John Douglas Chesswas MBE (1919 – 28 February 2009) was a British author, linguist and policy advisor in Uganda.
He was regarded as a pioneer in the development of the writing of the Luganda language, and held prominent positions in the Ugandan colonial government of the day.
[2] He served in Indian Army Pioneer Corps during World War II and was promoted from a private soldier to 2nd lieutenant in January 1941.
[10] With Nsimbi, Chesswas went on to produce An explanation of the Standard Orthography of Luganda; first written for The Eagle Press in 1958,[11] and published as a book in 1963, with second, third and fourth (1985) editions.
He was subsequently appointed to UNESCO on the staff of the International Institute of Educational Planners, where, as a theorist in the field of educational evaluation, he authored a number of important books and articles, collaborating with other notable theorists such as Raymond Lyons, Jacques Hallak and John Vaizey.