Charles Spencer Denman, 5th Baron Denman, (7 July 1916 – 21 November 2012), was a British businessman. His interest in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, formed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, was the focus for most of his business endeavours.

Early life

Denman was born on 7 July 1916 in Penrith,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

. He was the eldest son of Sir Richard Douglas Denman, 1st Baronet, who sat as

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Carlisle and then as Labour MP for Leeds. He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

. He left school at 16 with no qualifications. Following school, he began working as a gardener in

Luton Hoo Luton Hoo is an English country house and Estate (land), estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Old English language, Saxon word wikt:hoo#Etym ...

and then in

St Mawes St Mawes ( kw, Lannvowsedh) is a village on the end of the Roseland Peninsula, in the eastern side of Falmouth harbour, on the south coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village, formerly two separate hamlets, lies on the east bank of the ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. He then set up a

market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or s ...

at Mylor, Cornwall.

Later life

He was chair of the Saudi-British Society for many years and a supporter of

Medical Aid for Palestinians Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is a British charity that offers medical services in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon, and advocates for Palestinians' rights to health and dignity. It is in special consultative status with ECOSOC since 2002. Ai ...

. Denman died in Highden, West Sussex, aged 96 on 21 November 2012.

Honours and decorations

Denman succeeded to the baronetcy in 1957 on the death of his father and to the barony on the death of a cousin in 1971. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

(MC) on 13 August 1942 'in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in the Middle East'. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

of 1976. He was appointed Knight Commander of the

Royal Order of Francis I The Royal Order of Francis I (properly 'The Royal Order of Francis I of the Two Sicilies' it, Reale Ordine di Francesco I) was an extinct order of merit of the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies which was annexed in 1861 by the King of Italy (u ...

in 2004.

References

External links

Obituary - The TimesDENMAN, 5th Baron, (Charles Spencer Denman)
''Who's Who 2013'', A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Denman, Charles 1916 births 2012 deaths British businesspeople Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People from Penrith, Cumbria Recipients of the Military Cross People educated at Shrewsbury School Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War II

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

20th-century British businesspeople

Denman Denman may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Denman Glacier, near Antarctica * Denman Shire, New South Wales, Australia ** Denman, New South Wales, a town in the Hunter Valley of Australia * Denman Island, one of the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Can ...

Military personnel from Cumbria