Sir Harry Sedan Waechter, 1st Baronet (6 June 1871 – 20 May 1929) was a British businessman and philanthropist. The only son of Sir Max Waechter,Obituary, ''

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 ...

'', 22 May 1929, p. 10, column D Harry Sedan Waechter was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

and educated at

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

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 ...

. started developing the garden, "Ramsnest" (now "Ramster") near

Chiddingfold Chiddingfold is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Weald in the Waverley, Surrey, Waverley district of Surrey, England. It lies on the A283 road between Milford, Surrey, Milford and Petworth. The parish includes the h ...

, Surrey, which he purchased sometime between 1890 and 1900. He also owned property in

Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

(present-day

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

, Zimbabwe). He was made a partner in Bessler, Waechter & Co. in 1901. Waechter was appointed a deputy lieutenant of the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

in September 1909. He was raised to the Baronetage in the 1911 New Year Honours. He is described in ''The Times'' article as "Henry Waechter, Esq, Managing Director of the firm of Bessler, Waechter and Co. Limited, Shippers and Ship owners of which Sir Max Waechter is Chairman. Has given generous support to the Territorial Force and Cadet Corps in Surrey.

High Sheriff of Surrey The list of known High Sheriffs of Surrey extends back to 1066. At various times the High Sheriff of Surrey was also High Sheriff of Sussex (1229–1231, 1232–1240, 1242–1567, 1571–1635). 1066–1228 (High Sheriffs of Surrey only) 1229– ...

in 1910 and Master of the Chiddingfold Foxhounds." In 1907, he instituted a Band Competition, held at Ramsnest. In 1912, he gave land in

Woodbridge Road The Sports Ground, Woodbridge Road is a cricket ground in Guildford, Surrey. The ground was given to the town in trust in 1911 by Sir Harry Waechter, Bart. Guildford Cricket Club play their home matches on the ground. Surrey County Cricket Cl ...

, Guildford to Guildford Borough Council, in trust, with cricket included in the objects of the Trust. This land is now the home of Guildford Cricket Club. He served in

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 ...

(1914–1918) in France and in Italy he received the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

. He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in the

1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year 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 published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Janu ...

for his efforts during the First World War.

Family

He married Evelyn Mary Josephine d'Arcy (died 1955), daughter of John d'Arcy, in 1911. D’Arcy was an early member of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, an all female volunteer Corps, formed in 1907 as a mounted unit to rescue wounded soldiers from the battlefield. Based in London, the FANY used Chiddingfold for some early training camps. The couple had two sons and a daughter. They divorced on 15 December 1923.

Death

Lord Waechter died in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (present-day

Harare, Zimbabwe Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metropolitan province. The city is situa ...

) on 20 May 1929, shortly before his 58th birthday. He was succeeded as Baronet by his son, Harry Leonard d'Arcy Waechter (born 22 May 1912–died 10 January 1985). The baronetcy became extinct upon the latter's death, in 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waechter, Harry 1871 births 1929 deaths People educated at Clifton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Deputy lieutenants of the County of London English people of German descent High sheriffs of Surrey Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War I