Vale Roy Hudson

Just in the afternoon of March 19, the good heart of British expatriate Roy Hudson has stopped to beat. There is still a lot of time to digest the sad news for his family and friends. The cremation ceremonies will be going on in Wat Suan Dok at Suthep Road in Chiang Mai until the cremation in the afternoon of March 22.

According to the biography published in Hudson’s Guide to Chiang Mai and the North (Fourth edition, Chiang Mai 1971), Roy Hudson was born in Buenos Aires. After his school days in England, he absolved a straight military career, and in 1941 left for India, where he joined the Poona Club. However, by Christmas 1942 he found himself in Burma in command of an engineering troop in support of the Burma Army. As Lieutenant Hudson, he was involved in the battles of the Sittang Bridge, the valuable Yenangyaung oil-fields, and Monywa, against the invading Japanese Imperial Army. Subsequently, he was promoted as Captain Hudson to command forces in the Arakan Yomas of Western Burma, until he returned to England for a leave in 1945. Coming back to Bangkok after the war, Major Hudson established his main headquarters in Si Ayutthaya Road and had long spells of army duty in Singapore, Malaya, Hong Kong and Nepal. On leaving the army, he settled in Chiang Mai in 1959, married and had two children.

At Tha Pae Road in Chiang Mai, Roy Hudson then opened a business called “Hudson Enterprises” dealing with insurances, charter flight tickets, Kodak cameras and films, as well as handling Chiang Mai handicrafts. Also, he published the following guide books for serving in the emerging tourism industry:

1. Hudson’s Guide to Chiang Mai and the North. First edition, Chiang Mai 1965.
2. Hudson’s Guide to Chiang Mai and the North. Second edition, Chiang Mai 1966.
3. Hudson’s Guide to Chiang Mai and the North. Third edition, Chiang Mai 1967.
4. Hudson’s Guide to Chiang Mai and the North. Fourth edition, Chiang Mai 1971.
5. Hudson’s Guide to Chiang Mai and the North. Fifth edition, Chiang Mai 1973.
6. The Magic Guide toBurma. Chiang Mai 1977.
7. Hudson’s Guide to Mae Hong Son. Chiang Mai 1987.

Actually, in 1972, Roy Hudson was an initiator to start the Informal Northern Thai Group (INTG), which exists until today.

May he rest in peace!

Written by : Reinhard Hohler, Chiang Mai