Sir William Robert Marshall Cockburn (26 April 1891 – 1 September 1957) was a Scottish banker who spent most of his career with the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China. He became the bank's managing director from 1940 to 1955. Cockburn also had a brief career as a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er. He played once for the Scotland national cricket team in 1921.CricketEurope Stats Zone profile
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Early life

Cockburn was born on 26 April 1891 in Paisley, where his father George Cockburn was a schoolmaster. He was educated at Paisley Grammar School and at the Glasgow High School. In 1908, aged 16, he became an apprentice at the

Union Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by the ...

, before joining the

Chartered Bank The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China (informally The Chartered Bank) was a bank incorporated in London in 1853 by Scotsman James Wilson, under a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria.

in 1911.

Career

Cockburn's career with the bank took him overseas, firstly as a cadet in the banks branches on the coast of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. He then held various posts across

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

and the

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

, serving with the bank in Indo-China, Malaya,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

and

. In 1934 he became manager of the bank's branch in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

. He returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

in 1936 or 1937, when he became assistant general manager of the Chartered Bank. He was promoted in 1940 to become chief general manager, and held that post for until 1955, when he retired to become a director of the bank. The 15 years of Cockburn's tenure as general manager included both

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and the subsequent reconstruction of the Far East. In a few months at the end of 1941 and early 1942, two thirds of bank's eastern branches fell to the Japanese conquest of Asia, and were sequestrated. Cockburn was recognised as an expert on the economies of Asia, especially of China. He served as Chairman of the Eastern Exchange Banks Association and the British Overseas Banks Association, as vice-president of the British Bankers' Association and as president of the Manchester and District Institute of Bankers. Cockburn was knighted in the 1955

New Year Honours list The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

. The title was conferred 18 March 1955.

Cricket

Cockburn played three times for the Federated Malay States against the Straits Settlements between 1919 and 1921,Other matches played by William Cockburn
at CricketArchive before playing his only match for Scotland, a first-class match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

in August 1921. He died in Winchester on 1 September 1957.

Death

Cockburn, who lived at Twyford in Hampshire, had a succession of serious illnesses in the last 20 years of his life. He died aged 66 on 1 September 1957, and was survived by his wife and a daughter. His funeral was held at St Johns crematorium in Woking.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, William 1891 births 1957 deaths Scottish bankers Sportspeople from Paisley, Renfrewshire Federated Malay States cricketers Scottish cricketers People educated at the High School of Glasgow Knights Bachelor Standard Chartered people Scottish expatriates in China Bank presidents and chief executive officers People educated at Paisley Grammar School 20th-century Scottish businesspeople British expatriates in Vietnam British people in British Malaya British expatriates in Japan British expatriates in China