Victor Purcell

Who was Victor Purcell?

Victor William Williams Saunders Purcell CMG, PhD, Litt.D was a British colonial public servant, historian, poet and Sinologist in Malaya.

After the World War I, Purcell pursued his undergraduate study in Cambridge University, studying history in Trinity College.

During his service in Malaya he dealt in particular with the role of the local minority Chinese and published on this subject some significant works.

In 1926 he spent seven months as District Officer on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, with wide-ranging but largely undemanding responsibilities in that remote mining community.

From 1949 he was a lecturer in Far Eastern History at Cambridge University.

In 1978 he was honoured by a postage stamp of Christmas Island.