Ken Catton was posted to Hong Kong in late 1945 through the British Army and later joined the service of the Hong Kong Government. He was awarded the Colonial Police Medal (CPM) for meritorious service in 1968. In 1969, he was elected to the council of the then Hong Kong Lawn Tennis Association and became Vice President and Honorary Secretary in 1970. He was elected President in 1972 and served in that capacity for five years, during which time the administration of the Tennis Association was restructured.
He was instrumental in getting Hong Kong recognised by the International Tennis Federation as a Davis Cup nation and also for making Hong Kong a part of the Asian professional tennis circuit. He retired from the government in 1974 to pursue a new career as a tennis promoter and was co-founder of the Hong Kong Tennis Patrons’ Association (HKTPA) with the late M.W. Lo in 1976. He became tournament director of professional tennis events organised by the HKTPA in Hong Kong. He held that position for 25 years until he ‘retired’ to France after residing in Hong Kong for 50 years. Fittingly, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1976 in recognition of his ‘Services to Tennis in Hong Kong’.