Sir Arthur Morse ( Chinese: 摩士) (25 April 1892 – 13 May 1967) was the head of

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly known as HSBC (), was the parent entity of the multinational HSBC banking group until 1991, and is now its Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary. The largest bank in Hong K ...

during and after World War II. He was a British banker born in Tipperary in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. He worked in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

, London and

Tientsin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

and finally many years in Hong Kong. He rebuilt

HSBC 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 tr ...

and did much to revive Hong Kong after the war, retired in 1953 and moved to London where he died in 1967. Morse was born in 1892 in Bohercrowe,

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after ...

, Ireland and his father Digby Scott Morse was a

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Iris ...

agent. and Lizzie Jane Holmes. Morse attended

Foyle College Foyle College is a co-educational non-denominational voluntary grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland. The school's legal name is Foyle and Londonderry College. In 1976, two local schools, Foyle College and Londonderry High School, merged unde ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, before embarking on his banking career with HSBC.

Career

HSBC

By 1940, Hong Kong was under the threat of Japanese invasion with the majority of branches in East Asia already in the hands of the Japanese. Morse was sent to London by the then-Chief Manager of the bank, Sir Vandeleur Grayburn, to lead the bank and shift the headquarters to London to avoid the reserves being frozen in New York and San Francisco by the American authorities in the case of a Japanese take over in Hong Kong. On 16 December 1941, 9 days before Japanese occupation, Morse was appointed as the Commissioner and General Manager of the bank. During the war, most of the staff in the Far East became

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

and hundreds of them died. The Chief Manager, Sir Vandeleur Grayburn and his designated successor David C Edmondston died whilst prisoners in Hong Kong. In 1943, the London Advisory Committee were empowered to act as a

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...

and he became the Chairman and Chief Manager of the bank. In 1946, he moved the headquarters of the bank back to Hong Kong and the bank resumed its role as the central bank in Hong Kong. He involved himself in the revival of the infrastructure of the city, as well as the bank, his success in the latter task shown by the improving financial position of the bank starting a trend which continued after the end of his service in the bank in 1953. His was succeeded by Sir Michael Turner. Turner had been interned in Singapore at

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 ...

during the war.

Public services

Arthur Morse participated many public bodies in Hong Kong and was an unofficial member of the

Executive Council of Hong Kong The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the cabinet of the Government of Hong Kong, acting as a formal body of advisers to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong that serves as a core policy-making organ assisting the Chief Executive. It is ...

during his stay in Hong Kong after the war. In 1945, Morse supported a failed move to establish a popularly elected Municipal Council in the colony. Morse was knighted for his service to the colony in 1949.

Places and buildings named after him

* Morse Park * Morse Hut and Morse House, headquarters of

The Scout Association of Hong Kong The Scout Association of Hong Kong is the largest scouting organisation in Hong Kong. Scout training was first introduced in Hong Kong in 1909 and 1910 by the Protestant based Boys' Brigade, Chums Scout Patrols and British Boy Scouts. The Catho ...

References

External links

Der Geld-Taipan (in German)HSBC - Group History 1900-1945HSBC - Group History 1946-1979
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, Arthur 1892 births 1967 deaths Hong Kong businesspeople Chairmen of HSBC Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Irish knights Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire