Sir Wilfrid Thomas Southorn (4 August 1879 – 15 March 1957) ( Chinese Translated Name: 修頓, Old Translated Name:蕭敦), known as Tom, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

colonial administrator, spending the large part of his career in Ceylon (now

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

) before serving as Colonial Secretary of

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 Delt ...

, then Governor of

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

Education

He was educated at

Warwick School Warwick School is a selective, independent day and boarding school in Warwick, England in the public school tradition. Known until about 1900 as King's School, Warwick, it is believed to have been founded by Æthelflæd of Mercia in 914 AD ...

and

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

Colonial service career

He had joined the Ceylon Civil Service in 1903, and was appointed Additional Assistant Colonial Secretary in 1909, Principal Assistant Colonial Secretary in 1920, and Principal Collector of Customs and Chairman of the Post Commission in 1923. He was the

Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong The Chief Secretary for Administration, commonly known as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, is the most senior principal official of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Chief Secretary is head of the Governme ...

from 1925 to 1936 and served as Acting Administrator of the colony from February to March 1930 and from May to September 1935, and then in November the same year, at either end of the tenure of Sir William Peel as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. His official (summer) residence was

Mountain Lodge Mountain Lodge was the former summer residence of the Governor of Hong Kong on Victoria Peak on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The second building was a two-storey Renaissance style home and was demolished in 1946. The site is now the ...

.Out and about - Bella Southorn's stories reflect the life she loved as the wife of a colonial civil servant, ''

SCMP The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

'' Magazine, Jason Wordie, 24 Apr 2011 In 1936, he was made

Governor of the Gambia This is a list of colonial governors and administrators in the Gambia from the establishment of a British settlement on St Mary's Island, now known as Banjul Island, in 1816, through to the Gambia Colony and Protectorate's independence from the U ...

, notably describing the colony as "a geographical and economic absurdity". He left The Gambia in March 1942.

Personal life

In 1921 he married author

Bella Sidney Woolf Bella Sidney Woolf OBE (1877–1960) was an English author, sister of author Leonard Woolf and first married to Robert Heath Lock, and in her second marriage to Hong Kong colonial secretary and colonial Ceylonese administrator Tom Southorn. ...

(1877–1960), whom he met through her (later) more famous brother

Leonard Woolf Leonard Sidney Woolf (; – ) was a British political theorist, author, publisher, and civil servant. He was married to author Virginia Woolf. As a member of the Labour Party and the Fabian Society, Woolf was an avid publisher of his own wo ...

, when the two men were colleagues in Ceylon. In 1904, then a humble 'Office Assistant', Southorn had met Leonard Woolf on his arrival in Ceylon from England.Letter in Daily News, Sri Lanka, quoting Leonard Woolf's biography

Legacy

Southorn Playground Southorn Playground is a sports and recreational ground in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. It comprises a football pitch, four basketball courts, and a children's playground. Southorn Playground is bounded by Hennessy Road to the north, Luard Road to ...

Wan Chai Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...

, Hong Kong was named for him in 1934, while he was Colonial Secretary. Also bearing his name are the associated

Southorn Stadium Southorn Playground is a sports and recreational ground in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. It comprises a football pitch, four basketball courts, and a children's playground. Southorn Playground is bounded by Hennessy Road to the north, Luard Road to ...

and adjacent

Southorn Centre Southorn is a surname, and may refer to: * Bella Sidney Southorn or Bella Sidney Woolf OBE (1877–1960), English author, sister of author Leonard Woolf and wife of Tom Southorn * Fiona Southorn (born 1967), New Zealand paralympic cyclist * Jordon ...

References

Chief Secretaries of Hong Kong Governors of the Gambia 1879 births 1957 deaths People educated at Warwick School Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford People from Warwickshire Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon {{UK-gov-bio-stub