Career
William Thomas George Gates Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 21 January 1908 - 23 November 1990 was a banker and expert on Africa. Education: Ilford County High School. He began work with the National Bank of New Zealand at their London office, 1925-1930.
He then moved to John Holt & Company
(Liverpool) Limited, where he worked until his retirement in 1967. He was resident in Nigeria, 1930-1946 and their General Manager there from 1940.
He became their Managing Director in 1956 and their Deputy Chairman in 1964. He was also a director of the West African Airways Corporation, 1941-1946.
District Scout Commissioner, Northern Nigeria, 1940-1942.
Member, Liverpool District Committee, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, 1956-1973
Member, Board of Governors, United Liverpool Hospitals, 1958-1970. Chairman, West Africa Committee (now the West Africa Business Association ), 1961-1976. General Commissioner of Income Tax, 1967-1973.
Chairman, Royal African Society, 1975-1977.
Vice-President, 1978-1987 (see Royal African Society). He was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1967.
He was also an enthusiastic angler and gardener.
