Sir Sidney Gordon (20 August 1917 – 11 April 2007) was a businessman in

colonial Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 to 1981, and a dependent territory from 1981 to ...

from 1956 until his death in 2007.

Life in Scotland

Sidney Samuel Gordon was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and was the son of the managing director of

British Lion Films British Lion Films is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Originally known as British Lion Film Corporation Ltd, it entered receivership on 1 June 1954. From 29 January 1955 to 1976, the company was k ...

in Scotland. In his early life he suffered from chronic ill health and was diagnosed with

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...

as a child. This tendency towards sickness meant that Sidney, unlike his brother Lesley, never saw action during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. However, due to the experience he had accumulated in the Scottish

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

industry he was asked to work in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's biggest munitions factory at Ardeer in Ayrshire. It was while working as an accountant here that Sidney was offered a position with Lowe, Bingham and Thomsons (which later became Lowe, Bingham and Mathews, and later

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...

) in Hong Kong. Sidney accepted this position in 1947, and by 1956 had become a senior partner at the firm. He died on 11 April 2007, aged 89, in

Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road () is one of two Seventh-day Adventist hospitals in Hong Kong, the other being Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Tsuen Wan. It is a private hospital, and is located on Stubbs Road, on Hong Kong Isla ...

Happy Valley, Hong Kong Happy Valley ( zh, first=t, t=跑馬地) is an upper-income residential List of places in Hong Kong, area in Hong Kong, located on Hong Kong Island. The area is bordered by Caroline Hill to the east, Jardine's Lookout to the south, Morrison Hi ...

Life in Hong Kong

As a senior partner in Lowe, Bingham and Matthews, Gordon became the primary accountant to Sir Elly Kadoorie and Sons, the corporate major

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...

in such companies as Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels group, China Light and Power, and Tai Ping Carpets. Through this he developed a deep friendship with Lord Kadoorie and the

Kadoorie family The Kadoorie family or "Khedouri" (, , ) are a wealthy Hong Kong–based family, originally Jews from Baghdad, Iraq. From the mid-18th century they were established in Mumbai (then known as Bombay), becoming one of the wealthiest families in Asia ...

, and when he left Lowe Bingham and Matthews, he joined the Board of Directors of Sir Elly Kadoorie and Sons, eventually becoming the group's chairman. Sidney Gordon was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1967 and was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed in 1972 for services to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. He also received the

Grand Bauhinia Medal The Grand Bauhinia Medal () is the highest award under the Decorations and medals of Hong Kong, Hong Kong honours and awards system; it is to recognise the selected person's lifelong and highly significant contribution to the well-being of Hong ...

in 1999, the highest award available to the Hong Kong government.

Positions held

References

External Links

obituary at news.scotsman.comwww.telegraph.co.uk for May 11, 2007
1917 births 2007 deaths Recipients of the Grand Bauhinia Medal 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong British emigrants to Hong Kong {{HongKong-bio-stub