William Manning (colonial administrator)

Manning was educated at the University of Cambridge as a non-collegiate student[1] and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned a lieutenant in the South Wales Borderers in 1886.[2] In 1888 he transferred to the Indian Army,[3] and served in the 51st Sikhs. He was wounded in the Second Burmese War and also served in the First Miranzai Expedition and the Hazara Expedition on the North-West Frontier in 1891. He commanded the Mlanja and Chirad-Zulu expeditions in British Central Africa in 1893–1894.

In 1897 he was appointed deputy commissioner and consul-general for British Central Africa and commander of its armed forces with the local rank of lieutenant-colonel,[4] and served as acting commissioner for nearly two years. He commanded the operations against Chief Mpezeni in North-East Rhodesia in 1898, for which he was promoted brevet major in 1898[5] and brevet lieutenant-colonel in 1899.[6]

Manning raised and commanded the Central Africa Regiment and was the first inspector-general of the King's African Rifles from 1901 to 1907, with the local rank of brigadier-general, although his substantive rank was still captain.[7] During Spring 1902 he undertook an official tour through Uganda and the East African Protectorate, returning to England in June that year.[8] He was supposed to undertake a second tour of inspecting garrisons in British Somaliland, British Central Africa Protectorate, British East Africa and Uganda later the same year,[9] but shortly after arrival in Africa was re-directed to join the force gathered in Somaliland to fight the Mad Mullah.

He was in Somaliland by the middle of November 1902,[10] and in late December was appointed in command of the Somaliland Field Force.[11] From 1903 to 1904 he commanded its 1st Brigade. In April 1903 he fought against the Mad Mullah's army in battle, inflicting 2,000 casualties. For services in Somaliland he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1903[12] and Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1904.[13] In February 1904 he was promoted brevet colonel[14] and in August 1904 he was finally promoted to the substantive rank of major.[15]

In February 1910 Manning was appointed commissioner and commander-in-chief of the Somaliland Protectorate[16] and in November 1910 Governor and C-in-C of the Nyasaland Protectorate,[17] where the border post Fort Manning (now Mchinji, Malawi) was named after him. He retired from the Indian Army in December 1910.[18]

In February 1913 he became governor of Jamaica[19] and was granted the perpetual honorary rank of brigadier-general,[20] which he had held for most of his service since 1901. In September 1918 he was appointed governor of Ceylon. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1918 and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 1921 New Year Honours.[21] He retired in 1925.

The Manning Cup school football competition in Jamaica was named after him.

• Obituary, The Times, 4 January 1932