Preceded by William Shenton Name John Paterson | Preceded by B. D. F. Beith Role Executive Preceded by C. Gordon Mackie | |
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Appointed by Thomas Southorn
Sir William Peel
Sir Geoffry Northcote | ||
Appointed by Sir Andrew Caldecott Succeeded by Thomas Ernest Pearce | ||
John Johnstone Paterson (1886–1971) was the tai-pan of the Jardine Matheson & Co. and member of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
Biography
Son of William Paterson, the partner of the Jardine Matheson & Co., J. J. Paterson followed his father to work at the trading firm and became taipan and managing director of the Jardine Matheson & Co. He had also been the chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
He was first appointed to the Legislative Council in April 1930 in the place of B. D. F. Beith's absence. He was appointed again in March in succession to Beith and appointed for a four-year-term from 17 April 1934 and was re-appointed in 1938. In April 1936, Paterson succeeded William Edward Leonard Shenton to be appointed member of the Executive Council.
He held public offices including member of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps Advisory Committee, the Hong Kong Naval Volunteer Advisory Committee. the Authorized Architects' Committee, the Housing Commission, and the Taxation Committee.
During the Battle of Hong Kong, he commanded the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps' Special Guard Company nicknamed the Hugheseliers and the Methuseliers consisting of group of older men to defend the North Point Power Station and was one of the few survivors in the defence. He became prisoner of war during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong and was sent into the Shamshuipo Camp and Argyle Street Camp.