Sir Michael Jeremiah Colman, 3rd Baronet (7 July 1928 – 26 December 2023) was a British businessman. He served as director of

Reckitt & Colman plc Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the merg ...

, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

First Church Estates Commissioner The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

and founder of Summerdown, a commercial peppermint farm in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

Early life and education

Michael Jeremiah Colman was born on 7 July 1928 to Jeremiah Colman (later 2nd baronet, of Gatton Park; 1886–1961) and Edith Gwendolen Tritton (1902–1980), scion of the Tritton baronets. He was the grandson of Sir Jeremiah Colman, 1st Bt, and a descendant of

Jeremiah Colman Jeremiah Colman (1777–1851) was an English miller who founded Colman's, Colman's Mustard, a business which merged into the conglomerate Reckitt & Colman, and is now owned by Unilever. Life He was born in Norfolk in 1777 to Robert Colman (1749- ...

, founder of Colman's. Colman was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. He served his

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

and the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, gaining the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry The Queen's Own Yorkshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army from 1956 to 1971. Its lineage is maintained by the Yorkshire Yeomanry Squadron, the Queen's Own Yeomanry. History The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of thre ...

. In 1961, he inherited the Colman baronetcy from his father.

Career

Colman began his business career in his family's condiment company, J. & J. Colman, working in the international division. He became director

's, the public successor to J. & J. Colman, overseas board in 1962 and finance director in 1980. He was chairman from 1986 until his retirement in 1995. From 1993 to 1999, he served as the

, overseeing the Church's investment portfolio. For his work with the Church, he was awarded the

Cross of St Augustine The Cross of St Augustine is an award of merit in the gift of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is awarded to members of the Anglican Communion who have made significant contributions to the life of the worldwide Communion, or to a particular auton ...

. In 1993, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law (LL.D.) by the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...

. He was a fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. After retiring from Reckitt & Colman plc in 1995, Colman founded Summerdown, a

peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantbas ...

farm and distillery in

. Summerdown revived the Black Mitcham peppermint crop which had been extinct in England for 50 years.

Personal life

On 29 October 1955, he married Judith Jean Wallop William-Powlett (born 7 February 1936), daughter of Vice Admiral Sir Peveril William-Powlett. They had three daughters and two sons, including Sir Jerimiah Colman, 4th Baronet. Lady Colman is patron of several charitable organizations, including SeeAbility and Basingstoke & District Disability Forum. Sir Michael died on 26 December 2023, at the age of 95. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his elder son, Jerimiah "Jamie" (born 1958).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colman, Michael, Sir, 3rd Baronet 1928 births 2023 deaths People educated at Eton College British food industry businesspeople 20th-century British businesspeople 21st-century British businesspeople Church Estates Commissioners British Army officers English Anglicans

103 103 may refer to: *103 (number), the number *AD 103, a year in the 2nd century AD *103 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 103 (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Field Squadron, a territorial regiment * 103 (Newcastle) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers *103 ( ...

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

Recipients of the Cross of St Augustine