Sir William Henry Neville Goschen, 1st Baronet (30 October 1865 – 7 July 1945), known as Harry Goschen, was a British businessman and banker from the prominent Goschen family.

Family and early life

Harry was born at 7 Chapel Street,

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

, London, the son of Henry Goschen (1837–1932) and Augusta Eleanor Shakerley, niece of Sir Charles Shakerley, 1st Baronet. Henry Goschen was the younger brother of

George Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen George Joachim Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen (10 August 1831 – 7 February 1907), was a British statesman and businessman best remembered for being "forgotten" by Lord Randolph Churchill. He was initially a Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist be ...

. Their grandfather was prominent publisher and printer

Georg Joachim Göschen Georg Joachim Göschen (22 April 1752Several sources list 22 December 1752 as his date of birth; while others list 22 April 1752 as the date he was baptised. – 5 April 1828) was a German publisher and bookseller in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

. His third son Wilhelm Heinrich (William Henry) Göschen (1793–1866) came to England in 1814 and founded together with the German merchant Heinrich Frühling (1790–1841) the merchant bank Frühling & Göschen, of Leipzig and London. He married an English woman and had several children, including George, Henry and

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

. His younger brother was Major General

Arthur Goschen Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Arthur Alec Goschen (6 January 1880 – 28 June 1975) was a British Army officer who served as an Area Commander during the Second World War. Family and education Goschen was born in London, the chil ...

. Harry 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 ...

from 1879 to 1884. In 1886, he was gazetted as a lieutenant in the 24th Middlesex Volunteer Rifles, the London Regiment.

Career

Goschen joined the family merchant banking firm Frühling & Göschen, and became involved in insurance. He was director of the Ocean Marine Insurance Co., Sun Insurance Office and Sun Life Assurance Society. His personality and role during the First World War were later recalled in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'': In 1920, he merged his families bank Frühling & Göschen with Cunliffe Brothers, owned by Lord Cunliffe, to form Goschens & Cunliffe. During his career, he served as chairman of the London Clearing banks, the National Provincial Bank and the Accepting Houses Committee, and as a director of the

Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China 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.

. Goschen also sat on various other boards and charities, including commissioner of the Public Works Loan Board, Warden of the Royal Chapel of the Savoy, Member House Committee of the London Hospital and served as Prime Warden of the

Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths (commonly known as ''The Goldsmiths' Company'' and formally styled ''The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London''), is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City ...

. Goschen was appointed a deputy lieutenant for Essex in 1920. He retired from business in 1936.

Honours

Goschen was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to ...

for his services during the First World War. He was knighted in the same order (KBE) in April 1920, for "valuable services on many Government Committees" during the war. In the

1927 Birthday Honours The 1927 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

, Goschen was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Durrington House in the Parish of Sheering and

County of Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom, for public services. He was also a Knight of Grace of the

Order of St. John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there un ...

Personal life

On 23 November 1893, Goschen married Christian (1871–1951), daughter of Lt.-Col.

James Augustus Grant Lieutenant-Colonel James Augustus Grant (11 April 1827 – 11 February 1892) was a Scottish explorer of eastern equatorial Africa. He made contributions to the journals of various learned societies, the most notable being the "Botany of the ...

. They had one daughter, Christian Eleanor Margaret, in 1895. She married Claud Douglas-Pennant, grandson of

Edward Douglas-Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn Edward Gordon Douglas-Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn (born Douglas; 20 June 1800 – 31 March 1886), was a British Conservative Party politician, landowner in Wales, and slave owner in Jamaica. He played a major part in the development of the Wels ...

, and younger brother of the fifth Baron Penrhyn. He died at Durrington House, his Essex estate, in 1945. The baronetcy became extinct upon his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goschen, Harry 1865 births 1945 deaths Military personnel from the City of Westminster

Harry Goschen Sir William Henry Neville Goschen, 1st Baronet (30 October 1865 – 7 July 1945), known as Harry Goschen, was a British businessman and banker from the prominent Goschen family. Family and early life Harry was born at 7 Chapel Street, Grosveno ...

British bankers Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British people of German descent People educated at Eton College Deputy lieutenants of Essex Volunteer Force officers London Regiment officers Military personnel from Essex 19th-century British Army personnel