H. G. Simms was the Chairman of Shanghai International Settlement's Municipal Council from 1922 to 1923. He was also Chairman of the

Shanghai Club The Shanghai Club Building is a six-storey Baroque Revival building in Shanghai located at No.2, The Bund. Once home to one of the premier men's clubs in Shanghai, the building was used for various clubs and hotels after 1949. It is currently pa ...

from 1914 to 1920.

Biography

Simms was born in

Strabane Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle marks ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. After leaving school, he went to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

where he served an apprenticeship with a merchant firm remaining with them for eight years. He was then appointed an inspector for the Caledonian Insurance Company. He worked in the

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 ...

office of the North China Insurance Company for three years. In 1899, he moved to Hong Kong as head of the North China Insurance Company's Hong Kong office and in 1908 was promoted to secretary of the company in its head office in Shanghai. While he was in Shanghai the North China Insurance Company amalgamated with the Union Insurance Society of Canton. Simms continued as secretary of the North China Insurance Company and branch manager of the Union of Canton Insurance Company. Simms was Hon. Treasurer and later President of the St Patrick's Society in Shanghai and was also Chairman of the

from 1914 to 1920. In 1920, he was elected to 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 ...

, which had limited powers in the

Shanghai International Settlement The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the merger in the year 1863 of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai, in which British subjects and American citizens would enjoy extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction ...

, and in 1922 became Chairman on the retirement of Alfred Brooke-Smith. He served until October 1923, when he also resigned to return to London with his firm. He served as London manager of the Union Insurance Society of Canton until 1 July 1936 when he retired due to ill health intending to spend his time between Ireland and London. In London he was also Hon. Treasurer of the

China Association The China Association was a British merchants association established to represent the interests of British companies trading with China, Hong Kong and Japan. Members of the association included representatives of the large China Houses such as ...

and Chairman of the British Residents'a Association London Committee.

Marriage

Simms was married and had two daughters. His second daughter, Helen Mary, married Peter Stephens in 1934.North China Herald, 3 October 1934, p1032

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, H. G. History of Shanghai Chairmen of the Shanghai Municipal Council Irish expatriates in Hong Kong Businesspeople in insurance