Henry Keswick (politician)

Henry Keswick
Henry Keswick
Member of Parliament for Epsom
In office 1912–1918
Preceded by	William Keswick
Succeeded by	Rowland Blades
Provisional Unofficial Member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong
In office 10 March 1908 – 9 May 1908
Preceded by	Edbert Ansgar Hewett
Succeeded by	Henry Spencer Berkeley
In office 5 May 1910 – 1910
Preceded by	Catchick Paul Chater
Succeeded by	Catchick Paul Chater
Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
In office 23 May 1907 – 20 April 1911
Preceded by	William Jardine Gresson
Succeeded by	Charles Henderson Ross
Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council
In office August 1906 – May 1907
Preceded by	Cecil Holliday
Succeeded by	David Landale
Chairman of the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation
In office February 1908 – February 1909
Preceded by	G. H. Medhurst
Succeeded by	William Jardine Gresson
Personal details
Born	1870 Shanghai, China
Died	29 November 1928 (aged 57 or 58) London, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Ida Wynifred Johnston
Parents	William Keswick

Henry Keswick (1870 – 29 November 1928) was a British Conservative politician and businessman and member of the Executive Council and Legislative Council of Hong Kong.

Biography

Henry Keswick was born the elder and only surviving son and first-born child of William Keswick by his first wife Amelia Sophie Dubeux (d. 1883), in 1870 in Shanghai, into the Keswick business dynasty.^[1] He was educated at Eton College and graduated with a B.A. at the Trinity College, Cambridge in 1892, of which he took his M.A. degree later. He fought in the South African War as the captain of the 3rd Battalion of the King's Own Scottish Borderers. He rejoined the battalion during the First World War in which he commanded until its disbandment.^[2] He was also a member of the Royal Company of Archers, a ceremonial unit that serves as the sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland.^[3]

He joined the family business and spent two years in the New York office of Jardines before he arrived in Hong Kong in 1895 the year before his Uncle James Johnstone Keswick left and became the taipan of the Jardine. During his time in the Far East, he went to Shanghai and became the chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council from 24 August 1906 and served until May 1907. He was also chairman of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.^[2]

He was appointed as Unofficial Member of the Legislative and Executive Councils during his time in Hong Kong. He was also vice-chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, and Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Company as well as other numerous public companies. After he returned to England, he became the first chairman of the Far Eastern Section of the London Chamber of Commerce and member of the London Committee of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.^[2]

He returned to England in 1911 to represent Hong Kong at the coronation of King George V. He was still in England when his father died and succeeded him as the member of Parliament for the Conservative and Unionist in at the Epsom by-election in 1912, and held the seat until 1918.^[3] He was also member of the county council of Dumfriesshire, where he spent most of his latter life.

He did return to Hong Kong and the Far East in his yacht "Cutty Sark" in 1922. He remained a director of Jardines until his death on 29 November 1928 in London.

Family

He married Ida Wynifred Johnston (born c.1880) in 1900 and had three children:^[3]

1. David Johnston (1902 Yokohama – 1976); married Nony or Nonie Barbara Pease, and had issue, including Amelia Sophia or Sophy Keswick whose children include: Percy Weatherall (b. 1957), Mrs Catherine Soames and Isobel, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne and another son.
2. Sir William Johnston 'Tony' Keswick (1903 Yokohama – 16 February 1990, London), a Tai-Pan of Jardine Matheson 1934–1941; married Mary Etheldreda Lindley, and had issue 3 sons: Henry Keswick (knighted 2009 Birthday Honours), Sir Chips Keswick, and Simon Keswick. His eldest and youngest sons were Tai-Pans. Two of his grandsons are presently based in Hong Kong, working for Jardine Matheson, one of whom, Ben Keswick, is the present Tai-pan in Hong Kong.
3. Sir John Henry Keswick KCMG (1906 Dumfriesshire – 1982, Dumfriesshire) KCMG 1972, Tai-Pan of Jardine Matheson 1941–1953; married 1940 Clare Mary Alice Elwes (1906–1998), and had issue the gardening author Maggie Keswick Jenks (1941–1995). Father and daughter founded the Keswick Foundation, and Maggie Jenks established Maggie's Centres to help cancer victims, before her own death. Maggie was married to landscape architect Charles Jencks, and left issue.

References

1. The Keswick Tai-Pans. Retrieved 16 March 2014
2. "Major H. Keswick". Hong Kong Telegraph. 3 December 1928. p. 2.
3. "The Keswick Tai-pans". Epsom and Ewell History Explorer. Retrieved 6 December 2013.