BEST LOSER

Grey River Argus, 27 November 1931, Page 3

BEST LOSER

SIR THOMAS LIPTON A Romantic Career LONDON, October «. Sir Thomas Lipton was a man who was known to a host of people who had personal knowledge of his sense of humour and his astute character, but it is only since his death that the man in the street has had the opportunity to learn much about him and his charm. To the general reader he was known as the “world’s best loser” on account of his great sportsmanship as a yachtman and his many endeavours to lift the American Cup. Im his later years Sir Thomas was accustomed to say that so far as he knew he had no living relatives. He was born in Glasgow of Irish parentage and was the architect of his own fortunes. Of schooling he had very little. His father never earned more than £1 a week, and when he died the son worked hard to give his mother comforts to which, up to then, she had been a stranger. His first job was ia a Glasgow shop, where he received 2s fid a week for running errands, sweeping out the shop, and cleaning the windows. He was ambitious and determined to get on, and after being refused an increase in wages he decided to branch out in a new direction. He was seventeen when he managed to scrape together enough money to pay his steerage passage. When he came to live in London his life, one reads, was one of extraordinary concentration on his own business, to the exclusion of almost every other interest. He came to his office on a ear with fast trotting horses from a fine house he had taken in High bury, at an early hour in the morning, sat at his desk, took his lunch there, remained till late, and then just went back to Highbury again. It was a notable and touching feature of this sanctum that immediately above his desk were two photographs one of his old father, the other of his mother, and there was no attempt in the photographs to conceal the humbleness of their lives or their characters. Tn their dress, in their expression, in their features, they looked out at you—rjust two Irish peasants, simple, poor, and almost a little rough in feature, though sweet in expression. They were put there so as to announce to the world the devotion of their son and his everlasting gratitude to them for the affection they gave to him in their days of poverty. A GENEROUS GIVER. The late Lady St. Holier was one of the first to introduce Lipton through the great portals of London society, and his natural genius soon proved equal to the new demand upon him, and ho became a popular and welcome figure. He later met King Edward (then Prince of Wales), who took to him at once. Lipton was equally successful in winning the good graces of Queen Alexandra, and he fell a willing victim to her charitable appeals. When the jubilee of Queen Victoria came he entertained 1000 children at the Queen’ Hall of the People’s Palace in Mile End.

“How much is wanted?” Lipton asked the Lady Mayoress, over an appropriate cup of tea, apropos Queen Alexandra’s Fund to feast the poor on the occasion of the diamond jubilee. 1 ‘£30,000. ” “How much is in hand?” “£5000.” “Then count on me for a cheque for the difference,” he announced. Queen Alexandra was delighted, and still more,, when, rather later, he handed her a second cheque, £lOO,OOO, for the Alexandra Trust. One result of these associations with royalty was that King Edward frequently did Sir Thomas the honour of spending a week-end at his house in South gate, another consequence followed in Sir Thomas becoming almost the chief host—certainly the most frequent —of foreign royal visitors in England. In 1898 Mr Lipton was knighted And King Edward set. his seal on an honour well deserved by adding a K. C.V.O. soon after his accession. The baronetcy followed in 1902. In 1915 Sir Thomas handed over his steam yacht Erin to the Red Cross, and ho accompanied a party of doctors nurses, and orderlies—with a cargo of much-needed medical stores—to Serbia, where typhus was raging in the ranks of our devoted Allies. The Serbian soldiers named him affectionately “Tchika Toma”—Uncle Tom. His cheery presence was felt anywhere throughout the stricken country as a great encouragement. Erin did many voyages, but ultimately was sunk by a German sub marine. Tn replacement of her, Sir Thomas, in 1929, bought the steam yacht Albion, which he renamed Erin, from Captain Loeffler, for £27,000. The new Erin had heen built in 1901 for Sir George Newnes. HIS LONDON HOME AND FRIENDS Great friends of Sir Thomas included Lord Dewar (the whisky magnate), Sir Harry Lauder, and Mr Moss Davis, all of whom were frequent visitors at Osid ge, South gate, where his personal retainers included Mr John Westwood, his valued chief secretary; “John,” the elderly Cingalee who devoted his entire life to the beloved white man, whom he literally worshipped; “Shamrock” the more youthful native from the same island whose greatest regret during the past few years was that Sir Thomas was no longer able to handle a billiard cue; and Mr Waghorn, the junior secretary. “The passing away of my dearest old friend, Sir Thomas, is to me dreadful news, ’ ’ said Sir Harry Lauder. “We have lost a noble man jind one

moreover, who must go down in our annals as the world’s greatest sportsman. His beautiful personality will always be to me one of my most cherished memories. I loved Sir Thomas | Lit ton because he lived from day to | day with the memory of his father and ' mother. Wherever he went he took j with him their photographs. The late | Lord Dewar, Sir Thomas, and myself , were boon companions. We were always together when opportunity pre- I sented itself. We were three good Scots, although Lipton sailed the Shamrock. Sir Thomas left a great deal to the poor of Glasgow, and he was helping them all the time. It will be found that that was the true note of his ( life.” | HIS MOTHER’S BIBLE. ‘‘ He was a great big, simple man, ’ ’ said Sir Harry. “When I say simple don’t misunderstand me and think he was 'daft. ’ No, it was simplicity in his highest degree. His greatness was his simplicity. I never heard him swear, and I never saw him take a drink of intoxicating liquor. He never moved anywhere without carrying with him the portraits of his parents, and his mother’s Bible was always at his bedside. ’ ’ JOKE ON HARRY LAUDER. Mr William Blackwood writes: Sir Harry Lauder was a frequent visitor to Osidge. He always pleased Lipton immensely by saying that he got better rice pudding there than in any other house he visited. Lipton himself ate rice twice, at least, every day. It was cooked in the Cingalese fashion, and “John” had always to come in at the end of every meal and tell exactly how the rice was cooked. Indeed, John was asked to do this so frequently that in his spare time he wrote dozens of copies of the recipe and solemnly handed one over to each guest. Lauder had the full and free run of Osidge when staying there; he even had one of the Lipton cars to run him backwards and forwards to the London halls at which he was performing. On one occasion Sir Thomas played a joke on his comedian friend. Instead of sending a big car one evening to bring him home from Stratford Empire ho sent one of the warehouse vans. But Harry used it just the same! “I made sure you would take a taxi for once, Harry,” chuckled Tom. “A taxi from Stratford to Southgate, Lipton!” expostulated Harry. “Why, the cost would have been prohibitive!” A dinner party at Osidge with Lord Dewar and Harry Lauder was always a riotously amusing meal. One of Sir Thomas’s favourite jokes was to tell people he didn’t smoke, vet he was the biggest smoker in the world—of hams! FORCE OF CHARACTER. Those of us who loved Tom Lipton most, because we knew him best (says Mr Blackwood;. It will cherish very fragrant memories of a truly remarkable man— doubt very much whether any race or any country will ever produce just such another. He was simpleminded to a degree in many ways, hut he had in his make-up a tremendous force of character and a shrewdness of insight without which it would have been imposible for him to have achieved tho enormous business success which came to him early in life aud to have won the popular affection of millions of people throughout the world He goes to rest where he always told me he would like to lie at the end—beside his mother in the Southern Necropolis, Glasgow. There was something wistfully pathetic in his oft- repeated statement that he never married because his mother was the only woman in the world he had ever loved—“she was my guiding star in all that I ever did or ever tried to be!”

He was a man of many clubs. Apart from the Marlborough, the Royal Automobile, the Royal Aero, and the Pil-

grims, he was a member of no fewer than 15 yachting clubs, including the Royal Ulster, the Royal Clyde and the New York Yacht Club. All who knew Sir Thomas could not but be impressed by his personality, sincerity, and subtle -wit. A raconteur of the first water, he was brimful of reminiscences willing to exchange a quip or jest at all times, and he was one who could relate a good story against himself.

LARGE BEQUESTS TO CHARITY. It is anticipated that the estate will certainly exceed £1,000,000. There are a number of specific legacies to friends employees past and present, and servants. As regards his estate at Osidge, Sir Thomas Lipton’s trustees are directed to make over the house, policies, and estate to such institutions, or persons, or bodies corporate, as they think fit, in order that it may be preserved as a hostel for nurses in memory of his mother. The articles of furniture, etc., at Osidge, to the hostel as they think fit. A sum of £20,000 is left as endowment for the hostel. ' A sum of £lOO,OOO, less such sums as he may have given for this purpose during his lifetime, is to be applied ' to the city of Glasgow, by his trustees as they think fit, for the benefit of the poor mothers of the working classes and their children. The gold loving cup presented by the people of America in 1930, is left to the New York Yacht Club. In mak- 1 ing this bequest the following words appear in the will:— I would like to add a personal note that they are the very best sports- ■ men, and I appreciate very much the , many kindnesses shown to me by them. ’ The following specific legacies to charities are let:—£1000 each to the Royal Infirmary, the Western Infirmary, the Victoria Tnfirmary, the Old Men’s and Women’s Home (all of Glasgow), and Groveland’s Hospital, 'London; £3OOO to the Lipton Memorial

! Nurses' Home, Cambuslang, near Glas- . gow. The residue of his estate is to be ■ divided among hospitals and instituI tions in the city of Glasgow, and town ! of Cambuslang, and in the counties of , London and Middlesex (includingL Southgate).