Page 104 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 104
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
When a six man Parliamentary Mission came to China from England, Uncle was asked to be their
interpreter and, at times, he also acted as interpreter for Jiang Kaishek.
After the war GFA paid one of his rare visits to England and was offered a knighthood, but he refused
the honour as he now had neither property nor deep roots in England. He returned to Shanghai
holding various positions with his old firm of Butterfield & Swire until 1 July 1947. A letter from Esther
Moore in June 1946 said,
“Les has decided to stay in the Army and is leaving for South Africa. A letter from
George says Fan is just the same - no release from mental suffering. He himself is
pretty fed up with life in Shanghai - the labour problems seem pretty bad. Their
Assistant Manager broke down under the strain and had to leave for Australia.
George is longing for next year when he retires.”
After retirement from Butterfield & Swires he became Assistant ‘to the Director of the American
Advisory Committee which collaborated with the Chinese Ministry of Social Affairs.
POST WAR ACTIVITIES
From December 1948 he was associated with the International Refugee Organisation, first with
responsibility in Shanghai and then as Head of Operations in the Far East. When this was over, in
October 1950, he moved to Singapore where he served the Education Department as special liaison
officer with the numerous Chinese Schools on the Island. When Percy arrived in Singapore in early
1952, he was living at the Station Hotel, a lonely man, but still very useful to the authorities and with
many close friends, young and old. Whenever we were in Singapore during those years we always
went to see him and it was here that we first met ‘Sophie’ who became his close friend and who
helped to give him the warmth and affection which he so much missed.
Fanny died at Ranchi in 1957, and in 1959, when he was seventy two, he retired at last after 50 years
service to the Chinese people. Sophie was dead, and he went to Saskatoon to be near Leslie. He
lived in a variety of hotels until 1966 when he settled into the prosaic Patricia Hotel as his last home
saying, “I am 79 but sometimes I feel 179". However, he lived on for another five years. Percy’s
sister, Marjorie McLean and her children all tried to persuade him to move to Toronto near them, but
he could not bring himself to take the step. In 1967 he actually spent a time with Leslie in London
helping Butterfield & Swire to make up their Centennial book, and he visited his brother Arthur (Uncle
John) in Cornwall at that time, but nobody else.
In 1962 old friends were already urging him to write his autobiography, but he never did and there are
still many things in the life of this remarkable man which his family would love to have a record of. Mr.
Abbot Low Moffat, an American friend, writing to him from Washington on 27 January 1962 said, “I can
see why setting out to write an autobiography in cold blood might be a difficult and terrifying task, but it
would really be tragic if you did not write the major stories of your life’s experiences. There is such a
vast amount of history, drama and humour that no-one but you can record, and which should be
recorded. Won’t you try? It might even reconcile you to the Saskatchewan climate recalling and
recording Gansu etc. I would be more than glad to see what I could do about marketing your articles,
although I am no expert. At least I am nearer to publishers than you are. After I had received your
letter I sat down and just began to jot down items that I remembered from pre-1930 days, each of
which would make an interesting story. Here is that list (not in any order) (NB List unavailable when
typing this manuscript.)
104
Amy Moore
When a six man Parliamentary Mission came to China from England, Uncle was asked to be their
interpreter and, at times, he also acted as interpreter for Jiang Kaishek.
After the war GFA paid one of his rare visits to England and was offered a knighthood, but he refused
the honour as he now had neither property nor deep roots in England. He returned to Shanghai
holding various positions with his old firm of Butterfield & Swire until 1 July 1947. A letter from Esther
Moore in June 1946 said,
“Les has decided to stay in the Army and is leaving for South Africa. A letter from
George says Fan is just the same - no release from mental suffering. He himself is
pretty fed up with life in Shanghai - the labour problems seem pretty bad. Their
Assistant Manager broke down under the strain and had to leave for Australia.
George is longing for next year when he retires.”
After retirement from Butterfield & Swires he became Assistant ‘to the Director of the American
Advisory Committee which collaborated with the Chinese Ministry of Social Affairs.
POST WAR ACTIVITIES
From December 1948 he was associated with the International Refugee Organisation, first with
responsibility in Shanghai and then as Head of Operations in the Far East. When this was over, in
October 1950, he moved to Singapore where he served the Education Department as special liaison
officer with the numerous Chinese Schools on the Island. When Percy arrived in Singapore in early
1952, he was living at the Station Hotel, a lonely man, but still very useful to the authorities and with
many close friends, young and old. Whenever we were in Singapore during those years we always
went to see him and it was here that we first met ‘Sophie’ who became his close friend and who
helped to give him the warmth and affection which he so much missed.
Fanny died at Ranchi in 1957, and in 1959, when he was seventy two, he retired at last after 50 years
service to the Chinese people. Sophie was dead, and he went to Saskatoon to be near Leslie. He
lived in a variety of hotels until 1966 when he settled into the prosaic Patricia Hotel as his last home
saying, “I am 79 but sometimes I feel 179". However, he lived on for another five years. Percy’s
sister, Marjorie McLean and her children all tried to persuade him to move to Toronto near them, but
he could not bring himself to take the step. In 1967 he actually spent a time with Leslie in London
helping Butterfield & Swire to make up their Centennial book, and he visited his brother Arthur (Uncle
John) in Cornwall at that time, but nobody else.
In 1962 old friends were already urging him to write his autobiography, but he never did and there are
still many things in the life of this remarkable man which his family would love to have a record of. Mr.
Abbot Low Moffat, an American friend, writing to him from Washington on 27 January 1962 said, “I can
see why setting out to write an autobiography in cold blood might be a difficult and terrifying task, but it
would really be tragic if you did not write the major stories of your life’s experiences. There is such a
vast amount of history, drama and humour that no-one but you can record, and which should be
recorded. Won’t you try? It might even reconcile you to the Saskatchewan climate recalling and
recording Gansu etc. I would be more than glad to see what I could do about marketing your articles,
although I am no expert. At least I am nearer to publishers than you are. After I had received your
letter I sat down and just began to jot down items that I remembered from pre-1930 days, each of
which would make an interesting story. Here is that list (not in any order) (NB List unavailable when
typing this manuscript.)
104
