Before 1930 the Secretary of State for the colonies had control of the appointments to all but the most subordinate official posts, which were appointed by the governor or the colonial departments. Posts were under his 'patronage' and were dealt with by his personal secretaries.

There were three classes of posts:

It is possible that information on the appointments and subsequent career for the first two classes of posts may be found among the records of the Colonial Office, and other departmental files in The National Archives. Some information for class 3 posts may be found in the National Archives but any surviving service papers will be found in the local archives or departments.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Next >