Papers of John Hamer

Papers relating to British administration of Perlis, Malaya and relations with the Rajas, 1915-1957; some early agreements with Siam regarding loans and suzerainty, 1905-1909; papers relating to Communist infiltration and organised criminal activities, 193-?.

John Hamer (1910-1990) was educated at the University of Leeds. His war service was varied, ranging from work with the Free French to Combined Operations, and culminated in his appointment as Controller of Supplies, Singapore in 1945. After the war he joined the Malayan Civil Service, first as District Officer in Jasin and Klang and later as British Adviser in Perlis (1956). On Malayan independence he became Deputy Chairman of the Malayan Federation's Rural Industrial Development Authority, moving to the Ministry of Agriculture in 1958. He served as State Secretary, Penang, 1958-1961. He held the position of Secretary, Royal Horticultural Society, 1962-1975 and was awarded the MBE. In 1940 he married Marjorie Agnes Martin, with whom he had one son and one daughter. She died in 1970, and in 1980 he married Joan Edith MacKinley, who died herself in 1988.

Bodleian reader's ticket required.

Collection level description created by Paul Davidson, Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House.

Listed as no. 690 in Manuscript Collections in Rhodes House Library Oxford, Accessions 1978-1994 (Oxford, Bodleian Library, 1996). A handlist is also available in the library reading room.

No reproduction or publication of personal papers without permission. Contact the library in the first instance.