Charles Montague Ede

He joined the Union Insurance Society of Canton in March 1884 where his uncle N. J. Ede was the secretary for many years and then the manager of the company.

[1] He worked for the insurance company for 40 years and was manager of the Shanghai branch and had also stationed in North China and Yokohama.

Under his leadership, the Union Insurance Society of Canton expanded as a global insurance company, opened up new branches at Tokyo, Hankou, Tianjin, Surabaya, Bombay, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Vancouver, Toronto, Buenos Ayres, Cario and Johannesburg and numerous other agencies.

When Ede retired due to ill health and replaced by Paul Lauder in May 1924, the total assets of the company had already exceeded over five millions.

On the foundation of his propaganda works he established the publishing house Publicity Bureau for South China at 10 Regent Street, London in 1919.

[13] Realising the poor housing conditions and soaring rents of the Portuguese clerks were facing in Hong Kong, Ede proposed a scheme of establishing a Garden City on a large area of land at the back of Wong Nai Chung village known as "Cidades Cameons" project.

Despite considerable opposition, Ede's proposal was approved by the Secretary of State however was eventually dropped and replaced by a block of residences developed by the Hongkong Land and Savings Society.