Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Sir Patrick Ashley Cooper (18 November 1887 – 22 March 1961) was a British businessman who for more than two decades was governor of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

and 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 ...

. He served as High Sheriff of the County of London and as

High Sheriff of Hertfordshire The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the foundation of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provi ...

Early life and education

Ashley Cooper was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, the eldest son of Patrick Cooper, and Mary Cook of Ashley, Aberdeenshire. He was educated at Fettes College in Edinburgh before attending

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

, and Aberdeen University, studying law.

Career

War service

In 1906, Ashley Cooper joined the Volunteer Corps. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Aberdeenshire division, 2nd Highland Brigade, of the Royal Field Artillery. In 1913, he joined the 7th London Brigade as a lieutenant. During the First World War, Ashley Cooper served in France with the Royal Field Artillery. He was wounded in 1915 and twice

mentioned in dispatches 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 ...

, and was promoted to Major. He later served as Assistant Deputy Director-General of the Trench Warfare Department and Assistant Controller for Gun Ammunition. During the Second World War, Ashley Cooper served on the Supply Council and as Director-General of Finance and Contracts at the Ministry of Supply from 1939 to 1942. According to ''

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 ...

'', he put his experience to great use during the war: He was knighted in the 1944 New Year Honours for his wartime service.

Business career

After the First World War, he was engaged in financial and industrial reorganisation for some years, and, in 1931, he was appointed a member of the National Economy Committee. From 1931 to 1952, Cooper was Governor (Company Chairman) of the

, North America's oldest company (established by English

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

in 1670). The company was struggling when he took over, and his obituary in ''

'' explains: Ashley Cooper held a number of other positions at various organisations. He was a director of the

(1932–55), a member of the famed May Committee on National Expenditure (1931), a governor of Guy's Hospital (1926–53), was a member of the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Londo ...

(1933–47), and a member of the Rhodesia-Nyasaland Royal Commission (1938). Ashley Cooper was High Sheriff of the County of London (1944 and 1957) and of

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

in 1946.

Personal life

He married Kathleen Spickett of

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

, Glamorgan, and they adopted the surname of Ashley Cooper. They had one son and two daughters. They resided at Hexton Manor in Hexton, Hertfordshire. One of his daughters, Cynthia, married Conservative MP Paul Bryan. He died at sea in 1961, aged 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley Cooper, Patrick 1887 births 1961 deaths People educated at Fettes College Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I People associated with the Bank of England Governors of the Hudson's Bay Company Businesspeople from Aberdeen Royal Field Artillery officers High sheriffs of the County of London High sheriffs of Hertfordshire People who died at sea 20th-century English businesspeople Military personnel from Aberdeen Civil servants in the Ministry of Supply