Achimota School Capital Campaign

Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg

Founder of Achimota School

(b. 1869 - d. 1930)

“My heart is in Africa.”

Brigadier General Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg, KCMG,

DSO, RE, is one

of the founders of the former Governor of the Gold Coast, now Ghana

(1919-

1927). The other founders are Dr. James Emman Kwegyir

Aggrey,

the first Assistant Vice Principal (1924-1927)

the Reverend Alexander G.

Fraser, MA, CBE, the first

Principal of the School (1924-1935).

Background

Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg was born at Galt, Ontario, Canada, on July 20, 1869, a second-
generation descendant of an immigrant from Berne, Switzerland, and the eldest son of Frederick
Guggisberg, a dry-goods retail merchant. He left Canada for England about 1879, after his father
passed away and his mother remarried. He was educated at Burney’s School, near Portsmouth,
England. He entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in 1887, and was commissioned in the
Royal Engineers in 1889. He was for some years captain of the Royal Engineers’ cricket team, and was
also a fine polo, racquet, golf, and football player.

Colonial Service

From 1893 to 1896, Guggisberg served in Singapore and

returned

Woolwich in 1897 as

instructor. During

the

period

from 1902

1915,

worked as a surveyor

in the

British

colonies of the Gold

Coast and

Nigeria,

except for a brief

period

when he returned to

England.

As a

director of

surveys,

Guggisberg compiled a

handbook

of model

instructions

for

surveys.

His rules

precluded unpaid labor,

and they

stipulated

that all

goods

bought

from local farmers

and

workers must be

paid for at the market

price. During World War I,

returned to

Europe

1915 and served in

France. As a

result of

his

performance in WWI,

was awarded the

Distinguished

Service

Order (“DSO”).

Economic Development Programme

Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg was appointed the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Gold
Coast in October 1919. As a governor, Guggisberg has been described as “a builder akin to the old
Romans”. Many of the economic and social improvements in the Gold Coast in the early part of the 20th
century have been attributed to him. At the beginning of his governorship in 1919, Guggisberg
presented a ten-year development programme to the Legislative Council. He suggested the
improvement of transportation, water supply, drainage, hydroelectric projects, public buildings, town
improvements, schools, hospitals, prisons, communication lines, and other services. Guggisberg also
set a goal of filling half of the colony’s technical positions with Africans as soon as they could be trained.
His program has been described as the most ambitious ever proposed in West Africa up to that time.

During his tenure as Governor, Guggisberg extended the railroad system and constructed new roads.
He also created the deep water harbor at Takoradi, the Gold Coast’s first port. In 1923, he
commissioned the construction of Korle-Bu Hospital in Accra. Korle-Bu Hospital was completed in 1925,
and it was the first teaching hospital in the Gold Coast and the finest and most modern institution of its
kind in colonial Africa at the time. The “Prince of Wales College and School”, now known as Achimota
School, was also Guggisberg’s idea and part of his education reform program.

Education Reform

Education reform in the Gold Coast was first proposed by Governor Sir Hugh Clifford in 1918. At that
time a number of church-sponsored schools, such as Mfantsipim (1876) and Adisadel College (1910),
had already been established. After assuming office in 1919, Guggisberg announced a ten-year
development plan. Under the plan, the budget for education programs was increased, partly because of
Guggisberg’s goal of replacing Europeans with educated Africans in many administrative positions. He
wrote his “sixteen principles” which became the foundation for the Education Ordinance of 1925. He
argued that literacy alone was not an adequate education effort. His reforms included character
building, thrift, and temperance. He specifically stated that: “Education is the keystone of progress:
mix the materials badly, omit the most important, and the arch will collapse: omit character-training
from education and progress will stop”. Guggisberg’s education policies stressed the need for improved
teacher training, equal education for girls, a greater emphasis on vocational training, and the
establishment of secondary and technical schools. Achimota School was part of Guggisberg’s plan to
reform the Gold Coast’s educational system. Guggisberg also built four trade schools and extended
education to the then Northern Territories. However, most of his education policies were not fully
implemented before he left the Gold Coast in 1927.

Achimota College & School

In August 1920, Guggisberg met and befriended Dr. Aggrey who was visiting the Gold Coast as a
member of the Phelps-Stokes Fund’s African Education Commission. Due to the report of the Phelps-
Stokes Commission, in 1922, Guggisberg appointed a new Committee to review the recommendations
made in 1920 on education reform in the Gold Coast. The 1922 Committee recommended the
establishment of a comprehensive institution at the site chosen at Achimota to provide general
secondary education, teacher training, and technical education for male students. The Legislative
council then approved the 1923-24 budget for establishment of the “Prince of Wales College and
School” or “Achimota College”.
In March 1924, Guggisberg laid the foundation stone for the College. In October 1924, Dr. Aggrey
accepted a position as the first Assistant Vice Principal of Achimota College and returned to the Gold
Coast to begin the important task of building the school. He and Rev. Alec G. Fraser, Achimota College’
s First Principal, helped Guggisberg to realize his dream of establishing the Achimota College and
School, a first class co-educational school and college. Achimota School was formally opened on
January 28, 1927, with Prince Edward, the then Prince of Wales in attendance. The University College of
the Gold Coast, which was later moved to a separate campus in Legon and is now known as the
University of Ghana, had its roots in Achimota College. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology (KNUST) also had its roots in Achimota College’s Engineering School.

Local Government

Another important aspect of the governance of the Gold Coast was the system of indirect rule that was
introduced fully under Guggisberg. Lord Lugard first introduced the colonial policy known as ‘indirect
rule’ in Uganda and then Nigeria. Under the system of indirect rule, the traditional leader or paramount
chief, and his leading sub-chiefs and important counselors were constituted into a Native Administration,
later named a Native Authority, presided over by the paramount chief. The powers and functions of the
Native Authority covered matters relating mainly to traditional and customary institutions and practices.
These authorities operated under the general direction and control of the colonial district commissioner.
In 1927, Governor Guggisberg promulgated the Native Administration Ordinance. Among other things,
the new ordinance set out the processes of the election and disposal of chiefs and the hierarchy of
traditional rulers in the country.

Lady Guggisberg and Family

Sir Guggisberg’s wife, Lady Lillian Decima Guggisberg, CBE, a former actress was famous for her
leading roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas. She helped to improve relations between the Europeans
and Gold Coasters. She encouraged English women to join the Gold Coast women as Red Cross health
visitors, weighing babies and advising on diet.
Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg left the Gold Coast in 1927, soon after he formally opened Achimota
School on January 28, 1927. He served the Gold Coast as Governor from October 9, 1919 through April
24, 1927. From 1928 to 1929, Guggisberg served as the Governor of the British Colony, Guyana. He
resigned from his position as Governor in 1929 and returned to England due to his declining health. He
still wanted to return to Africa to continue his work. He noted in a letter to a friend, that “my heart is in
Africa”. Guggisberg never returned to Africa. He died in England on April 21, 1930. His wife, Lady
Guggisberg, died in England in 1964 at the age of 93. Sir Guggisberg had three daughters from his first
marriage. His oldest daughter Juanita, died during her infancy. His second daughter, Nancy, died in
1989 in Devon England at the age of 91 years. His youngest daughter, Rowena (or “Ena”) visited Ghana
in 1973 on the occasion of the commissioning of Sir Guggisberg’s statue and celebration of the 50th
anniversary of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. Guggisberg House at Achimota School was named
after Sir Guggisberg.

Acknowledgement:

We are grateful to Daniel Guggisberg, a relative of Sir Guggisberg from the Berne, Switzerland side of
the Guggisberg family, for providing copies of photos of Sir Guggisberg and clarifying Sir Guggisberg’s
family history.

Sources:
1.“Beloved Imperialist, Sir Gordon Guggisberg, Governor of the Gold Coast” by Dr. Henry B. Goodall.
(ISBN: 1 85821 557 9) Copyright H. B. Goodall 1998 first published in 1998 by The Pentland Press Ltd,
Bishop Auckland, Durham, UK.
2. http://www.britishempire.co.uk/biography/guggisberg.htm
3. http://www.britishempire.co.uk/biography/guggisbergd.htm
4. http://www.ghana.co.uk/history/history/colonial_rule.htm
5. http://www.worldstatesmen.org/
6. http://www.ghana.edu.gh/past/colonialEra.html
7. http://cehd.ewu.edu/faculty/ntodd/GhanaUDLP/MitchellGhanaEducation.html
8. http://www.1upinfo.com/country-guide-study/ghana/ghana67.html
9. http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/Machin/machin_61.html
10. http://www.greatepicbooks.com/epics/june98.html