Thomas LOUDON [c.1863-1889] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Thomas LOUDON [c.1863-1889]

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Submitted by Shirley on Tue, 2019-01-01 17:23
Names
Given: 
Thomas
Family: 
Loudon
Sex: 
Male
Status: 
Deceased
Birth
Date: 
c.1863-01-01 (Year, Month, Day are approximate)
Death
Date: 
c.1889-12-31 (Month, Day are approximate)

Hi David,

I have been trying to find out details about my husbands great-grandfathers brother who we knew died in Hong Kong in 1889 and I came across your amazing site by accident! I have now found his grave in Happy Valley Cemetery and have a photograph of it - fantastic! Can't believe we've had 3 trips to HK and did not realise we had a relative buried there.  Next is to find out a bit more about why ~Thomas left Denny in Scotland to join the Hong Kong Police and what his life in HK was like in the 1880's. Keen also to find out the cause of his death at the young age of 23. Any suggestions where I can go to find this out?

Regards

Shirley

Tags: 
police
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Comments

Submitted by David on Tue, 2019-01-01 18:10.

Patricia's book, Policing Hong Kong, would be an excellent place to start and get a feel for the policeman's life in Hong Kong around that time.

Here are some resources if you'd like to do your own research: https://gwulo.com/node/9374

Please let us know what you discover,

Regards, David

Submitted by annpake on Mon, 2019-01-14 19:37.

Scotlands People shows  only one birth record of a Thomas Loudon in Denny between 1862 and 1868. That is a birth in 1866. The 1871 census shows Thomas Loudon living in Denny with parents Thomas Loudon a cooper  and Agnes Loudon nee Baird. Baptism of Thomas Loudon 27 April 1866 in Denny parents Thomas Loudon and Agnes.

Thomas Loudon died intestate 1 August 1899 and on 13 January 1890  an inventory of his assets was presented at Stirling by Thomas Loudon, Cooper, Bankier Distillery, Stirling, executor dative qua father.

Poverty was the main reason that so many Scots emigrated.

Submitted by Shirley on Mon, 2019-01-14 22:00.

Thanks for that, I have all this information on the family tree.

Keen to understand what the recruitment process would have looked like, his life as a policemen in HK and how he died.  It's sad to think that he left for a better life and his was cut so short.

Submitted by annpake on Tue, 2019-01-15 23:21.

https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/british-bobby-hong-kong-...

https://www.police.gov.hk/offbeat/777/eng/f03.htm

Submitted by David on Wed, 2019-01-16 09:54.

As we have an accurate date of his death, it's worth checking the newspapers around that date to see if there is any mention. Luckily there is, on page 2 of The China Mail, 1889-08-01:

THOMAS London [sic.], a constable in the Hongkong Police, died in the Government Civil Hospital this morning from fever. London, who was a Scotchman, joined the force a little over two years ago.

Submitted by Shirley on Sat, 2019-01-26 04:38.

Oh that's great - thanks for sourcing that David - much appreciated! 

By the way we are enjoying reading the book