Reginald Craddock

Who was Reginald Craddock?

Sir Reginald Henry Craddock, GCIE, KCSI was a British government and colonial official who served as the governor of Burma and chairman of the Indian constitutional reforms committee, and later became a Conservative Party Member of Parliament.

Craddock's father Surgeon Major William Craddock had been attached to the 1st Gurkha Rifles; he was therefore born into a family with strong links to the British Raj. He studied at the prestigious Wellington College before going on to Keble College, Oxford. He qualified for the Indian Civil Service in 1882, and two years later was sent on his first posting to the Central Provinces, one of the more remote outposts of the Raj.

Craddock spent many years in the Central Provinces, moving steadily up the civil service ladder. He was an industrious worker and his diligence was duly recognized by the authorities. From 1893 onwards, he held the following positions in succession: Commissioner of Excise; head of the Nagpur District; Chief Secretary to the head of the Province; Commissioner of the Nagpur Division; and finally Chief Commissioner in 1907.

At the 1931 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament for the Combined English Universities, and held the seat until his death in 1937.