Sir Thomas Lister Villiers (31 October 1869 – 21 December 1959) was a British planter in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. He was appointed the European

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 Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of represe ...

from 1924 to 1931, appointed member of the

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It ...

(1932) and chairman of George Steuart Group.Adisham: A homesick Englishman’s haven in the tropics
/ref> Born in

Adisham Adisham (formerly Adesham) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Kent. It is twinned with Campagne-lès-Hesdin in France. Geography The village centre, six miles south-east of Canterbury is on the B2046 road between Wingham an ...

to Rev. Henry Montagu Villiers, of the

Villiers family Villiers ( ) is an Nobility, aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. Over time, various members of the Villiers family were made knights, baronets, and peers. Peerages held by the Villiers family include the dukedoms of Duke of Buckingham, Bucki ...

, who was

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, daughter of

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 186 ...

former

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

. He was educated at the

Sherborne School Sherborne School is a full-boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 located beside Sherborne Abbey in the Dorset town of Sherborne. The school has been in continuous operation on the same site for over 1,300 years. It was founded in 705 AD by Ald ...

and left to Ceylon to start a career as a planter apprenticing at the Elbedde Estate in

Bogawantalawa Bogawantalawa, also spelt Bogawanthalawa, is a small town in the Central province of Sri Lanka. It is at 1514 m elevation above sea level, about east of Colombo, famous for its tea estates. Most refer it to as Bogawantalawa - however the correct ...

. He left Ceylon and spend four years in Brazil, returning to Ceylon in 1900, he purchased a tea estate, the Dickoya Group. He joined the George Steuart Company in 1905 and in 1928 he became the Chairman of the George Steuart Company, a post he held until his retirement in 1949. In 1929 he began construction of

Adisham Hall Adisham Hall, or Adisham Bungalow is a country house near Haputale, in the Badulla District, Sri Lanka. At present, it houses the Adisham monastery of Saint Benedict. It has a relic (a chip of a bone) of St. Sylvester at the chapel. Sir Thomas V ...

, his country house in

Bandarawela Bandarawela (Sinhala language, Sinhala: බණ්ඩාරවෙල, pronounced ; ) is the second largest town in the Badulla District which is away from Badulla. Bandarawela is away from Colombo and about away from Kandy, the two largest cit ...

which was completed in 1931. He left Ceylon after his retirement and died in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

on 21 December 1959. He married Evelyn Hope Walker in 1896, they had two sons, Henry Lister (b. 1897) and Thomas Hyde (b. 1902). Henry Lister served as a lieutenant in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and was killed in action during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1917. Thomas Hyde served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as a Lieutenant Commander in

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 ...

and died in 1955. After the death of his first wife, he married Marjorie Glencora Keyt in 1953.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villiers, Thomas 1869 births 1959 deaths Ceylonese Knights Bachelor British expatriates in British Ceylon Planters from British Ceylon People educated at Sherborne School People from Adisham Thomas Lister Members of the 1st State Council of Ceylon Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon