John Hellyer Liddell

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(29 June 1899 – 24 January 1984) was businessman who served as the last British chairman of the

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

from 1941 to 1942.

Life

Liddell was born on 29 June 1899 in

. He was the son of John and Marion (Hellyer) Liddell. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

from which he graduated in 1919. He joined the family firm of Liddell Bros which had been established in Shanghai in the 1880s by his uncle C. Oswald Liddell. His father had joined the firm in 1888. In 1932, he became managing director or Liddell Bros & Co Ltd. In 1941, he was chosen to be the Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council. (Technically, he was Chairman of the Provisional Council that had been established to take over from the SMC.) He was chairman when the Japanese occupied 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 ...

on 8 December 1941 at the start of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

. He remained in position until 5 January 1942, when he and all other British and American members of the council resigned.

Katsuo Okazaki was a Japanese sportsman, diplomat and political figure. He served as the Japanese foreign minister in the 1950s. He was also the final – and only Japanese – chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council. Early life Okazaki was born on 10 Ju ...

was appointed in his place. Liddell was interned in Shanghai for the duration of the war. Following the war, he moved to California. Liddell was appointed a

in 1947.

Marriage

He married Grace Coutts in Shanghai on 21 November 1927.

Death

Liddell died on 21 January 1984, aged 84, in

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

, California.California Death Record Index, 1940-1997
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liddell, John History of Shanghai 1899 births 1984 deaths Chairmen of the Shanghai Municipal Council Commanders of the Order of the British Empire