The Stratford evening Post With which is Incorporated "THE EGMONT SETTLER." (Established 1890.) THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1931. The World's Best Loser

Stratford Evening Post, Volume I, Issue 257, 8 October 1931, Page 4

The Stratford evening Post With which is Incorporated "THE EGMONT SETTLER." (Established 1890.) THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1931. The World's Best Loser

TO speak of one who rose from extreme poverty to vast wealth, 1 and from obscurity to friendship with kings and noblemen, aa a '•loser" seems paradoxical, but it is probably a true description of the late Sir Thomas Lipton. The Pf"™*™**™?' "the world's best loser," was coined by an American journalist, following the defeat of the Shamrock V., in last year s contests for the America's Cup, a great disappointment to Sir Thomas, who, however, immediately declared that he would try again. Seeing his advanced age, and the time it takes to build a. racing yacht, he was fairly safe in making the promjse. Whether he was reallv so good a loser as portrayed must be lett to conjecture; there are reports to the contrary, but whatever the truth, the glamour of sportsmanship was attached to his name, mainly because he had the willingness to expend large sums of money for a purpose most people think was scarcely worth while. He will be remembered, if at all, as one who failed to win a yachting trophy. His wealth and abilities gave him the opportunity for leaving a much better record behind. It is to be hoped that he found happiness, but seeing that his early life was such as to prevent him acquiring erudition or social accomplishments, he must have been handicapped in mixing with those who had been accustomed to wealth and prestige from their youth up. Moreover, Sir Thomas remained a bachelor, and is reported not to have had a single relative. He must have been terribly lonely at times, and may have been willing to have exchanged some of his material profits for the more valuable things in life he was missing. It may be that his estate will not prove so valuable as imagined, as apart from the cost of his yaching ambitions, the concern from which he derived the bulk of his income had not been so prosperous as it w;is in Sir Thomas' prime. He gave £25 ; 000 many years ago to a Royal Charity appeal that was not securing the support expected, and a Knighthood followed. He started the Alexandra Trust, an institution to provide cheap meals for workers, but these people did not prove so grateful as anticipated. During the Great War he was interested in the Serbian refugees, and received later an Order from thatcountry. Most of his time and wealth, however, were spent on his yachting and other pleasures. True, after his arduous early days, lie was entitled to take things easy, but what a boon and a blessing lie might have been to those in the ranks horn which he came. He knew from personal experience the sufferings of the poor, and had the wherewithal \o lighten their hardships, had he been so minded. Sir T. Lipton'a career was of that type acclaimed in te^ r t books ns "successful," and he always had a "good Press," but he was a real loser in many ways, apart from his strivings for the Cup,