Major General Sir William Reid FRS (1791-1858) was a British soldier who served as Governor of Bermuda from 1839- 1846.
A man of many interests, in 1838 shortly before being posted to Bermuda he published a book that is considered by meteorologists to be the basis of our modern knowledge of hurricanes.
Through his encouragement the Bermuda Library was founded about 1850 in what is now the Cabinet Building. Governor Reid’s most pressing responsibility was to change Bermudians’ attitude toward agriculture. Upon arrival he described the Island as “covered… with cedar, rocks and weeds”. His interest stimulated the Agricultural Society to establish the ‘model farm’ in Smith’s Parish and bring Robert Fox and James McGall to Bermuda as Agricultural Superintendent and Horticultural Assistant to improve the methods of agriculture.
Under Reid’s patronage the first ‘Agricultural Show and Cattle Exhibition’ was held at Government House in May 1844. Reid imported ploughs and supported the ploughing competitions held on the Camden grounds. He himself cultivated citrus and other plants at Mount Langton, importing seeds and plants from England and the United States. He established parish schools throughout the island and convinced the Legislature to provide annual grants for their support.
From Bermuda Reid was sent to Barbados and the British Windward Islands (1846-1848) and finally to Malta (1851-1858). He was knighted in 1851. The measure of respect he commanded was shown early in his tenure when in 1843 the Corporation of Hamilton changed the name of the 2nd Longitudinal Street to Reid Street. He was known affectionately by Bermudians as the ‘Good Governor’ and a granite obelisk was erected to his memory on the Cabinet grounds in 1861.
Reid’s final gift is perhaps to many Bermudians the most significant – while at Malta he had loquat seeds sent back to Bermuda.
Bermuda Architectural Heritage Series: Pembroke published in Bermuda in 2015
Available from the Bermuda National Trust www.bnt.bm
