Sir Michael William Turner (1905 - 27 September 1980) was a banker for

Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tril ...

and commandant of the

auxiliary police Auxiliary police, also called special police, are usually the part-time reserves of a regular police force. They may be armed or unarmed. They may be unpaid volunteers or paid members of the police service with which they are affiliated. The po ...

in Hong Kong.

Early life

Turner was born in

Winchester, England Winchester is a cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen. It is south-west of Londo ...

, in 1905. He was the son of Skinner Turner, at that time Judge of the British Court for Siam in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

and later Chief Judge of the British Supreme Court for China based in

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 flowin ...

Education

Turner studied at Marlborough College and then

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

and obtained a degree in military history. He played field hockey with the English national field hockey team.

Career

Upon graduation, Turned joined the London office of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC) and was then posted to

. Turner was later transferred to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

where he was interned in

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. History First prison Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside ...

for the duration of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It took him six months for him to recover from the conditions in the camp. After the war, Turner resumed his career with HSBC and, in 1953, succeeded Sir

Arthur Morse Sir Arthur Morse ( Chinese: 摩士) (25 April 1892 – 13 May 1967) was the head of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation during and after World War II. He was a British banker born in Tipperary in Ireland. He worked in Shanghai, Lo ...

as Chief Manager of HSBC. Turner was instrumental in the considerable post-war expansion of the bank. In 1962, Turner retired from HSBC in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. In Hong Kong, Turner also served as the Commander of the

Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force The Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force provides additional manpower to the Hong Kong Police Force, especially during emergencies and other incidents. The HKAPF's mandate is governed by the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force Ordinance. History Th ...

. Following retirement in 1963, Turner served as Chairman of the

British Bank of the Middle East HSBC Bank Middle East Limited is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the Middle East. History The Imperial Bank of Persia (Persian: بانک شاهنشاهی ایران; Bank-e Šâhanšâhi-ye Irân) was a British ban ...

Personal life

Lady Turner presenting cup to Benny Omar

In 1938, Turner married Wendy Spencer Stranack, daughter of Morriss Stranack, at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Shanghai, China. Morriss Stranack lived in Shanghai, China and he was originally from

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Michael and Wendy Turner had three sons. On 27 September 1980, Michael Turner died in London, England. 1981 Who's Who Obituary

Awards and recognition

Turner was awarded a Colonial Police Medal in 1956 for his services to the

. He was awarded a

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 ...

in 1957 and was knighted in 1961. A Turner Room on Level 41 of the main Hong Kong branch of HSBC commemorates his services to the bank.

References

} {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Michael Chairmen of HSBC Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong 1905 births 1980 deaths British expatriates in China