Sir Arthur MorseKBEJP (Chinese: 摩士) (25 April 1892 – 13 May 1967) was the head of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation during and after World War II. He was a British banker born in Tipperary in Ireland. He worked in Shanghai, London and Tientsin and finally many years in Hong Kong. He rebuilt HSBC and did much to revive Hong Kong after the war, retired in 1953 and moved to London where he died in 1967.[1]
Morse was born in 1892 in Bohercrowe, County Tipperary, Ireland and his father Digby Scott Morse was a Bank of Ireland agent.[1] and Lizzie Jane Holmes.[2]
Morse attended Foyle College in Derry, before embarking on his banking career with HSBC.[2]
By 1940, Hong Kong was under the threat of Japanese invasion with the majority of branches in East Asia already in the hands of the Japanese. Morse was sent to London by the then-Chief Manager of the bank, Sir Vandeleur Grayburn, to lead the bank and shift the headquarters to London to avoid the reserves being frozen in New York and San Francisco by the American authorities in the case of a Japanese take over in Hong Kong. On 16 December 1941, 9 days before Japanese occupation, Morse was appointed as the Commissioner and General Manager of the bank.
During the war, most of the staff in the Far East became prisoners of war and hundreds of them died. The Chief Manager, Sir Vandeleur Grayburn and his designated successor David C Edmondston died whilst prisoners in Hong Kong.
In 1943, the London Advisory Committee were empowered to act as a Board of Directors and he became the Chairman and Chief Manager of the bank.
In 1946, he moved the headquarters of the bank back to Hong Kong and the bank resumed its role as the central bank in Hong Kong. He involved himself in the revival of the infrastructure of the city, as well as the bank, his success in the latter task shown by the improving financial position of the bank starting a trend which continued after the end of his service in the bank in 1953.
His was succeeded by Sir Michael Turner. Turner had been interned in Singapore at Changi Prison during the war.
Public servicesedit
Arthur Morse participated many public bodies in Hong Kong and was an unofficial member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong during his stay in Hong Kong after the war. In 1945, Morse supported a failed move to establish a popularly elected Municipal Council in the colony.[3] Morse was knighted for his service to the colony in 1949.
^ ab"The Silver Bowl 1967 Obit of Sir Arthur Morse". Thesilverbowl.com. Retrieved 2016-07-21.
^ abFrank H. H. King (2004). "Morse, Sir Arthur (1892-1967), banker : Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - oi". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/50275. Retrieved 2016-07-21. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^Miners, N. J. (1986). "Plans for Constitutional Reform in Hong Kong, 1946-52". The China Quarterly. 107: 466. doi:10.1017/S0305741000039862. ISSN 0305-7410. S2CID 154299156.
arthur, morse, historian, arthur, morse, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, sc. For the historian see Arthur D Morse This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Arthur Morse news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2016 Learn how and when to remove this message Sir Arthur Morse KBE JP Chinese 摩士 25 April 1892 13 May 1967 was the head of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation during and after World War II He was a British banker born in Tipperary in Ireland He worked in Shanghai London and Tientsin and finally many years in Hong Kong He rebuilt HSBC and did much to revive Hong Kong after the war retired in 1953 and moved to London where he died in 1967 1 Sir Arthur MorseArthur MorseBorn 1892 04 25 April 25 1892Bohercrowe County Tipperary IrelandDiedMay 13 1967 1967 05 13 aged 75 NationalityBritish citizenshipAlma materFoyle College DerryOccupationBanker Morse was born in 1892 in Bohercrowe County Tipperary Ireland and his father Digby Scott Morse was a Bank of Ireland agent 1 and Lizzie Jane Holmes 2 Morse attended Foyle College in Derry before embarking on his banking career with HSBC 2 Contents 1 Career 1 1 HSBC 1 2 Public services 2 Places and buildings named after him 3 References 4 External linksCareer editHSBC edit By 1940 Hong Kong was under the threat of Japanese invasion with the majority of branches in East Asia already in the hands of the Japanese Morse was sent to London by the then Chief Manager of the bank Sir Vandeleur Grayburn to lead the bank and shift the headquarters to London to avoid the reserves being frozen in New York and San Francisco by the American authorities in the case of a Japanese take over in Hong Kong On 16 December 1941 9 days before Japanese occupation Morse was appointed as the Commissioner and General Manager of the bank During the war most of the staff in the Far East became prisoners of war and hundreds of them died The Chief Manager Sir Vandeleur Grayburn and his designated successor David C Edmondston died whilst prisoners in Hong Kong In 1943 the London Advisory Committee were empowered to act as a Board of Directors and he became the Chairman and Chief Manager of the bank In 1946 he moved the headquarters of the bank back to Hong Kong and the bank resumed its role as the central bank in Hong Kong He involved himself in the revival of the infrastructure of the city as well as the bank his success in the latter task shown by the improving financial position of the bank starting a trend which continued after the end of his service in the bank in 1953 His was succeeded by Sir Michael Turner Turner had been interned in Singapore at Changi Prison during the war Public services edit Arthur Morse participated many public bodies in Hong Kong and was an unofficial member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong during his stay in Hong Kong after the war In 1945 Morse supported a failed move to establish a popularly elected Municipal Council in the colony 3 Morse was knighted for his service to the colony in 1949 Places and buildings named after him editMorse Park Morse Hut and Morse House headquarters of The Scout Association of Hong KongReferences edit a b The Silver Bowl 1967 Obit of Sir Arthur Morse Thesilverbowl com Retrieved 2016 07 21 a b Frank H H King 2004 Morse Sir Arthur 1892 1967 banker Oxford Dictionary of National Biography oi Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 50275 Retrieved 2016 07 21 Subscription or UK public library membership required Miners N J 1986 Plans for Constitutional Reform in Hong Kong 1946 52 The China Quarterly 107 466 doi 10 1017 S0305741000039862 ISSN 0305 7410 S2CID 154299156 External links editDer Geld Taipan in German HSBC Group History 1900 1945 HSBC Group History 1946 1979 Business positions Preceded byJ J Paterson Chairman of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation1941 1953 Succeeded byCedric Blaker Preceded bySir Vandeleur Grayburn Chief Manager of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation1943 1953 Succeeded bySir Michael Turner Sporting positions Preceded byP Tester Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club1946 1952 Succeeded byD Benson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arthur Morse amp oldid 1187072727, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
