C. C. Roberts
Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
In office
31 October 1946 – 28 July 1948
Preceded byR. D. Gillespie
Succeeded byP. S. Cassidy
Personal details
Born(1900-07-06)6 July 1900
Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England
Died17 May 1980(1980-05-17) (aged 79)
Midhurst, Sussex, England
SpouseConstance May Mitchell
OccupationEntrepreneur

Charles Collingwood Roberts (6 July 1900 – 17 May 1980) was a British entrepreneur. He was a former Chairman of the Butterfield & Swire and an unofficial member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.[1]

Biography

Roberts joined Butterfield and Swire in October 1922, responsible for sugar traveling from Shanghai from 1925 to 1926, shore management for China Navigation Company in Hankow from 1926 to 1928, and responsible for Chinese Staff Shanghai from 1932 to 1934.[2] On 1 October 1932, Roberts married to Constance May Mitchell at the St. John's Cathedral.[3]

During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, he was among many other British local figures who were held at the Block 8 of the St. Stephen College and participated in the camp councils.[4]

After the war, Roberts became the first chairman of the Cathay Pacific Airways, the airline which was acquired by Butterfield & Swire and its associated shipping interests in 1948. At that time, he co-founded the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company with David F. Landale, taipan of the Jardine Matheson and founder of the Hong Kong Airways in 1950.

In 1948 and 1950, he was the chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. After the resignation of R. D. Gillespie, he was elected by the chamber to be the representative on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong on 6 May, until he stepped down in August and was replaced by P. S. Cassidy.

He was also deputy chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1940–41 and director of the bank.

References

  1. ^ The archives of John Swire & Sons Ltd (including the papers of Butterfield & Swire, and the staff papers of CC Roberts) are held at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, http://www.soas.ac.uk/library/archives/
  2. ^ Cook, Christophe (1985). The lion and the dragon: British voices from the China coast. Elm Tree Books. p. 179.
  3. ^ "PRETTY WEDDING". The Hong Kong Telegraph. 1 October 1932. p. 1.
  4. ^ England, Vaudine (1998). The Quest of Noel Croucher: Hong Kong's Quiet Philanthropist. Hong Kong University Press. p. 142. ISBN 9789622094734.
Business positions Preceded byR. D. Gillespie Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce 1948 Succeeded byP. S. Cassidy Preceded byP. S. Cassidy Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce 1950 Legislative Council of Hong Kong Preceded byR. D. Gillespie Unofficial Member Representative for Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce1948 Succeeded byP. S. Cassidy
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