Cyril Hammond Elgee
| Cyril Hammond Elgee | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Cyril Hammond Elgie 18 October 1871 Otterbourne, Hampshire, England |
| Died | 17 August 1917 (aged 45) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Colonial administrator. |
| Known for | Atlantis theory |
Cyril Hammond Elgee (18 October 1871 – 17 August 1917) was a British colonial administrator in Nigeria, based in Ibadan at the time when the basic colonial institutions were being established. During World War I (1914–18) he was Acting Commissioner of Montserrat for a period.
Cyril Hammond Elgie (he later changed his surname to Elgee) was born on 18 October 1871, eldest son of the Reverend Walter Francis Elgie. His mother was Catherine, daughter of Colonel F. Hammond of the 75th Regiment and widow of Captain Webber of the 42nd regiment. She died on 25 February 1881. Cyril was admitted to Lancing College as a scholar in May 1885, and left in July 1889. He was admitted to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1890.
In 1892 Elgee became a second lieutenant in the Bedfordshire Regiment. He was made a lieutenant in 1893. In 1895 he served with the Chitral Relief Expedition. He was promoted to captain in 1899. On 28 October 1899 it was reported that Elgee had been seconded for service to the Colonial Office. Appointed 1 January 1903, and taking up his post in February 1903, he was the British Resident in Ibadan, Nigeria from February 1903 until 1913. He succeeded F.C. Fuller as resident in Ibadan. Elgee treated the leading people of Ibadan with courtesy and respect. However, he was not approachable by the ordinary people. In 1903 Elgee wrote of "the rapid strides of late made by the people in economical and political progress. There was growing demand for post office services and for plots of land. Six European firms were established by 1903, and twenty-five German, English, French and Brazilian firms had branches in Ibadan by 1906. Elgee wrote of the legal framework in 1904,
By this time, court cases were getting so numerous and so involved that it was felt necessary, if the chiefs were still to rule it with dignity to themselves and satisfaction to the Europeans and other aliens in their midst, that some alteration in judicial procedure must be made ... It was clear that an illiterate court of native chiefs was incompetent to deal with the technicalities incident to cases of fraudulent bookkeeping and the like, and it was also clear that it was neither possible nor advisable for a native court to sit in judgement over such cases where one of the parties was an alien, nor could they be held to be competent judges in such possible cases of the murder of a native by a European or vice versa.
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