Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Thomas Leslie Rowan (22 February 1908 – 29 April 1972) was a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

and industrialist. He served in the Colonial Office and HM Treasury, and was Principal Private Secretary to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

and

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

, before joining the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., as economic minister. After some years heading the Overseas Finance Section of the Treasury, in 1966 he moved into the private sector as head of

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

, and from 1971 until his sudden death was chairman of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

Early life

Rowan was born at

Dunlavin Dunlavin () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland, situated about south-west of Dublin. It is centred on the junction of the R412 road (Ireland), R412 and R756 road (Ireland), R756 Regional road (Ireland), regional roads. It was founded aro ...

, in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, then part of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

. He was a younger son of Thomas Rowan of

Dromore West Dromore West () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. Dromore West is located along the N59 between the Ox Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. The village is situated on the banks of the Dunneil River, offering scenic river walks that lead towa ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

, a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

clergyman and headmaster who became a missionary in British India, where Rowan spent most of his early childhood. From 1920 to 1926, Rowan was educated as a day boy at

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

, serving as School Captain in his final year. He was in the school's First XI (

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

), First XI (

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

), and First XV ( rugby). He was then an Exhibitioner at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

, John Fforde, Richard Sidney Sayers, John Harold Clapham, ''The Bank of England and Public Policy, 1941–1958'' (Cambridge University Press, 1992)
p. 239
/ref> and also went on to captain the

England men's national field hockey team The England men's national field hockey team competes in most major international tournaments except the Field hockey at the Summer Olympics, Olympic Games. England's only appearance at the Olympics was at Field hockey at the 1908 Summer Olympic ...

Hugh Dalton Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton, (16 August 1887 – 13 February 1962) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party economist and politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947. He shaped Labour Party foreig ...

later described Rowan as "A bit too pi for me. School prefect type."

, ''The Political Diary of Hugh Dalton, 1918–40, 1945–60'' (Cape, 1986), p. 485

Career

Rowan served in the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

from 1930 to 1933, then was a civil servant in

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

until 1947, but with responsibilities outside of it. In 1941, Rowan became Assistant Private Secretary to

while he was British prime minister during 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 ...

, and then was promoted to be Churchill's Principal Private Secretary; he remained at

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...

in this post when

took over as prime minister in 1945. 10 Downing Street 2010 entzerrt

In 1947, Rowan was briefly Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Minister for Economic Affairs, then from 1947 to 1949 returned to HM Treasury as Second Secretary, gaining a

knighthood 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 ...

in the 1949 Birthday Honours. From 1949 to 1951, Rowan was economic minister at the British Embassy in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and returned from there to head the Overseas Finance Section of HM Treasury. In 1966, he succeeded Sir Charles Dunphie as head of the Vickers Group, with shipbuilding and armaments divisions. In 1971, he became chairman of the British Council.

Private life

In 1939, Rowan was unmarried and living at Sloane House, Chelsea. In 1944, in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, Rowan married Catherine Patricia Love, an officer in the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the World War I, First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in ...

and a daughter of Brigadier Raymond Love, of Mayford, and they had four children, Sarah Josephine Rowan, Susannah V. Rowan, Charles Rowan and Mark D. R. Rowan.''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

'', vol. 3 (2003), p. 3834; "LOVE Catherine P / Rowan / Kensington 1a 177" in ''England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005'' (1944, first quarter)
"Miss Catherine Patricia Love"
in ''List of Officers on the Active List of the Royal Navy'' (1942), p. 390 Their daughter Susannah married Johnson Tamlyn, and their granddaughter Joanna Tamlyn married Sir Henry de la Poer Beresford-Peirse, 7th Baronet. Their son Mark married Katharine Julia Fraser, a great-granddaughter of

Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat and 2nd Baron Lovat, (21 December 1828 – 6 September 1887) was a Scottish nobleman, landowner, and soldier. He was the 22nd Chief of Clan Fraser of Lovat in the Scottish Highlands, and responsible for overseeing ...

, and they have four children. On 13 October 1964, Rowan and his wife were the last dinner guests Winston Churchill entertained at

Chartwell Chartwell is a English country house, country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years, it was the home of Sir Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his ...

before his death. Lady Rowan later said of the occasion "It was sad to see such a great man become so frail". At the time of his death on 29 April 1972, Rowan was living in

Brompton, London Brompton, sometimes called Old Brompton, survives in name as a Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, ward in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. Until the latter half of the 19th century it was a scattered vill ...

SW3. He left an estate valued for probate at £56,422, .

Honours

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB), 1946 New Year Honours *

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 ...

(CVO), 1947 *

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(KCB), The 1949 King's Birthday Honours

Major publications

*''Arms and Economics: The Changing Challenge'' (Cambridge University Press, 1960) *''Investment and Development: The Role of Private Investment in Developing Countries'' (

Overseas Development Institute ODI Global (formerly Overseas Development Institute) is a global affairs think tank, founded in 1960. Its mission is "to inspire people to act on injustice and inequality through collaborative research and ideas that matter for people and the ...

, 1965)

External links

Order of service for memorial service of Sir Thomas Leslie Rowan (1908-1972)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowan Leslie 1908 births 1972 deaths Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order English male field hockey players Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Tonbridge School Principal private secretaries to the prime minister Second Permanent Secretaries of HM Treasury People of the British Council 20th-century English sportsmen