TRIBUTES poured in yesterday for former financial secretary and Swire taipan, Sir John Bremridge, who died in England on Friday.
Sir John, 69, reportedly suffered heart failure while at London's Cromwell Hospital for a routine checkup. Friends say he died at 4.30 pm.
He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline and four children - Charles, a Swire employee in Sydney; Henry, a local employee of Hongkong Bank; and Elizabeth and Anne, both living in England.
A funeral service is planned on Friday in Bradford-on-Avon in western England. A memorial service is also planned for Hong Kong at a later date.
Sir John spent his entire career with Swire. As a university graduate, he began as a Swire cadet in Hong Kong in 1949, earning GBP350 a year. He steadily rose through the ranks and took over as chairman of Swire and Sons in 1973.
He was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1974 and to the Executive Council in 1977. After retiring from Swire in 1981, he replaced Sir Philip Haddon-Cave as Financial Secretary.