James Ramsay (governor)

{{Short description|Governor of Queensland, Australia (1977–1985)}}

{{Infobox Governor

|honorific-prefix= Commodore The Honourable

|name=Sir James Maxwell Ramsay

|honorific-suffix= KCMG KCVO CBE DSC

|image= James Ramsay in 1978.jpg

|caption= Ramsay at Governor's Mansion, 1978

|order=20th

|office = Governor of Queensland

|term_start= 22 April 1977

|term_end= 21 July 1985

|monarch = Elizabeth II

|premier = Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen

|predecessor=Sir Colin Hannah

|successor = Sir Walter Campbell

|birth_date= 27 August 1916

|birth_place= Hobart, Tasmania

|death_date={{Death date and age|1986|05|01|1916|08|27|df=yes}}

|death_place=Broadbeach, Queensland

|allegiance=Australia

|branch= Royal Australian Navy

|serviceyears=1930–1972

|rank= Commodore

|commands={{HMAS|Warramunga|I44|6}}

|unit=

|battles=Second World War
Korean War

|mawards=Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Knight Bachelor
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Cross
Knight of the Order of St John
Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States)

}}

Sir James Maxwell Ramsay (27 August 1916 – 1 May 1986) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy and the 20th Governor of Queensland, serving from 22 April 1977 until 21 July 1985.{{cite news|title=Queensland Governors |date=5 August 2003 |publisher=Queensland Government |url=http://www.qld.gov.au/about_queensland/history/queensland_governors.html |accessdate=2008-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305143318/http://www.qld.gov.au/about_queensland/history/queensland_governors.html |archive-date= 5 March 2008 |url-status=dead }}

Biography

Ramsay was one of six surviving children. He attended the Macquarie Street State School and The Hutchins School in Hobart. He proved himself to be quite adept at what he attempted in these schools; he was successful in becoming a cadet captain, excelled in Rugby, and was a high achiever in academic and professional subjects.{{cite web|last=White|first=M.W. D.|title=Ramsay, Sir James Maxwell (1916–1986)|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ramsay-sir-james-maxwell-14286|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography|publisher=Australian National University|accessdate=10 April 2013}} Appointed a naval cadet on 1 January 1930,{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/232590819 |title=Naval Forces of the Commonwealth|newspaper=Commonwealth of Australia Gazette |issue=2 |date=9 January 1930 |page=22 }} he graduated from the Royal Australian Naval College at Flinders Naval Depot in 1933 and was appointed a midshipman on 1 May 1934.{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/232621765 |title=Naval Forces of the Commonwealth|newspaper=Commonwealth of Australia Gazette |issue=62 |date=13 September 1934 |page=1590 }} He had a distinguished naval career. In 1945 Ramsay attended Royal Naval Staff College, Greenwich, England, and in the same year married Janet Grace Burley. During the Second World War he served on British and Australian ships in the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans, and 1972 he retired from the navy. He served as Lieutenant-Governor of Western Australia from 1974 until 1977.{{cite news | title = Former governor dies| pages = 12| publisher = The Australian| date = 2 May 1986}}

Ramsay married Janet Burley, a Red Cross welfare officer, on 24 November 1945 at the parish church, Denham, Buckinghamshire.