Biographical entry: Masterman, Stanley George (1899 - )

Born
31 December 1899

Details

Stanley George 'Monty' Masterman was born on 31 December 1899 and enlisted as a boy in the Royal Flying Corps. He was demobilized in 1919. He served in the Protectorate for twenty-seven years, appointed as Assistant Inspector of Labourers on 2 November 1922. He acted as Chief Inspector of Labourers on several occasions and claimed to have been virtual head of the Labour Department since 1929. In 1935, he was investigated for striking a prisoner for grinning at him, and reprimanded. He left the Labour Department in 1940 when he was given a leave of absence for war service in the British Army, in which he became a Major. He used this title after his return in 1946, and on 1 April 1947 was appointed as substantive Chief Inspector of Labour. From 5 December 1946 until 1 November 1948 he also acted as Secretary to the Government. On 1 June 1949 Masterman was appointed acting District Commissioner for Malaita District, a post which he held until his retirement in June 1950. He failed in his attempts to use force to suppress Maasina Rule (q.v.). He was awarded an O.B.E. He achieved local fame in the 1930s by importing to Tulagi an old seaplane (q.v. Air Services). (G.E.D. Sandars, letter to the editor of NS 31 Mar. 1971; Russell 2003, 56, 62-63; Bennett 1987, 399; David Akin, personal communication, 2010)

Related Concepts

Published resources

Books

  • Bennett, Judith A., Wealth of the Solomons: A History of a Pacific Archipelago, 1800-1978, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, 1987. Details
  • Russell, Tom, I Have The Honour to Be: A Memoir of a Career Covering Fifty-Two Years of Service for British Overseas Territories, The Memoir Club, Spennymoor, Great Britain, 2003. Details

Journals

  • British Solomon Islands Protectorate (ed.), British Solomon Islands Protectorate News Sheet (NS), 1955-1975. Details