West Ridgeway

Sir Joseph West Ridgeway, (16 May 1844 – 16 April 1930), known as Sir West Ridgeway, was a British civil servant and colonial governor. He was involved in the MacDonald Affair, when sodomy and child molestation charges were brought against Hector Archibald MacDonald, commander of British forces in British Ceylon. He brought MacDonald back to England hoping to avoid a scandal, but MacDonald still committed suicide.

Military career Educated at St Paul's School, London, Ridgeway was commissioned into the Bengal Infantry in 1860. In 1869 he was selected for civil employment in India. He was Under-Secretary for Ireland from 1887 to 1892, and Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man from 1893 to 1895.

He was Governor of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from 1896 to 1903. During that time, he was involved in bringing charges of sodomy and pederasty against Hector MacDonald, commander of the troops in Ceylon. Ridgeway advised MacDonald to return to London, his main concern being to avoid a massive scandal: "Some, indeed most, of his victims ... are the sons of the best-known men in the Colony, English and native", he wrote, noting that he had persuaded the local press to keep quiet in hopes that "no more mud" would be stirred up. After facing increasing pressure from the allegations, MacDonald committed suicide in 1903.

He stood unsuccessfully for election to the House of Commons as a Liberal, in the City of London in 1906, when he was defeated by Sir Edward George Clarke, K.C; and in the London University constituency at the election of January 1910.

From 1910 to 1926, he was President of the North Borneo Chartered Company, which controlled the territory of North Borneo.

Honours GCMG: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George – 1 January 1900 – New Year Honours list LL.D. (honorary), University of Cambridge, May 1902. LL.D (honorary), University of Edinburgh, 26 July 1902.

A species of Asian snake, Lytorhynchus ridgewayi, is named in his honour.