Another of Shanghai's old hands passed away on November 16 When the death took place of Captain Thomas A. Grayson at the aye of 80, Captain Grayson was a well known figure among the local shipping men in the merchant service, but for the most part his history, so it seems, is lost in the ages, und there are very few in Shanghai now who can speak of his early days.
Captain Grayson, it is known, was born in Liverpool in 1848, an he sume out to Shanghai about 1880. Prom that daze to the time of his death it appears doubtful' that he ever went home again, but during those many. years he' sai much service on the Yangtze River in various companies and in many ips. Some there are who say. that he was one of the first captains, on the middle reaches of the river.
Shortly after he arrived is! Shanghai Capt. Grayson joined the China Merchants Steamship Ca.
2nd Officer. Four years later ho became Chief Officer and after {tapse of six years was made captain of the str. Kuling. "After several more years passed he left this company, and it is not known at present what he did during thy following years. His next record that can be found is in the books of the Indo-China Steamship Company for May 1916. At this time most of the regular officers of this line were at the war, and a man of 68, Capt. Grayson, too old for service, volunteered to take up work again although he had previously retired, and once more set out on the trips from Shanghai up the river and back. After the war was over Capt. Grayson remained with the company until, in 1925, he felt that it was veally time that he retired from active service and left the shipping world for good, From this time on, for the past thea years, us might be expected, he hax lived very quietly by him-elf, until finally death overtook him' at the age of 80.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.