Commissioner for the New Territories. He was appointed as High Commissioner for the Western Pacific in October 1973, and in August 1974, when the Governing Council was replaced by the Legislative Assembly, he became the first Governor of the Solomon Islands. In February 1974 he entertained the Queen and Prince Philip when they visited the Solomons, and he was subsequently appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. Luddington supervised the adoption of the new Solomon Islands Constitution in 1974, which established parliamentary democracy and a ministerial system of government. He was knighted in June 1976 and gave up his post as Governor that October, replaced by Colin Allan (q.v.). He returned to Hong Kong in 1977 as Chairman of the Public Service Commission, a position he held until retirement in 1980. Luddington died in Yorkshire, England on 26 January 2009. He was married to Garry Brodie Johnston in 1945 and they had one son and one daughter. Lady Luddington died on 4 November 2002. Sir Donald died on 26 January 2009. (SND 18 June 1976; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Luddington [accessed 5 July 2011]; Yorkshire Post, 7 Feb. 2009)

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Published resources

Journals

  • Solomons News Drum, 1974-1982. Details