A SHIPPING giant who battled polio and opened up Liverpool’s port to the world has died.

The funeral service of Donald Hamilton Tod, OBE, DL, will take place today at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.

His family’s connection with the building spans generations.

Mr Tod’s uncle, Sir Alan Tod, raised funds to build the cathedral’s tower, central space and western transept.

As a young man, he would travel from his home in Fulwood Park to attend services.

Mr Tod, of Aigburth, fought back from a devastating illness to forge a career as a shipping magnate.

During the war, he was sent to sea aboard the Royal Navy’s motor torpedo boats, but contracted polio in Malta and was hospitalised for a year.

He was told he would never walk again, but battled against his illness and returned home to Liverpool as a lieutenant.

He resumed his association with the cathedral in 1947 as a worshipper and member of the Cathedral Committee.

Then, over the next 30 years, Mr Tod’s association with shipping helped define the city’s key industry as he founded several major fleets.

When he returned from war, the port of Liverpool was thriving and he found work at Toxteth and Harrington docks, working with fish shipped from Norway before it was sent to west Africa.

But Mr Tod, inspired by his ship owner uncle Sir Alan and determined to succeed, wanted to become a shipping giant in his own right. As he struggled up the old Pier Head one day, he overheard his uncle make a patronising remark to John Joyce, the chairman of Elder Dempsters Line (EDL): “The poor boy is finished but he likes playing about with boats. Can you find him something to do?”

In October, 1947, Mr Tod started as a trainee manager with EDL.

He later said: “When I was invited to an interview by Joyce and the other directors, I said I would either run EDL or a bigger shipping line than they did. I did the latter.”