Maude was born in
Bankipore,
India. Educated at
Highgate School from 1921 to 1925, and
Jesus College, Cambridge, Maude represented India at
rifle-shooting in 1926. He spent the years 1929–1948 working as a civil servant and administrator in various
Pacific Islands. Between 1940 and 1941, Maude was sent to the
Pitcairn Islands by the
Western Pacific High Commission, to modernise the government, and to establish a post office and issue stamps in order to generate revenue for the people of the island. During this time, Maude and his wife collected a great number of Polynesian archaeological items found on the Pitcairn Islands, later donated to the
Auckland War Memorial Museum in
New Zealand. From 1949 to 1955, he worked for the
South Pacific Commission. From 1957 to 1961, he was a Research Fellow at the
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS), which is part of the
Australian National University in
Canberra. He has published widely on aspects of Pacific Islands history, was a co-founder of the
Journal of Pacific History, and played an important role in establishing the
Pacific Manuscripts Bureau. ==Personal life==