Charles Herbert Harington

Charles Herbert Harington (1874-1941) was an important figure in the history of North Borneo (present day Sabah). He was the longest-serving Commandant of the British North Borneo Constabulary in its history, and also occupied other duties within the colony's government. He led many punitive expeditions into the interior of the colony, but is most-known as leading the expedition that killed Mat Salleh.

Biography

Early life Harington was born in the British Raj in 1874, nephew of Arthur Montgomery Harington, who held a long career in the British Army, and was the 1st-serving Commandant of the British North Borneo Constabulary.

Harington was sent to a public boarding school in England, and eventually found his way into the Cape Mounted Rifles and the British South Africa Police (BSAP). In the Cape Colony, he fought in the Jameson Raid.

North Borneo In 1896, some time after the Jameson Raid, Harington joined the service of the North Borneo Chartered Company. The company, as it was often called, was the sole governing authority over British North Borneo, what was known as a British protectorate, but not a colony. After an interview at the company's London Headquarters on Leadenhall Street, where all new recruits to the Constabulary were interviewed, he was sent to North Borneo. They lived in Borneo for a little over a decade, but in 1926, with his wife and children, Harington stepped onto a steamship for England.