Last guardians

Philip Bowcock was the archetypal colonial administrator and, like so many of his peers, could turn his hand to a variety of tasks, all requiring intelligence, administrative skills, understanding of politics, sympathy with the human condition and sound judgement. His life reflects so much of the political, social and cultural history of twentieth century Britain, with early life on a farm during World War II, the University of Oxford and National Service in the army - all constituting an ideal apprenticeship for the Colonial Service. His service in Sudan included a period in the Upper Nile Province with its warlike, fiercely independent Nuer tribe followed by service as District Commissioner, and later Magistrate, in Northern Rhodesia in the period leading up to independence as Zambia in 1964. His final experience of empire was reserved until the very end as a supervisor of the 1981 elections for majority rule for Zimbabwe. Above all, and running through the professional political and administrative career, with its backdrop of great events in Britain's late imperial history, is a close family story and one which with which readers will readily indentify.