Sir Alfred George Beech Owen (8 April 1908–29 October 1975) was the son of Alfred Ernest Owen (who in 1910 became the sole-proprietor of the British engineering company

Rubery Owen Rubery Owen is a British engineering company which was founded in 1884 in Darlaston, West Midlands. History In 1884 the company was started by John Tunner Rubery (1849-1920) and his two brothers (Samuel 1844-1910 and Thomas William 1856-1925), a ...

& Co). Sir Alfred was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and after the death of his father in 1929 he became, jointly with his brother, managing director of the Rubery Owen Group. Following his father's death, Owen left his studies at Cambridge to take over the Rubery Owen Company, the biggest private family business in Britain. Besides being Chairman and Joint Managing Director of Rubery Owen and Co. Ltd. he was also on the Board of ninety nine companies and Chairman of over eighty. He held thirty voluntary offices in social work, twenty in church work as well as being a

lay reader In Anglicanism, a licensed lay minister (LLM) or lay reader (in some jurisdictions simply reader) is a person authorised by a bishop to lead certain services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral and teaching ...

in the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

for much of his life. Sir Alfred was prominent in the local affairs of his home town,

The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city ...

, serving as a councillor (1937–1974), mayor (1951) and Alderman. Between 1951-52 he was Mayor of Sutton Coldfield and received his Knighthood in 1961. In 1970 Alderman Sir Alfred Owen was made Freeman of the Borough of Sutton Coldfield, and was the last person to hold this honour. Owen had a passion for racing cars and track events. He sponsored the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

BRM British Racing Motors (BRM) was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945 and based in the market town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, it participated from 1951 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning seventeen. BRM wo ...

racing cars and received the

Ferodo Ferodo is a British brake company based in Chapel-en-le-Frith in High Peak, Derbyshire. History It was founded in 1897 by Herbert Frood (1864-1931), with manufacturing starting in Gorton in 1901 and moving to Chapel-en-le-Frith in 1902. Fero ...

trophy as the man who had done the most for British racing in 1963. He was proprietor of the BRM motor racing team from the early-1950s to 1974, when it was passed to Louis Stanley, who had married his sister Jean. His father had bought the

New Hall Manor New Hall Manor is a medieval manor house, now used as a hotel, in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England. It is claimed to be one of the oldest inhabited moated houses in Britain,''Walmley and its surroundings'' (Chapter II: ''New Hall, New H ...

estate in Sutton Coldfield in 1923 which remained the Owen family home until Sir Alfred's death in 1975. Sir Alfred died on 29 October 1975 aged 67, leaving New Hall empty. He is buried with his family in Sutton Coldfield Cemetery, next to

Good Hope Hospital Good Hope Hospital is a teaching hospital in the Sutton Coldfield area of Birmingham, England. Covering north Birmingham and south east Staffordshire, it is managed by the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospit ...

on Rectory Road. The Rubery Owen Group spent several years looking for a use for New Hall, including offering it to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, before it was eventually put up for sale. A blue plaque appears at New Hall, now a hotel, in recognition of the occupation by Sir Alfred.

References

Profile at GrandPrix.com
1908 births 1975 deaths Formula One team owners 20th-century British businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1900s-stub