Sir Charles William Hayward, CBE

KStJ The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

(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 and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

. In 1908, Sarah Ann Williams (née Patten
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 Eng ...

, 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 (motorcycle), scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. The combination of a motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''rig'', ''outfit' ...

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 A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

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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South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and

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. 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 Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

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, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, 1938 *

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, 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 Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, 1974 New Year Honours, and knighted by HM the Queen at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

, 5 February 1974''The London Gazette'', issue 46208, 12 February 1974
p. 1890
/ref>

References

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