Charles Edward Michael TERRY [1897-????]

Gary Liddell:

Could you enlighten me as to the role of The Queens represetative in HK.

In the 1950s & early 1960s my family had a very dear friend Sir Charles Terry who held that title

Henry Ching:

It would be interesting to know the context in which he was described as a “Queen’s Representative”, as that term is usually applied to the Governor of a British colony or territory.  Charles Terry certainly was not that.

Sir Alexander Grantham in “Via Ports”  says Terry “had originally come out to Hong Kong as a police constable, had then gone into business and on retirement had decided to remain in the Colony”.  In 1941 Terry was an assistant manager at Kowloon Wharf, and he was interned at Stanley.  After the war he rose higher, and was appointed to the Legislative Council and the Executive Council. He was made a CBE, but I don’t think he was knighted. In the 1950s he was in charge of the Civil Aid Services.

Good morning Henry

Thank you for enlightening me, how ever there is stl an air of mystery about our man.

Both he & his wife were allways addressed as Sir Charles & Lady Terry.

We know he attended Parliamentry conferences in London(I still have a handsome publication on the history of the Houses of Parliament given to delegates & passed on to me inscribed " To Gary a potential parliamentarian christmas 1957 Charles E Terry)

Is it possible we have another Repulse Bay road pill box mystery on our hands

Kind regards

Thanks Karen, I've just sent an email to you and your father.

Regards, David

It is clearly peripheral, but in late 1948, just before the Port Welfare Committee was formed (Feb. 1949), the Roman Catholic Church formed its own port chaplaincy under the aegis of the Apotleship of the Sea. The first AOS chaplain was Father Michael Cornelius Pelly SJ, who managed to get a formal AOS Council going (whilst working as chaplain without it) by 1952. At that point an AOS rep became a member of the Port Welfare Committee. However the tough work of the previous 4 years (ship and hospital visiting without a dedicated boat or car) had taken a toll on Father Pelly's health and in late 1953 he was forced to step down. Into his place on the Port Welfare Committee stepped Charles Terry, who served as the AOS rep on the PWC in 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958 (I think - a key document is missing from HKU Library), 1959, and 1960. In 1961 a new RC rep appeared (Father Pat Cunningham SJ). My take from this is that Charles Terry was  a member of the AOS Council in HK in those years.

StephenD

Two other points. CEMT was made OBE in the birthday honours in 1955 (Supplement to the London Gazette, 9.6.1955, p.3282), and promoted CBE in 1959 (Supplement, 13.6.1959, p.3720). Interestingly (and maybe a bit of a query for the RC hypothesis), he was made an Officer (Brother) of the Most Venerable Order ot St John of Jerusalem in the New Year Honours of 1963 (Supplement, 15.1.1963, p.507) and usually (though not always) the Brit outfit sticks with the established church.

SD 

Charles Terry was appointed Chief Air Raid Warden for Kowloon, New Kowloon and the New Territories with effect from 1 August 1941. He has mentioned in an article about Christmas 1941, 20 years later. In the page finder, scroll to Page 13 of the China Mail dated 16 December 1961.