Robert Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley
Robert Molesworth Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Wanstead, Essex, England |
| Died | July 20, 1954 (aged 82) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, stockbroker, merchant banker, public official |
| Known for | Establishing the National Savings Movement |
Robert Molesworth Kindersley, 1st Baron Kindersley (21 November 1871 – 20 July 1954) was a distinguished English entrepreneur, stockbroker, merchant banker, and public official credited with establishing the National Savings Movement.
Background
Born in Wanstead, Essex, Kindersley was the son of Edward Nassau Molesworth Kindersley of Sherborne, Dorset, and Ada Good. His father hailed from an affluent lineage, having attended Eton and Oxford, served as a captain in both the Green Howards and the Indian Army, and later pursued a career as a chemist and director at the Anglo American Leather Cloth Company. Due to financial difficulties, Kindersley left Repton School in 1887. He was the great-grandson of Nathaniel Edward Kindersley, noted civil servant and translator.
Banking career
Kindersley’s professional journey began as a clerk within London-based companies before he gained membership to the London Stock Exchange in 1901. The following year he became a partner at David A. Bevan & Co., and in 1905 he joined Lazard Brothers & Co., a merchant bank with which he maintained lifelong ties, eventually ascending to chairman in 1919.
Public service
Between 1915 and 1925, Kindersley held the position of Governor (Chairman) at the Hudson's Bay Company, recognized as North America's oldest corporation founded under an English royal charter in 1670. He was also a director at the Bank of England from 1914 until 1946 and acted as the lead British delegate on the Dawes Committee in 1924.
Kindersley is most notably remembered for his leadership of the National Savings Committee from 1916 to 1920 and his subsequent presidency lasting until 1946.
Additionally, he was a significant investor in the Canadian Northern Railway, which later became part of Canadian National Railways. His contributions are commemorated by the naming of the town of Kindersley, Saskatchewan and Mount Kindersley in British Columbia (named in 1924).
Personal life
On 3 November 1896, he married Gladys Margaret Beadle, daughter of military artist James Prinsep Beadle. The couple had six children: Lionel, Hugh, Margaret, Richard, Philip (who wed Oonagh Guinness and later Valerie Violet French), and Elizabeth. Following the death of his eldest son Lionel during the First World War, his second son, Hugh Kenyon Molesworth Kindersley, 2nd Baron Kindersley, inherited the barony.
Honours and arms
Kindersley received a knighthood as Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1917 and was elevated to Knight Grand Cross (GBE) in the civilian war honours of 1920 for his role leading the National Savings Committee. He served as High Sheriff of Sussex in 1928 and was granted the peerage title Baron Kindersley, of West Hoathly in West Sussex, in 1941.