Man who set up Tibet radio gets £65 in back-pay 63 years later
Former civil servant Robert Ford received back-pay of £65 on his 90th birthday
Patience is a virtue that has finally paid off for Robert Ford.
The 90-year-old British national has finally received back-pay for his job setting up a radio network in Tibet - but only after waiting for more than half a century.
The former civil servant was the only Westerner working for the Tibetan government when China invaded the Himalayan nation in 1950.
But pay day was postponed because he was captured by advancing PLA troops as he attempted a daring escape on horseback across the frozen plateaus.
The Tibetan government in exile, which is based in India, handed Ford the last of his salary, a 100 Tam Srang note worth £65 (HK$764), at a ceremony in London on Wednesday, his 90th birthday.
"We heard Robert was about to turn 90, so we thought it best we pay him what we owe. We're sorry it has taken so long to give him his final wage, but there has been extenuating circumstances," Tibet British representative, Thubten Samdup, said.
Ford's last salary was due in October 1950. But, along with his Tibetan bosses, he was thrown into jail and solitary confinement by the Chinese. Threatened with execution for being a spy, he was subjected to daily "struggle sessions" in an effort to turn him into a Communist sympathiser.