Sir Lindsay Roberts Ring (1 May 1914 – 10 August 1997) was a British businessman who took back control of the catering firm Ring and Brymer (Birch's), which had previously been owned by his family. After selling the business to Forte Holdings, he devoted himself to the activities of the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

. After serving as councilman, Alderman and

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

of London he became

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

from 1975 to 1976.

Early life

Lindsay Ring was born in

Herne Hill Herne Hill () is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the London ...

, south London, the son of George Arthur Ring and his wife Helen Stedman. He went to school at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

, where he was captain of the school

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

team. After spending a year in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, he worked as a bank clerk in the City of London before joining the catering firm Ring and Brymer (Birch's), which had been founded by one of his ancestors, but was no longer controlled by the Ring family. At the start of

WWII 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 joined the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

and was evacuated from

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

as a junior officer. After service in the Middle East, he was demobilised with the rank of major and rejoined Ring and Brymer (Birch's) as a junior member of staff.

Career

Ring and Brymer (Birch's) was regarded as the most celebrated catering firm in the city of London. It had provided the catering for Coronation banquets over two centuries, as well as catering for Number

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 ...

, for

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Grade ...

events, for

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

and for livery dinners in the City of London. During

WWI World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...

the family had lost control of the business and Ring's father had been declared

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

. Having rejoined the company in 1945, Lindsay Ring rose through the ranks and by the early 1950s he had regained control of the business. There followed an expansion of the business with additional catering franchises including

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...

and the

Farnborough Airshow The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in ...

. In 1962 he sold the firm to Sir

Charles Forte Charles Carmine Forte, Baron Forte (26 November 1908 – 28 February 2007) was an Italian-born Scottish hotelier who founded the leisure and hotels conglomerate that ultimately became the Forte Group. Early life Charles Forte was born as Ca ...

and was given a seat on the board of Forte Holdings. Thereafter he became involved increasingly with the affairs of the

. He was elected councilman for the Bishopsgate ward in 1964, served as Alderman for the Vintry ward from 1968 to 1984.

Appointments and honours

He was elected master of the Armourers and Brasiers Company in 1972. and was Sherriff of London between 1967 and 1968.In 1975 he was appointed

Knight Grand Cross 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 ...

(GBE), and later that year he became

, choosing

Age Concern Age Concern is the banner title used by several charitable organisations specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people (defined as those over the age of 50) based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kingdom. I ...

as the theme for his mayoral year. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of 151 Regiment, Royal Corps of Transport, T.A.V.R. in 1977.

Family

He married Hazel Nichols in 1940 while on 48-hour leave from his unit. They did not see each other again for five years. They had two sons and a daughter. He died on 10 August 1997.

References

{{Authority control 1914 births 1997 deaths People educated at Dulwich College Sheriffs of the City of London 20th-century lord mayors of London Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire