John Pringle Appleby

Lieutenant-Colonel John Pringle Appleby CMG, JP (1892 - 29 March 1966) was the Postmaster General of Ceylon for seven years, between 1940 and 1947.[1]

John Pringle Appleby CMG, JP
Born	1892 Morpeth, Northumberland
Died	29 March 1966 Sidmouth, Devon, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	public servant
Known for	Postmaster General of Ceylon
Term	1940 - 1946
Predecessor	J. R. Walters
Successor	Abdon Ignatius Perera
Spouse(s)	Minnie née Sams
Children	3
Parent(s)	Christopher Appleby, Margaret née Paley

In 1907 he joined the Royal Mail,[2] in 1921 made a supplementary clerk,[3] and in 1933 was appointed the postmaster in Okehampton.[4] Appleby served in the Royal Signal Corps during World War I and was appointed as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1917.[5]

On 4 July 1936 Appleby was made a Justice of the Peace for the District of Colombo and on 1 October he was formally appointed as the Assistant Postmaster-General, replacing Gate Mudaliyar A. G. Tillekeratne.[6][7] On several occasions he served as acting Postmaster General before being formally appointed to the position in early 1940.[8] Between 1939 and 1946 the activities and advances in telecommunications were not given much publicity due to the war.[9] It is known that in 1946 Appleby issued the first amateur radio transmitting licenses in the country.

In the 1945 New Year Honours list he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George for his services as Postmaster General.[10] He retired from the Ceylon Civil Service in late 1946.[9]

Appleby died on 29 March 1996 in Sidmouth, Devon.[11]

References

1. Ferguson's Ceylon Directory for 1944. Colombo: Ceylon Observer Press. 1944. p. 134.
2. "The London Gazette". 1 February 1907. p. 752. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
3. "The London Gazette". 3 June 1921. p. 4445. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
4. "The London Gazette". 7 April 1933. p. 2387. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
5. "The London Gazette". 28 September 1917. p. 10117. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
6. "Ceylon Government Gazette" (PDF). 17 July 1936. p. 1120.
7. "Ceylon Government Gazette" (PDF). 9 October 1936. p. 1522.
8. "untitled". Malay Tribune. 7 June 1938. p. 22.
9. Development, 1931-1981, Sri Lanka: Publication Depicting Public Sector Development in Sri Lanka to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Adult Franchise Introduced to Sri Lanka in 1931. Ministry of Plan Implementation. 1981. p. 212.
10. "The London Gazette" (PDF). 1 January 1945. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
11. "Obituary". The Times. 7 April 1966. p. 17. Retrieved 27 November 2020.

External links

• Liyanage, Michael (1987). The History of the Sri Lanka Post Office: 1815-1987. Colombo: Union of Post & Telecommunication Officers, Sri Lanka.
• Sri Lanka Post