Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Grimble, Arthur
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1888-1956
History
Sir Arthur Grimble, born in Hong Kong in 1888, was a British Colonial Service administrator and writer. After joining the Colonial Office in 1914 he became the first cadet administrative officer in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. From April 1919 he acted as the Resident Commissioner until Herbert Reginald McClure took up this appointment. In 1925, Grimble succeeded McClure as Resident Commissioner. He learned the local language, and recorded oral traditions of the Kiribati people. He remained in the islands until 1933. He published a number of books as well as being a radio broadcaster. Grimble also designed the coat of arms of the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, and the design remains on the flag of Kiribati.