April 9, 2004

'Empire Made Me: An Englishman Adrift in Shanghai'

By NINA C. AYOUB

Richard Maurice Tinkler did the job of empire. Unemployed in England after World War I, he answered an ad looking for young men, unmarried, of good physique, good teeth, good character, 5-foot-10 or more, to join the Shanghai Municipal Police. British men oversaw lower ranks of Chinese and Sikh constables. Soon Tinkler was on the force, living the rest of his life in China. A fairly short life as it happened. He might have been lost to history. But he died messily, creating a diplomatic