Owen Gream Ommanney
Lieutenant-Commander Owen Gream Ommanney (11 September 1898 – 4 November 1985) was a British colonial administrator in British North Borneo (now Sabah) in the early part of the twentieth century.
Biography
Owen Gream Ommanney, born on 11 September 1898 in Mortlake, East Sheen, England, was the eldest of five children of his father, Francis Frederick Ommanney, and his mother, Olive Caroline. The 1911 Census, conducted on 2 April 1911, lists Ommanney as a boarding student at a private school in Folkestone.[1] The house at the address Feltonfleet, Shorncliffe Road, remains an elite school today, known as “Earlscliff.”
Shortly thereafter, in May 1911, the twelve-year-old joined the Navy, serving as a cadet on a training ship until August 1914. His general behaviour was described as “satisfactory” in his service record, however, he was also marked as “zealous and capable”.[2]
From August 1914 O.G. Ommanney participated in World War I with the Navy in the rank of Midshipman. His first ship was HMS Irresistible, which was heavily damaged and had to be abandoned during the Dardanelles Campaign. Ommanney was among those who were rescued from the sinking ship and subsequently served on HMS Egmont and HMS Queen Elizabeth, among others.[3] He concluded his Navy service on 31 March 1923 with the rank of Lieutenant.[4]
On 16 April 1923 he was hired by the North Borneo Chartered Company as a Cadet.[5] His personal skills likely played a minor role in this hiring: his grandfather, Capt. Sir Montagu Frederick Ommanney, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., I.S.O. (1842 - 1925), had been a member of the “Court of Directors” since 1912, and his grandson's appointment was certainly a mere formality.
On 21 July Ommanney boarded the Hakozaki Maru of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha Line under the Master R. Shimidzuin London,[6] arriving in North Borneo on 5 September 1923.[5]
The young cadet was assigned to the East Coast Residency and, starting in November 1924, to the Interior Residency. He navigated the typical hurdles of a cadet career (Lower Standard Malay Exam, Higher Standard Malay Exam) before being promoted in 1925 to a regular Officer of Class B and Magistrate of the First Class. In 1926 he was appointed Assistant District Officer of Papar.
During his home leave in 1927 he married Joan Catherine Upton (1898–1990), with whom he returned to North Borneo in January 1928.[7] There, he assumed the post of Acting District Officer for the Clarke Province in Mempakul.[8] However, the prestigious position of District Officer ultimately went to E.W. Skinner in May, and Ommanney was transferred to Jesselton as Assistant Collector of Land Revenue.[9] Additionally, he succeeded G.C. Woolley as Superintendent of the Printing Office, inheriting the role as Editor of the British North Borneo Herald.[10] In the same year, Ommanney's wife fell ill, prompting him to take an extended leave to accompany her first to Hong Kong and then back to England.[11]
On 5 September 1929 he submitted his resignation and returned to England for good.
After returning to England, he continued his career with the Ministry of Labour as H.M. Inspector of Factories. In September 1938, about one year before the start of World War II, having risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander,[12] he was posted as NOIC (Naval Officer in Charge) to Aberdeen, where he was likely involved with shipyards. Following an interim position in 1942 as Base Executive Officer on the staff of the Maintenance Captain in Glasgow, he was assigned to HMS Brontosaurus in 1943. Codename HMS Brontosaurus was the No. 2 Combined Training Centre (CTC), based at Castle Toward, Dunoon, Argyll, informally known as CTC Castle Toward. It trained officers and crews to operate major landing craft in preparation for amphibious landings on unimproved beaches in North Africa, the Mediterranean, Normandy, and other locations. His final posting was in Appledore, where he also settled after his retirement.[13]
O.G. Ommanney died on 4 November 1985 in Bideford, Devon, England. He left behind his wife Joan Catherine and a son (born 22 December 1931[14]).
Publications
After leaving the colonial service, he contributed to the ethnographical research of Murut people in an article, describing the ordeal of Mentugi.[15]
References
- ↑ The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
- ↑ The National Archive, Kew, Reference ADM 196/121/50
- ↑ The National Archive, Kew, Reference ADM 196/146/640
- ↑ The London Gazette, 17 December 1920, page 12398
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The National Archive, Kew, Reference CO 874/203 - Stafflist III/148 (87)
- ↑ The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; BT27 Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and Successors: Outwards Passenger Lists; Reference Number: Series BT27-28858
- ↑ The British North Borneo Herald, 16 January 1928, page 11 - Notes Occasional
- ↑ British North Borneo Herald, 1928-01-16 p 17 - Beaufort notes
- ↑ The British North Borneo Herald, 1 May 1928, page 75 - Notes Occasional
- ↑ The British North Borneo Herald, 16 November 19 page 85 - Notes occasional
- ↑ The British North Borneo Herald, 2 November 1928 page 199
- ↑ Navy List February 1939
- ↑ "Big whales and bad weather left behind"; Express and Echo, July 07, 1963
- ↑ The British North Borneo Herald, 2 November 1928, page 199
- ↑ O. G. Ommanney: "Mentugi", Wide World Magazine, Newnes, London, 1932, pp 401-404
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