Symbol of Authority

The district officer (DO) was the pivot of the British Colonial Administration throughout the British Empire as was his counterpart in India. The DO was both administrator and magistrate; he was also the essential link with the professional and technical services and with the indigenous population - the 600 million people they served - in an empire of service rather than domination. In this book Anthony Kirk-Greene who was himself a distinguished member of the Nigeria Service draws upon personal memoirs diaries private and official papers and his own experience to paint a vivid picture of the service and a never-to-be-repeated episode in British history.