Sir John Chippendale "Chips" Lindley Keswick (2 February 1940 – 17 April 2024) was a British merchant banker and member of the Keswick family who control

Jardine Matheson Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (also known as Jardines) is a Hong Kong–based, Bermuda-domiciled British multinational conglomerate. It has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and secondary listings on the Singapore Exchange ...

, founded by William Jardine. He was chairman of

Arsenal Football Club The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional association football, football club based in London Borough of Islington, Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of ...

from June 2013 until his retirement in May 2020.

Early life and education

Part of the Keswick family business dynasty, John Keswick was born on 2 February 1940, as the son of Sir William Johnstone "Tony" Keswick (1903–1990) and Mary Lindley, and the grandson of Henry Keswick. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and the University of Aix-Marseilles.

Business career

Keswick was chairman of Hambros Bank from 1986 to 1998. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

for services to banking in the

1993 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1993 were appointments by most of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other count ...

. He was a director of Arsenal Football Club from November 2005, and the chairman from August 2013, when he succeeded Peter Hill-Wood, until his retirement in May 2020.

Personal life

Keswick married Lady Sarah Ramsay, daughter of the 16th Earl of Dalhousie, in 1966. They have three sons: David, Tobias and Adam. The family are friends of

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East ...

. Lady Sarah is one of the official "Queen's companions". In December 2013, the pro-union group Better Together released the names of individuals who have made major donations to their funds, and Keswick was revealed to have donated £23,000 to the campaign. Keswick was a keen

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

owner and

hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

. Keswick's elder brother

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

and younger brother Simon Keswick are chairman and director of

Jardine Matheson Holdings Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (also known as Jardines) is a Hong Kong–based, Bermuda-domiciled British multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and secondary listings on ...

. Keswick died on 17 April 2024, at the age of 84. His memorial service, held in May 2024 in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

, was attended by the King and Queen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keswick, Chips 1940 births 2024 deaths British bankers Arsenal F.C. directors and chairmen Businesspeople awarded knighthoods People educated at Eton College

Chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...

Knights Bachelor Bankers from London English football chairmen and investors English racehorse owners and breeders