Personal Life
Lipton came to his home, Osidge, in Southgate, London, from Muswell Hill in 1892. Before moving in, he redecorated the house completely, built a new billiards room and moved the existing pathway as far away from the house as possible. Before the coming of the motor car, his home's newly enlarged stables contained at least three pairs of fast carriage horses, of which he was proud. He was driven to his offices in City Road each day, and did not use the nearby railway.
Sir Thomas Lipton helped medical voluntary organizations during World War I. He gave to disposal his yachts to Red Cross, Scottish Women's Hospitals Committee of Dr Elsie Inglis, Serbian Supporting Fund etc. for transport of medical volunteers (doctors and nurses) same as medical supply. During the winter 1914–1915 and spring 1915 in Serbia was several British i.e. Commonwealth hospital teams working together with Serbian military and civil doctors and nurses. Catastrophic typhus epidemic killed thousands of civilians, wounded and unwounded soldiers and war prisoners. But first victims were medical staffs. Sir Thomas Lipton went aboard his yacht Erin to Thessaloníki over Sardinia, Malta and Athens. The aim of his travel was Serbia at the moment when epidemic was at the top. He visited hospitals and medical missions in Belgrade, Kragujevac, Niš, Vrnjačka Banja and some more. He was very popular at the people due to his modest requests. He asked only for modest lodging, requested for meals only what common people eat in these war conditions. He liked to pose with Serbian officers and soldiers at photographs. Except he visited many hospitals encouraging doctors, nurses and soldiers, he found time to visit traditional fairs, to take a part in blackberry gathering and fishing. Sir Thomas Lipton was declared for the honor citizen of the town of Niš.
Author Herbert W Newby writes in a book about Southgate in 1949: "Sir Thomas was proud of his successes in life, and any reference to him made in any publication was always carefully cut out and pasted into a book kept for this purpose. These books formed a most interesting section of his library. He was a very genial man to meet and always put a stranger quickly at ease. I met him on several occasions and found him without any form of snobbery."
He was created a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in March 1901 by King Edward VII.
A portrait of Lipton appeared on the cover of Time magazine on November 3, 1924.
Thomas Lipton died at Osidge on 2 October 1931. He bequeathed the majority of his fortune to his native city of Glasgow, including his yachting trophies, which are now on display at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Sir Thomas Lipton was buried alongside his parents and siblings in Glasgow's Southern Necropolis.
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