Sir Geoffrey Le Mesurier Mander (6 March 1882 – 9 September 1962) was a Midland industrialist and chairman of

Mander Brothers Mander Brothers was a major employer in the city of Wolverhampton, in the English Midlands, a progressive company founded in 1773. In the 19th century the firm became the number one manufacturers of varnishes, paints and later printing inks in th ...

Ltd., paint and varnish manufacturers in

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 ...

, England, an art collector and Liberal parliamentarian.

Early career

Geoffrey Mander was the oldest son of (Samuel) Theodore Mander (of a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the prominent Mander family of Midland industrialists and public servants) and his wife, Flora St Clair Paint. Mander's younger brother was actor, playwright and film director

Miles Mander Miles Mander (born Lionel Henry Mander; 14 May 1888 – 8 February 1946), was an English character actor, writer, director and producer in the post-war period of early British cinema during the 1920s to mid-1930s, as well as a playwright an ...

. He was educated at Harrow and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, served in the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and was called to the bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

(1921).

Politician

He entered the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

as the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton East at the general election in May 1929. He was a Liberal specialist on foreign policy between the wars, and was one of the first to take a strong stand against

Appeasement Appeasement, in an International relations, international context, is a diplomacy, diplomatic negotiation policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power (international relations), power with intention t ...

of the

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

dictators, and was a crusader on behalf of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Sir

Archibald Sinclair Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso, (22 October 1890 – 15 June 1970), known as Sir Archibald Sinclair between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Li ...

(later, first Viscount Thurso), the

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a secretary of state position in the British government that existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretary of State for Air was supported by ...

. He won a reputation in Parliament for his determined use of parliamentary questions. For example, just over a month after the formal establishment of the Peace Pledge Union on 22 May 1936, he asked the first of numerous hostile questions about it on 25 June 1936. Wolverhampton East was one of the last urban constituencies which the Liberals managed to hold against both Labour Party and Conservative Party opposition up to 1945. Mander was expected to be nominated

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

for the Liberal Party in the House of Commons, but he lost his seat at the 1945 general election, in the post-war Labour landslide. Considering that Labour had now replaced the Liberals as the main representative of the radical tradition in British politics, he joined the Labour party in 1948, and subsequently served as a Labour member of

Staffordshire County Council Staffordshire County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includ ...

. Among many public offices, he was

High Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities as ...

(1921), a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

lor, justice of the peace, and was made a

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 ...

for public services in the 1945 New Year Honours shortly before his enforced retirement from Parliament.

Industrialist

He was chairman of Mander Brothers (established in 1773) for a generation, one of the principal local employers and a major manufacturer of paints, inks and varnishes in the British Empire. As an industrialist, he led many progressive initiatives in the field of labour relations and employment welfare between the Wars. Under his direction, Mander Brothers was the first British company to introduce the 40-hour week through an historic agreement signed and mediated by

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940 and ...

, general secretary of the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...

, in September 1931.

Art patron

He was an early conservationist. He offered to buy for the nation William Morris's Red House in London, if a suitable tenant could be found. He did present the family house,

Wightwick Manor Wightwick Manor ( ) is a Victorian era, Victorian house in Wightwick Bank, a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It was commissioned in 1887 from the architect Edward Ould by Theodore Mander family, Mander ...

, in Staffordshire, with its outstanding collections of Victorian art and objects associated with

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

, the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossett ...

and the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

in 1937. It was the first country house to be so presented during the lifetime of its donor. His second wife, Rosalie Glynn Grylls, was a biographer and lecturer with an interest in the writers and artists of the Romantic period, and an early connoisseur of the

Pre-Raphaelite movement The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossett ...

. Her biographical subjects included

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

(1938), Claire Clairmont (1939), Edward John Trelawny (1950),

William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous fo ...

(1953),

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( ; ), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brother ...

(1964), Ivy Compton-Burnett (1971) and Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1980). Together Geoffrey and Rosalie Mander were influential in the overdue reassessment of the artists and writers of the Victorian period. His autobiography was published posthumously in 2021 as ''Lemons for Chamberlain: The Life and Backbench Career of Geoffrey Mander MP'', edited by Patricia Pegg.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lemons-Chamberlain-Backbench-Career-Geoffrey/dp/1916057039

Personal life

Mander was married twice. His first marriage was to Rosalind Florence Caverhill, of Montreal. They had three children: * Mervyn Caverhill Mander * Mavis Flora Rosalind Mander * Elizabeth Brehaut Mander His second marriage was to Mary Rosalie Glynn Grylls. Their wedding took place in the House of Commons, where Liberal MP Edgar Granville served as best man. The couple had two children: * John Geoffrey Grylls Mander, poet, author and cultural critic (1932-1978) * Anthea Loveday Veronica Mander (1945-2004); married John Lahr in 1965.

References

*Sir Geoffrey Le Mesurier Mander (ed), ''The History of Mander Brothers'' (Wolverhampton. 1955) *C. Nicholas Mander, ''Varnished Leaves: a biography of the Mander Family of Wolverhampton, 1750-1950'' (Owlpen Press, 2004) *Patricia Pegg, ''A Very Private Heritage: the private papers of Samuel Theodore Mander, 1853-1900'' (Malvern, 1996) *Nicholas Mander, ''Last of the Midland Radicals; biography of Sir Geoffrey Mander, Liberal MP for Wolverhampton East, 1929-45'' in Journal of Liberal History, Issue 53, Winter 2006-07 *Geoffrey Mander M.P. "We were not all wrong - How the Labour and Liberal Parties (& also the anti-Munich Tories) strove, pre-war, for the policy of collective security against aggression - with adequate armaments to make that policy effective: the truth about the peace ballot: etc, etc." - (Victor Gollancz Ltd. 1944)

External links

*
"Sir Geoffrey Mander: the last of the Midland Radicals"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mander, Geoffrey 1882 births 1962 deaths Military personnel from Wolverhampton British Army personnel of World War I Royal Flying Corps personnel Businesspeople from Wolverhampton People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Mander, Sir Geoffrey Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English art collectors People educated at Summer Fields School UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Councillors in Staffordshire Labour Party (UK) councillors High sheriffs of Staffordshire English justices of the peace Members of the Inner Temple Geoffrey