George Ronald Ross
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George Ronald Ross CBE, JP |
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| Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council | |
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In office 1964–1968 |
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| Preceded by | W. C. G. Knowles |
| Succeeded by | M. A. R. Herries |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1915 |
| Died | 2008 (aged 92–93) |
| Nationality | British |
| Children | Frankie Graham Sandie |
George Ronald Ross, CBE, JP (1915–2008) was a British businessman in Hong Kong. He was chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries (for the Hong Kong Government) for so long it became known as the "Ross Committee". He was also a member of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and a taipan of Deacon & Co, a well known trading company.
Ross was born in 1915. After studying in Belfast he sailed out to Shanghai to join his parents in 1933. His first job was for the Danish firm of East Asiatic where he learnt about shipping. He next went to work for accountants, Lowe Bingham and Matthews, before eventually working for Deacon & Co in Shameen and later Hong Kong. It was at this time while playing golf at the Tungshan Golf Club that he met his future wife, Rae Stratton, the daughter of William Murray Stratton, who was Engineer-in-chief for the Canton-Kowloon Railway. The two married at St Andrew's Church in Kowloon in November 1938.
Upon arrival in Hong Kong, Ross volunteered with the Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps (HKVDC). Training included donning a uniform for one weekend a month and an annual 10-day camp during which Ross exercised with two six-inch guns taken from the World War 1 Cruiser, HMS Kent. On December 7, 1941, Ross received orders to report for duty and was assigned as gunner to 2nd Battery at Bluff Head, Stanley. His wife Rae volunteered as a nurse and served at the Bowen Road Military Hospital. By December 19, Japanese troops were advancing from the north and 1st Battery, positioned at Cape D'Aguilar were ordered to destroy its guns and evacuate to Stanley Village. Ross had volunteered his car, a Morris 8 to the war effort and under the orders of Captain Douglas Crozier drove munitions and troops (many hanging to the outside of the vehicle) from Cape D'Aguilar to Stanley Village, the position of the last stand of the Battle of Hong Kong. Hong Kong surrendered to Japan on Christmas Day 1941. Ross was originally imprisoned at North Point, then marched to Sham Shui Po Barracks and finally shipped to Innoshima where he worked at Habu Dockyard for Osaka Ironworks. Ross worked on a plate-laying gang for three years before being liberated and shipped to Hearne Bay, Australia. On receiving a telegram from Ross, Rae (who had been imprisoned in Stanley Village) came to Australia and in 1946 the two returned to Hong Kong.
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