Sir Charles William Hayward,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

KStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

(3 September 1892 – 3 February 1983) was an English businessman, investor, and philanthropist.

Early life

Born in 1892, Charles Hayward was the second child of John Hayward, a cycle manufacturer, and his wife Martha Mary Williams. After the early death of his father in 1894, Hayward and his sister Marion Daisy were brought up by their maternal grandmother Sarah Ann Williams (née Patten), a locksmith 'employer at home', at Church Lane,

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

. In 1908, Martha Mary Hayward remarried, becoming the second wife of Joseph Stevens, the father of Harry, Joe Stevens Jr., Jack, and George Stevens, who in 1909 founded A. J. Stevens & Co.A.J.S
Wolverhampton Local History Society, wlv.ac.uk, accessed 26 December 2022

Career

Hayward began his career as an

engineering apprentice An engineering apprenticeship in the United Kingdom is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering or aeronautical engineering to train craftsmen, technicians, senior technicians, Incorporated Engineers and Chartered Engin ...

, setting up his own business at the age of 19. He initially manufactured engineering patterns before moving into the emerging

sidecar A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''combination'', an ''outfit'', a ''rig'' or a ''hack''. ...

industry. Hayward's customers included AJS, which bought his company in 1920 but retained him as Managing Director. In 1928 Hayward moved to London to pursue a new career as a stockbroker and industrialist. He founded Electric & General Industrial Trusts Ltd. which in turn led to the formation of the Firth Cleveland Group of Companies. This eventually had 23 factories in the United Kingdom and operations in the

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, and Australia. The Group was sold to GKN in 1970.

Hayward Foundation

In 1961, Hayward set up the Hayward Foundation, which donated millions of pounds to charitable causes. It also financed the building of the ''Hayward Homes for the Elderly'' in Dunstall Road, Wolverhampton, where the Hayward family had once lived.

Personal life

Hayward married Hilda Arnold in 1915 and remained so until her death in 1971. The Hilda Hayward Swimming Pool in Wolverhampton was named in remembrance of her. The couple had one son, Jack Hayward, who was born in 1923. In December 1972, Charles Hayward married secondly Elsie Darnell George, his business partner, the former Company Secretary of Firth Cleveland. They bought the Crown Tenancy of the island of Jethou near Guernsey and lived there until Hayward's death. Hayward died on Jethou on 3 February 1983, aged 90, and was buried in St John's churchyard, Wolverhampton.

Honours

Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, 1938 *

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, 1970, for his work as chairman of the Hayward Foundation *Knight of the Order of St John, January 1973 * Honorary Fellow of Keble College, Oxford, 1973 *

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

, 1974 New Year Honours, and knighted by HM the Queen at Buckingham Palace, 5 February 1974''The London Gazette'', issue 46208, 12 February 1974
p. 1890
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayward, Charles William 1983 deaths 1892 births English chief executives English investors English philanthropists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Businesspeople awarded knighthoods People from Wolverhampton 20th-century British philanthropists 20th-century English businesspeople