Ronald Holmes

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For the American football player, see Ron Holmes. For the Jamaican boxer, see Ronald Holmes (boxer).

Sir Ronald Holmes
何禮文爵士
Born
David Ronald Holmes

(1913-12-26)26 December 1913
United Kingdom
Died14 June 1981(1981-06-14) (aged 67)
Corfu, Greece
OccupationColonial government official

Sir David Ronald Holmes

JP (Chinese: 何禮文爵士, 26 December 1913 – 14 June 1981) was a British colonial government official who served in Hong Kong
from 1938.

In the

prisoners of war
from the Japanese detention camps. His contribution was recognised by the British government and he was decorated several times. After the war, Holmes played a significant role in reconstructing Hong Kong.

In 1954, he was appointed to establish the Resettlement Department, a governmental department which was responsible for constructing resettlement estates for the homeless refugees. Later on he successively served as the Director of Urban Services, the New Territories' District Commissioner and the Director of Commerce and Industry.

In 1966, Holmes replaced John Crichton McDouall as the

Secretary for Home Affairs in 1969 and he eventually stepped down in 1971. Afterwards, he immediately became the chairman of the Public Service Commission
, a post he served until 1977 when he left Hong Kong.

When Holmes was serving in the

knighted
in 1973.

Biography

Early years

The headstone of Captain L. B. Holmes.

Holmes was born on 26 December 1913 in the United Kingdom. His parents were Louis James Holmes and Emily Sutcliffe of

Second Lieutenant in 1935. After the promotion, he briefly served in the Infantry Unit of the Contingent but retired in October 1936.[2][3] In 1938, Holmes was employed by the government of Hong Kong as a cadet. At the time before the war, he was the Assistant Secretary for Chinese Affairs and learnt to speak fluent Cantonese
.

In December 1941, the

Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, was killed in action in Hong Kong on 19 December. He died at the age of 36 and left his widow, Marguerite Julia Holmes, of Ramsbury, Wiltshire. Today, his grave can still be found in the Stanley Military Cemetery.[5]

British Army Aid Group

See also: British Army Aid Group

After fleeing from Hong Kong, Holmes finally reached

Paul Tsui (徐家祥), a close friend Holmes newly met in Shaoguan, joined the group in November and were immediately sent to station in Dong River, Huizhou.[6]

In

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) of the Military Division a few months later. It was rare at that time to be decorated twice in a single year.[7]

In 1944, Holmes was promoted to the rank of Major and was responsible for supervising the frontier post in Huizhou. By then Holmes had become a very good friend of Tsui. On one occasion, he even sent his only

suit to Tsui for the use in Tsui's wedding. After the war, under the recommendation of Holmes, Tsui further became the first ethnic Chinese to be appointed a cadet and followed Holmes in the government of Hong Kong.[7]
In the end of 1944, Holmes applied for leave of absence and travelled to Australia. He remained in there until the end of the war.

Postwar years

In August 1945, the Second World War finally ended by the unconditional surrender of Japan. After the

Colonial Secretariat. To assist him in dealing with the affairs in New Territories, Holmes also appointed Paul Tsui as the Assistant District Officer, New Territories.[7]

When the provisional military government ceased to function in May 1946, Hong Kong re-established its own civil government. In the early postwar years, Holmes continued to serve in the Colonial Secretariat and was the Deputy Clerk of both the Legislative and Executive Councils from 1946 to 1947. After that, he was sent to the

Imperial Defence College in London by the government for advanced study.[4] Upon returning to Hong Kong, he rejoined the government and worked in different capacities including the Deputy Secretary for Chinese Affairs. In July 1951, he became the acting Social Welfare Officer of the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs while the holder of the position, John McDouall was absent. When McDouall resumed in 1952, Holmes was appointed to different posts including the Clerk of the Executive and Legislative Councils.[8]

The slum area in Shek Kip Mei after the great fire on the Christmas Day of 1953.

In December 1953, a major fire destroyed the slum area in Shek Kip Mei and more than 50,000 refugees were made homeless. After the disaster, then Governor Sir Alexander Grantham ordered Holmes to establish the Resettlement Department and appointed him as the Deputy Colonial Secretary and the first Commissioner of Resettlement. To resettle the homeless refugees in a short period of time, he took the lead to construct a number of resettlement estates on the burnt ground in Shek Kip Mei and in its neighbouring area. Some of the notable examples included Shek Kip Mei Estate and Tai Hang Tung Estate.[9] Since the creation of the Resettlement Department, constructing public housing estate for resettling the poor people had become one of the primary policy goals set by the government in postwar Hong Kong. On the other hand, Holmes was also an official member of the Urban Council during his tenure as the Commissioner of Resettlement. In October 1955, when he succeeded the retired Harold Giles Richards as the Director of Urban Services, he stepped down from the Resettlement Department but was also appointed official member of the legislative council. His original post of the Commissioner of Resettlement was succeeded by Arthur Walton.[10] During his tenure as the Director of Urban Services, Holmes witnessed the expansion of the Council that the number of unofficial members was increased to eight in 1956. It was the first time in history that unofficial member occupied half of the seats in the council. However, the demand on further reform was not satisfied by the expansion, and therefore the relationship between the unofficial members and the government became worsening under his term of office.[9]

In 1958, Holmes left the Urban and Legislative Councils and replaced

European countries aiming at negotiating trade agreement on textile and expanding the overseas market for the textile industry of Hong Kong. From May to August 1964, Holmes was on vacation so his Deputy Director, Terence Dare Sorby, acted for his position during his absence. By July of the same year, then Governor Sir David Trench reorganised the Legislative Council and the holder of the Director of Commerce and Industry was admitted to the council as an official member. Therefore, Sorby also became an acting official member of the Legislative Council until the return of Holmes in August.[14] It was the second time for Holmes to be appointed to the Legislative Council and soon afterwards he was further appointed as an official member of the Executive Council in 1965, thus becoming a much relied official member in the two Councils.[15]

In late 1966, the then

Crown Colony. It was said that Holmes strongly resisted the idea of retreat in the Executive Council, and he successfully persuaded the British to stay.[16] Under the leadership of Holmes, the government adopted a hard-line policy towards the Communists and called on the general public to denounce the leftists. Finally, the rioting ended in late 1967, and the tough stance held by Holmes was deeply appreciated by the government.[9]

After the riot, Trench recognised the necessity to implement further reform of the government. So, with the assistance from Holmes, the government began a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the same year. Before retiring from the Home Affairs Department, he had been focusing on the legislation on abolishing polygyny
. Yet, such legislation was completed in October 1971, five months after his retirement from the civil service.

Later years

Although Holmes retired from the post of the Secretary for Home Affairs and the official members of the two Councils in May 1971, he became the chairman of the

knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace on 13 July 1973.[17] He finally retired from the Commission in May 1977 and began his quiet retirement with his family in Corfu, Greece. In May 1981, Holmes and his wife paid a visit to his old friends in Hong Kong. He felt unwell during the visit and was admitted to the Queen Mary Hospital for a few weeks. The couple continued their visit after his recovery.[6] Unfortunately, upon returning to Greece, Holmes became very sick and died in a hospital on Corfu on 14 June 1981, aged 67.[18]

At a memorial service in

Denis Campbell Bray hailed him as "one of the founders of post-war Hong Kong".[19][9] Another memorial service was held in St Paul's, Covent Garden, in London, on 14 July 1981, attended by Lady Holmes.[20]
Holmes' remains were interred in the British Cemetery on Corfu.

Family

Holmes first met his future wife, Charlotte Marjorie Fisher (18 July 1920 – 14 January 2012), the only daughter of Frank Hastings Fisher, who was a former representative and manager of

Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club in Hong Kong.[1]

Honours

Conferment

Titles

  • Ronald Holmes (26 December 1913 – 9 March 1943)
  • Ronald Holmes, MC (9 March 1943 – 4 May 1943)
  • Ronald Holmes, MBE, MC (4 May 1943 – November 1955)
  • The Honourable Ronald Holmes, MBE, MC (November 1955 – 1956)
  • The Honourable Ronald Holmes, MBE, MC, ED (1956–1958)
  • Ronald Holmes, MBE, MC, ED (1958 – January 1962)
  • Ronald Holmes, CBE, MC, ED (January 1962 – June 1964)
  • The Honourable Ronald Holmes, CBE, MC, ED (June 1964 – June 1969)
  • The Honourable Ronald Holmes, CMG, CBE, MC, ED (June 1969 – August 1969)
  • The Honourable Ronald Holmes, CMG, CBE, MC, ED, JP (August 1969 – May 1971)
  • Ronald Holmes, CMG, CBE, MC, ED, JP (May 1971 – January 1973)
  • Sir Ronald Holmes, CMG, CBE, MC, ED, JP (January 1973 – 14 June 1981)

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c Who Was Who, London: A & C Black, 1996.
  2. ^ "No. 34217". The London Gazette. 8 November 1935. p. 7049.
  3. ^ "No. 40753". The London Gazette. 18 December 1936. p. 2158.
  4. ^ a b c d e Steve Tsang, Governing Hong Kong: Administrative Officers from the Nineteenth Century to the Handover to China, 1862–1997, I.B.Tauris, 2007, pp. 79 – 81.
  5. ^ "LESLIE BENJAMIN HOLMES", The Holmes Family History Society. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d Paul Tsui, Paul Tsui's Memoirs Chapter 12.
  7. ^ a b c d e 〈徐家祥悼何禮文爵士〉，《華僑日報》第三張第一頁，1981年6月21日。
  8. ^ 〈副華民司何禮文，暫代社會局長〉，《工商日報》第五頁，1951年7月3日。
  9. ^ a b c d e f g 〈何禮文爵士在希病世〉，《工商日報》第八頁，1981年6月16日。
  10. ^ 〈市政局主席利澤時退休，由何禮文繼任〉，《工商日報》第五頁，1955年10月26日。
  11. ^ OFFICIAL REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS, HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, 12 May 1971.
  12. ^ OFFICIAL REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS, HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, 25 November 1959.
  13. ^ Alvin Rabushka, Value for Money, Hoover Press, 1976, p. 73.
  14. ^ "No. 43373". The London Gazette. 3 July 1964. p. 5724.
  15. ^ "No. 43699". The London Gazette. 29 June 1965. p. 6210.
  16. ^ 楊懷康，〈港英奮力捍公眾利益〉，《刊物名稱有待查證》，造訪於2009年2月15日。
  17. ^ "No. 46042". The London Gazette. 31 July 1973. p. 9035.
  18. ^ 〈曾任本港民政司，何禮文爵士逝世〉，《華僑日報》第三張第二頁，1981年6月16日。
  19. ^ 〈何禮文追思彌撒，港督麥理浩及民政司致悼詞〉，《工商日報》第七頁，1981年6月20日。
  20. ^ 〈何禮文爵士追悼會，下周二在倫敦舉行〉，《工商日報》第六頁，1981年7月11日。
  21. ^ a b c "Marjorie Holmes" (17 March 2012)
  22. ^ "APPROACHING MARRIAGES", Argus, Australia: Melbourne, 31 January 1945, p. 8.
  23. ^ "No. 35929". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 March 1943. p. 1118.
  24. ^ "No. 36000". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 April 1943. p. 1995.
  25. ^ In Hong Kong, the Efficiency Decoration was awarded to those who had served for a certain period in the Royal Hong Kong Regiment.
  26. ^ "No. 42552". The London Gazette. 29 December 1961. p. 23.
  27. ^ "No. 44863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 June 1969. p. 5964.
  28. ^ "No. 45860". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1972. p. 2.

References

English materials

  • "APPROACHING MARRIAGES", Argus, Australia: Melbourne, 31 January 1945, p. 8. online version
  • OFFICIAL REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS, HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, 25 November 1959. online version
  • OFFICIAL REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS, HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, 12 May 1971. online version
  • Alvin Rabushka, Value for Money, Hoover Press, 1976, p. 73.
  • Who Was Who, London: A & C Black, 1996.
  • Steve Tsang, Governing Hong Kong: Administrative Officers from the Nineteenth Century to the Handover to China, 1862–1997, I.B.Tauris, 2007, pp. 79 – 81.
  • Paul Tsui, Paul Tsui's Memoirs Chapter 12. online version
  • "LESLIE BENJAMIN HOLMES", The Holmes Family History Society. Retrieved 15 February 2009. website
  • "Marjorie Holmes", The Times, 17 March 2012.

Chinese materials

  • 〈副華民司何禮文, 暫代社會局長〉, 《工商日報》第五頁, 1951年7月3日。
  • 〈市政局主席利澤時退休, 由何禮文繼任〉, 《工商日報》第五頁, 1955年10月26日。
  • 〈曾任本港民政司, 何禮文爵士逝世〉, 《華僑日報》第三張第二頁, 1981年6月16日。
  • 〈何禮文爵士在希病世〉, 《工商日報》第八頁, 1981[6月16日。
  • 〈何禮文追思彌撒, 港督麥理浩及民政司致悼詞〉, 《工商日報》第七頁, 1981年6月20日。
  • 〈徐家祥悼何禮文爵士〉, 《華僑日報》第三張第一頁, 1981年6月21日。
  • 〈何禮文爵士追悼會, 下周二在倫敦舉行〉, 《工商日報》第六頁, 1981年7月11日。
  • 楊懷康, 〈港英奮力捍公眾利益〉, 《刊物名稱有待查證》, 造訪於2009年2月15日。website

External links

Government offices
Preceded by
New Creation
 Commissioner of Resettlement
1954–1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of Urban Services
1955–1958 		Succeeded by
Preceded by District Commissioner, New Territories
1958–1962 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of Commerce and Industry
1962–1966 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Secretary for Chinese Affairs

1966–1969 		Succeeded by
Secretary for Home Affairs
Preceded by
Secretary for Chinese Affairs
Secretary for Home Affairs

February 1969 – May 1971 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman of the Public Service Commission
November 1971 – May 1977 		Succeeded by
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