G.H. Thomas,
right, in 1930’s
Gould Hunter Thomas was born in New York City in 1912 and grew up in Hempstead, L.I. He was always called either Jim or Tommy by friends and relatives. After graduating from Yale in 1934 he held several jobs but in 1936, having saved enough money, he set out on a round-the-world trip by ship to broaden his horizons. He intended to stay in China for only several months, but because of a steamship strike ended up staying three years. Hired by Texaco in Shanghai, he sold oil for the lamps of China.
After World War II, when he served in naval intelligence, he returned to China and worked for Caltex in Tientsin and Canton until the Communists took over in 1949. Subsequent tours of duty took him to Okinawa, New Zealand, Australia , Thailand and Japan. At the end of his career he worked for Chevron in The Hague and Brussels.
He died in Connecticut in 1975 after a long struggle with cancer.