Retirement

Sir Robert Hart, 28 June 1902 (MS 15/6/1/B16a)

Sir Robert Hart, Shanghai, 1 May 1908. Guard of honour for Sir Robert on his quitting China (MS 15/6/6/44)

Campbell, Hart’s close friend and colleague in CIMC’s London office, died on December 3rd 1907. Hart applied for leave of absence a month later. Sir Robert Hart left his desk at the Inspectorate on April 13th, 1908. He returned to England and settled near Great Marlow.

Sir Robert Hart was Pro-Chancellor of Queen’s University, Belfast from 1908- 1911. When University Senate met for the first time on 4th December 1908 it was under the Chairmanship of Sir Robert Hart.

He died on 20th September, 1911. He is buried at Bisham on the Thames.

Hart kept a diary throughout his life in China. His diary entries reflect his most personal musings on all aspects of his life – personal, religious, work and leisure. All tangled together, highs and lows, weaving a picture of an extraordinary life. Hart’s intellectual ability and capacity for hard work, balanced by a strong moral code and sense of purpose are evident in all of his dealings, personal and professional in China.