Edward Charles Pearce was born' in London in 1862, the son of Mr. John" Swayne Pearce, and was fedueated at Charterhouse. Like a considerable proportion of the London men who cornu out to China about the eighties, he received the training of a cha zee, and as such arrived here in 1884 to join the tea. firm of Messrs. George Oliver & Ca. Whether he was originally stationed at Hankow or Shanghai we are un-fable to state, but it is believed that he spent some of his earliest years in China in Hankow, as it is on record that his enthusiasm for rowing impelled him to scull all the way from that port to Kiukiang. Before that, however, he had already' won' interport rowing honours for Shang. hai, for it is mentioned that in 1885 he rowed against Ningpo.
If we are correct in believing that he originally spent some time in Hankow, it was not long before he became 'a permanent resident of Shanghai, and it is probably no exaggeration to say that he was one) of the best oars ever seen here, Yet} it is a curious fact that he never} seems to have stroked the English did so on seve:
Probably his long figure was oftenest seen at No, 7. Although his eon-temporaries in the local rowing] world disappeared from the scene of long before he did, Sir Edward never lost hig interest in the sport, and he was an official at all regattas right up to the time he left Shang-hal. He likewise took part in dis. cussions at the annual meetings, and) fate one of these when rowing' was! apparently on the wane and interest centred in the swimming bath, he gave the members a very sharp' and! Shrewd reminder that this was rowing club and that the bath was merely an adjunct. The members took it to heart, and there was increasing keaaness for rowing in the following season.
Equally prominent was he at this time on the Association football field, and for years he was a leading mem. ber of the Shanghai Football Clu! playing outside right. In this sport, rowing, his interest never faded, and long after his playing days were past he wax a regular Spectator at matches, and it was annual duty with him to be present at smoking concerts and present shield or u cup to a successful team. He never ceased to encourage keenness in the game,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.