Stanley Hudson Dodwell (1878–1960),

CBE 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 ...

was a British businessperson and politician who was active in

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 served as the chairman of Dodwell & Co. and member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

and the

Executive Council of Hong Kong The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the Cabinet (government), 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 c ...

Business career

S. H. Dodwell was a nephew of George Benjamin Dodwell, founder of Dodwell & Co., which was one of the leading British merchant firms in the late 19th and early 20th century. He joined the company in January 1897 and began with a salary of £30 per annum. In 1899 Dodwell became the company's representative on the Baltic Shipping Exchange, responsible for arranging tonnage to fill Dodwell & Company's turns on the New York berth. He took charge of the firm from his uncle in 1912 and remained as chairman until 1953. Besides his own firm, he was also on the board of many local leading companies. He was a director of the

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

and was elected chairman in 1912. He was also chairman of the

Union Insurance Society of Canton The Union Insurance Society of Canton (commonly known as the Union) was a major Hong Kong–based insurance company regarded in the early 20th century as one of the four leading British businesses, or " hongs", of colonial Hong Kong alongside Hong ...

and the British Traders' Insurance Co., and member of the Consulting Committee of Shewan Tomes & Co. among others.

Public services

He was an

unofficial member Unofficial Member is the name given to individuals who are members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and Legislative Council of Hong Kong but who are not members of the Hong Kong Government. The terms "Unofficial" (or "non-official") and ...

of the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...

on multiple occasions for decades. In June 1917 he was appointed an unofficial member on the Legislative Council during Henry Pollock's leave, again in October 1918 for

Edward Shellim Edward Shellim (c. 1869 – 7 December 1928) was an English Jewish businessman in Hong Kong. Biography Born in Sussex, England to Ezekiel Shellim and Rebecca Sassoon, daughter of David Sassoon, he joined his grandfather's firm David Sassoon ...

, and as a substitute for Robert Gordon Shewan in March 1919 and January 1920. He again served on the Legislative Council from 1936 to 1941. In April 1936, he was appointed for a four-year term on William Shenton's resignation and was reappointed in April 1940. Dodwell was also a member of the Executive Council numerous times. He was appointed on Henry Pollock's absence in October 1936, July 1938, and September 1940, and on J. J. Paterson's absence in March 1939 and March 1941. He was also a member of the Medical Board, the Authorized Architects' Committee, and the Board of War Taxation, which the government set up for raising revenue for the war preparation on the eve of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. Dodwell, however, strongly opposed the new Income Tax Bill presented by the Hong Kong Government. He feared the new taxation would drive out industrial enterprises and capital and prevent new ones from coming in, and the tax collecting would be too costly. He demanded some amendments of the bill and asked for an enquiry into the wartime departments to be set up for providing jobs for senior and former government officials. Dodwell was part of the

Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) (RHKR(V)) (), formed in May 1854, was a local auxiliary militia force funded and administered by the colonial Government of Hong Kong. Its powers and duties were mandated by the Royal Hong Kong R ...

. In 1938, the governor combined the advisory committees for the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps and Hong Kong Naval Volunteer into the advisory committee of the Volunteer Advisory Committee. Dodwell was appointed a member of the newly formed committee for military advice. He lived in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

during the war and became the chairman of the East Asian Residents' Association, which consisted of Far Eastern residents who had fled from the Japanese-occupied territories. He stationed in London for the Dodwell & Co. after the war. He was awarded the 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 ...

in June 1947 for his public services in Hong Kong.

Personal life

He was the captain of the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club from 1916 to 1917. He was still a keen golfer in his later life. Dodwell married Phoebe Joyce Butlin (1889–1976) of London. Their son Michael Carr Dodwell, who was part of the

, died on 15 May 1944 at the age of 21 and was buried at the Stanley Military Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodwell, Stanley Hudson 1878 births 1960 deaths Chairmen of HSBC Hong Kong chief executives Hong Kong businesspeople in shipping British businesspeople in shipping British expatriates in Australia Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British expatriates in British Hong Kong

Business career

Public services

Personal life

See also

References