Charles Melville McLaren, 3rd Baron Aberconway, (16 April 1913 – 4 February 2003) was a British industrialist and horticulturalist. He was the son of

Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway Henry Duncan McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway, (16 April 1879 – 23 May 1953) was a British politician, horticulturalist and industrialist. He was the son of Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway and Laura Pochin. Education Born in Richmond u ...

, and Christabel Macnaghten.

Education

He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, and became a barrister of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

Career

As a young man, he became a director of

John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and the ''Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its height, from 1900 to the 1950s, it was one of ...

, where his father was chairman. Due to this connection, he took part in the secret, unofficial meeting of British businessmen with

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

arranged by

Birger Dahlerus Johan Birger Essen Dahlerus (6 February 1891, Stockholm – 8 March 1957, Stockholm) was a Swedish businessman, amateur diplomat and friend of Hermann Göring. He attempted through diplomatic channels to prevent the Second World War. His fut ...

in August 1939 as a last-ditch effort to forestall war. 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 ...

, he served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, becoming a second lieutenant. After the war, he took a more active role in the family corporations, preparing to succeed his father. He was also a director of

Westland Aircraft Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil, Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Limited just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915. D ...

from 1947 to 1985. He was made a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

in 1946, and

High Sheriff of Denbighshire The first High Sheriff of Denbighshire was John Salusbury, snr, appointed in 1540. The shrievalty of Denbighshire, together with that of Flintshire, continued until 1974 when it was abolished after the county and shrievalty of Clwyd was create ...

in 1950. In 1953, he succeeded his father in the barony, the chairmanship of John Brown and

English China Clays English China Clays PLC, or ECC, was a mining company involved in the extraction of china clay, based in St Austell, Cornwall. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but in 1999 was acquired by Imetal. History English China Clays was i ...

, and various other industrial interests. He continued in these chairmanships until 1986 and 1984, respectively. Despite his corporate responsibilities, Lord Aberconway took a keen interest in horticulture. Besides maintaining the family's

Bodnant Garden Bodnant Garden ( cy, Gardd Bodnant) is a National Trust property near Tal-y-Cafn, Conwy, Wales, overlooking the Conwy Valley towards the Carneddau mountains. Founded in 1874 and developed by five generations of one family, it was given to th ...

, he was the President of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

from 1961 to 1983 and oversaw the management of the

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the ''Great Spring Show'',Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural ...

. His annual assertion became famous: Despite inheriting a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, he rarely attended. Throughout his life, he enjoyed writing pithy, memorable and topical letters to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. He is buried at the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

called "The Poem" within

, the traditional burial place of the Lords Aberconway.

Family

He married Deirdre Knewstub, daughter of John Knewstub, on 6 December 1941, and had three children: #Julia Harriet McLaren (b. 22 September 1942), married Capt. Charles Ridley and has issue #Dr Caroline Mary McLaren (b. 24 October 1944), married Raimund Sargent and has issue #

Henry Charles McLaren, 4th Baron Aberconway Baron Aberconway, of Bodnant in the County of Denbigh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 21 June 1911 for the industrialist and Liberal politician Sir Charles McLaren, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a ...

(b. 1948) The couple divorced in 1949, and he married Ann Bullard (''née'' Aymer, mother of the Countess of Onslow) the same year. They had one son: #Michael Duncan McLaren, KC (b. 29 November 1958), married Caroline Stacey and has issue; present manager of Bodnant Garden.

References

* ''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2007

External links

thePeerage.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aberconway, Charles Maclaren, 3rd Baron 1913 births 2003 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford 3 People educated at Eton College Victoria Medal of Honour (Horticulture) recipients High Sheriffs of Denbighshire Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II English justices of the peace

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 ...