Murray Hammick

Sir Murray Love Hammick, KCSI CIE (11 May 1854 – 4 March 1936) was an Indian civil servant and administrator who acted as the Governor of Madras from 30 March 1912 to 30 October 1912.

Early life

Murray Hammick was born on May 11, 1854 to Rev. Sir Vincent Love Hammick (1806-1888) and Mary Alexander.^[1]

In the Indian Civil Service

Muray Hammick graduated from the Fell King's College and joined the Indian Civil Service after clearing the exams in 1875.^[1][2] He arrived in India on December 18, 1877 and served as Sub Collector in the Madras President and as Assistant Commissioner of Coorg.^[2] He served as the Inspector-General of police of Madras from 1894 to 1906 when he was appointed Chief Secretary to the Madras government.^[1] In 1908, Hammick was appointed to the Executive Council of the Governor of Madras and served from 1908 to March 1912, when he was chosen to act as the Governor of Madras till the arrival of the governor-designate John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland in October 1912.^[1]

Governor of Madras

Hammick acted as the Governor of Madras from March 30, 1912 to October 30, 1912.

Post-gubernatorial career

In 1913, Hammick was appointed member of the Royal Commission to inquire into the Civil Services in India. In 1915, Hammick was appointed to the Council of State and served as a member from 1915 to 1922.

Family

Murray Hammick married Ada Constance Searle, daughter of Major-General Arthur Thaddeus Searle, on 11 December 1883. The couple had two sons and three daughters.

• Lorna Mary Hammick
• Dorothy Constance Hammick
• Lucy Mabel Hammick
• Major Henry Alexander Hammick OBE MC (1890–1968), after obtaining an engineering degree from Cambridge University he became a major in the 6th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment and saw service during World War I. After the war he rose to Chief Engineer of the Iraqi Petroleum Company. During World War II he worked in the Petroleum Warfare Department and was co-inventor of the HAMEL PLUTO D-Day pipeline system as well as a lance corporal in the Home Guard.
• John Murray Hammick

Honours

Hammick was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in November 1901.^[3] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI) in 1907 and raised to a Knight Commander (KCSI) of the order in 1911.

Other interests

Hammick was also a prominent freemason and was the provincial grandmaster of the District Grand Lodge of Madras from 1910 to 1914.^[4]

Notes

Works

• Murray Hammick (1930). Rural India: land, power, and society under British rule. 
• Murray Hammick, Mark Wills (1932). Historical sketches of the south of India: in an attempt to trace the history of Mysoor from the origin of the Hindoo Government of that state to the extinction of the Mohammedan dynasty in 1799, Volume 2: Historical Sketches of the South of India: In an Attempt to Trace the History of Mysoor from the Origin of the Hindoo Government of that State to the Extinction of the Mohammedan Dynasty in 1799.  CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)

Further reading

• Tour of H.E. the Hon. Sir Murray Hammick, Governor of Madras: Vizagapatam and Godavari, August 6th to 15, 1912. Superintendent, Government Press. 1912.