Sir Edward Charles Pearce was the Chairman of the

Shanghai Municipal Council The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the merger in the year 1863 of the British Concession (Shanghai), British and American Concession (Shanghai), American list of former foreign enclaves in China, enclaves in Shanghai, i ...

for 7 years, serving throughout

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Biography

Pearce was born 1862 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

the son of John Swayne Pearce. He was educated at the

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

. Pearce moved to Shanghai in the early 1884 to join the tea firm of Messrs George Oliver & Co.. in 1897, he joined Messrs Ilbert & Co and in 1905 became a partner. He subsequently took over the firm when Frederick Anderson retired in 1920. He served on the

from 1911 and, in 1913, became chairman serving throughout World War I, stepping down at the beginning of 1920. For this service the Shanghai Ratepayers Meeting unanimously resolved that he be granted the Freedom of Shanghai, a unique distinction. In 1922, he was knighted for his services and was awarded by the Chinese government the 4th Class Order of Chiaho. He left Shanghai in 1922 and returned to England, where he settled down near London in Little Portnall, Wentworth,

Virginia Water Virginia Water is a commuter village in the Borough of Runnymede in northern Surrey, England. It is home to the Wentworth Estate and the Wentworth Club. The area has much woodland and occupies a large minority of the Runnymede district. Its nam ...

. He died on 8 September 1928 in England.

Marriage

Pearce married Marion Everett in 1894. They had two children. One, a baby, was drowned and the other was killed in action in World War I in France.Obituary, North China Herald, 15 September 1928, p452

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Edward Charles History of Shanghai Chairmen of the Shanghai Municipal Council 1862 births 1928 deaths British expatriates in China People from Virginia Water