Sir John Coldbrook Hanbury-Williams (28 May 1892 – 10 August 1965) was a British businessman and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

. He was director of

Courtaulds Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals. It was established in 1794 and became the world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 into Courtauld ...

from 1946 to 1962, served as a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

from 1936 to 1963, and held various positions in the royal household.

Early life

Hanbury-Williams was born in

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

, the son of Major-General Sir John Hanbury-Williams and Annie Emily Reiss. He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

. He began his business career at Rice Bros. in London and Manchester, prior to the

First World War 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 ...

breaking out. He served in France with the

10th Royal Hussars The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the World War I, First World War and World War II, Sec ...

and also served at General Headquarters. He was wounded during the war and

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

Career

In 1926, Hanbury-Williams joined textile company

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

before being transferred to the company's headquarters in London. He concentrated on the company's yarn trade overseas and soon oversaw administration of Courtaulds' foreign-affiliated companies. In 1930, he was elected to the company's board of directors. In 1935, he was appointed a managing director, concentrating on the companies international trade. He was directly involved in the founding of

British Cellophane British Cellophane Ltd (BCL) was a joint venture company formed in 1935 between La Cellophane SA and Courtaulds, when they began building a major factory for producing Cellophane in Bridgwater, Somerset, England. It was recently announced that ...

. In 1936, Hanbury-Williams was elected to the court of directors of the

, and served as a director until his retirement in February 1963. From 1940 to his retirement, he also served as a member of the Bank of England's Committee of Treasury. Prior to the

Second World War 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 ...

, Hanbury-Williams was responsible for Courtaulds involvement with nylon, invented in 1935 by

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

. After the War began, he worked full-time as an executive director of the Bank of England in 1940–41. In 1942, he served under the

Minister of Economic Warfare The Minister of Economic Warfare was a British government position which existed during the Second World War. The minister was in charge of the Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed ...

Lord Selborne Earl of Selborne, in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1882 for the lawyer and Liberal politician Roundell Palmer, 1st Baron Selborne, along with the subsidiary title of Viscount Wo ...

. In 1943, he returned to Courtaulds and was appointed deputy chairman. In 1946, he succeeded Samuel Courtauld as chairman of the company. Courtaulds had suffered during the wartime years and had been forced to sell off its almost wholly owned American subsidiary, the

American Viscose Corporation American Viscose Corporation was an American division of the British firm Courtaulds, which manufactured rayon and other synthetic fibres. The company operated from 1910 to 1976 when it was renamed Avtex. Avtex closed in 1990. History Establish ...

, for badly needed dollars for Great Britain. Post-war, the company also needed to replenish its staff across the board and underwent a period of major recruitment. A particular achievement for Hanbury-Williams was the return to the United States in 1951 with the establishment of a new American subsidiary, Courtaulds, Inc. Additionally, Hanbury-Williams served as chairman of the Prime Minister's Committee on the ordering procedure for civil aircraft in 1948; honorary treasurer (and later a trustee) of the

Commonwealth Study Conference The first Commonwealth Study Conference held in Oxford, United Kingdom in 1956 to study the human aspects of industrial issues across Commonwealth countries. The founder of the conference, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, described it as "an extr ...

at Oxford in 1956; president of the International Association for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1959–60; and a vice-president of the

National Council for Social Service National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. Hanbury-Williams was knighted in the

1950 New Year Honours The 1950 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 2 January 1950 for the Unit ...

, for public services.

Courtier

Hanbury-Williams became a

Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher and Lady Usher are titles for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. For a list of office-holders from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day see List of Lady and Gentleman Ushers. Gen ...

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

in 1931, and served as Gentleman Usher to

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

in 1936. Between 1936 and 1965 Hanbury-Williams held the office of Lieutenant of the City of London. He was Gentleman Usher to

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

between 1937 and 1946, and was Extra Gentleman Usher to the King between 1946 and 1952. He was invested as a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

in the

1956 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1956 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 2 January 1956 to celebra ...

. From 1952 to 1965 he was Extra Gentleman Usher to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. Hanbury-Williams served as

High Sheriff of the County of London Below is a list of sheriffs of the County of London, from the creation of the county in 1889 to its abolition in 1965: *1889–1890: Alfred de Rothschild, of Senmore Place *1890–1891: Sir James Whitehead, 1st Baronet, of Highlield H ...

twice; in 1943 and 1958.

Personal life

Hanbury-Williams married Princess Zenaida Cantacuzène, daughter of Major-General

Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Cantacuzène, Count Speransky (; 29 April 1875 – 25 March 1955) was a Russian general. The title of Count Speransky has been alternatively spelled "Spiransky" and "Speranski". Early life Prince Michael (or Mikhail) w ...

, 2nd Count Speransky and Julia Dent Grant, granddaughter of US President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

, on 1 November 1928 in Washington, D.C. They had one son and two daughters. He died in 1965 at the London Clinic, aged 73.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanbury-Williams, John Coldbrook 1892 births 1965 deaths Military personnel from Oxfordshire British bankers Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Gentlemen Ushers High sheriffs of the County of London Knights Bachelor People associated with the Bank of England People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire British Army personnel of World War I 10th Royal Hussars soldiers 20th-century English businesspeople