Arthur Beckles Gall (1836 - 1894)

Born 7 Sep 1836 in Barbados

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 12 Feb 1894 at age 57 in Grenada

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Biography

Arthur was the son of Henry Beckles Gall II (1804-1862). He was born on 7th September 1836 in Barbados^[1]. He married Helen Alexander of Grenada around 1870. He died on 12th February 1894 and is buried in Sauteurs, St.Patrick, Grenada.

He entered the colonial service around 1858 in the Ordnance and Commissariat services, presumably in Barbados. In July 1864 he was in London where he made a declaration of his birth^[2].

GRENADA In 1867 he was appointed Auditor for Grenada arriving on the island on 4th March 1867. It appears that he didn’t like the situation in which he was placed and by May 1867 he was already seeking a transfer on promotion to Antigua. The situation was to quickly change when in October 1867 Mr Beveridge, Public Treasurer, obtained leave of absence and Arthur was appointed temporarily in his place. Arthur was appointed Treasurer from 16th November 1868.

In 1869 Arthur was again seeking promotion and he made an application for the then vacant office of Auditor General of Trinidad. However his application was not considered because the vacancy had already been filled by the time it was received in London. Arthur appears to have resigned himself to his fate by trying to modernise the Treasurer’s Department and to cope with some very unsatisfactory staff, two of whom were later to be found defrauding the public purse. This was to lead to Arthur’s downfall in Grenada.

ST.LUCIA In March 1873 Arthur was transferred to St.Lucia to become Inspector of Revenue and Police. This was on the face of it a level transfer but clearly it was intended as a reprimand, although Rawson Rawson had clearly felt that Arthur had already paid dearly for the actions of dishonest staff.

In St.Lucia, Arthur and his growing family lived in the administrative district of Morne Fortune the hilltop community which overlooks the harbour at Castries. It is where the Colonial Secretary had his mansion and the army and police had their barracks.

When he retired he had to leave his official home and he returned to Grenada where he died in 1894 aged 57. His widow Helen lived in Grenada for some time but moved to Great Britain where she died in 1924 in Camberley.

Sources

1. ↑

   Grave marker Arthur Beckles Gall

2. ↑

   Declaration of Age

• History of Gall Family of the Island of Barbados. David O'Carroll OBE, November 2017. Unpublished.