Charles Cheers Wakefield, 1st Viscount Wakefield, (12 December 1859 – 15 January 1941), was an English businessman who founded the

Castrol Castrol Limited is a British oil company that markets industrial and automotive lubricants, offering a wide range of oil, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications. The company was originally named CC Wakefield; the nam ...

lubricants A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces ...

company, was

lord mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

and was a significant philanthropist.

Early life and family

Wakefield was born in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, the son of John Wakefield, and his wife Margaret, née Cheers, and was educated at the

Liverpool Institute The Liverpool Institute High School for Boys was an all-boys grammar school in the English port city of Liverpool. The school had its origins in 1825 but occupied different premises while the money was found to build a dedicated building on M ...

. He married Sarah Frances Graham.

Business career

Wakefield patented the Wakefield lubricator for

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

s in the 1890s. In 1899 he founded the Wakefield Oil Company, but subsequently changed its name to

. The name Castrol was chosen because of the

castor oil Castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans, the seeds of the plant ''Ricinus communis''. The seeds are 40 to 60 percent oil. It is a colourless or pale yellow liquid with a distinct taste and odor. Its boiling point is and its den ...

that was added to the company's lubricating oils. This title has since become a household name in the United Kingdom. The Castrol brand

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, ...

s produced by Wakefield's company were used in the engines of

motor car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one bil ...

aeroplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

s, and

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

s. A Castrol endorsement contract and the generous patronage of Wakefield provided the funds for

Jean Batten Jane Gardner Batten (15 September 1909 – 22 November 1982), commonly known as Jean Batten, was a New Zealand Aircraft pilot, aviator who made several record-breaking flights – including the first solo flight from England to New Zealand i ...

to purchase the

Percival Gull The Percival Gull was a British single-engined monoplane, first flown in 1932. It was successful as a fast company transport, racing aircraft and long-range record breaker. It was developed into the Vega Gull and the Proctor. Design and develo ...

Six ''G-ADPR'' monoplane in which she set two world records for solo flight.

City of London

Wakefield was an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

, a member of the

Court of Common Council The Court of Common Council is the primary decision-making body of the City of London Corporation. It meets nine times per year. Most of its work is carried out by committees. City of London Corporation elections , Elections are held at least eve ...

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

(1907), and for 1915–1916 Lord Mayor. He received a

Knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1908, for services to the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. He was involved with a huge number of City institutions and charities, and was a co-founder of the Wakefield Trust, along with his friend the Rev'd "Tubby" Clayton, better known as the founder of the

Toc H Toc H (also TH) is a registered charity and an international Christian movement. The name is an abbreviation for Talbot House, "Toc" signifying the letter T in the Royal Corps of Signals#History, signals spelling alphabet#History, spelling alpha ...

charity. In

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he was instrumental in forming the 26th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (Bankers) from City workers as a '

Pals battalion The pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours an ...

' of Kitchener's New Army, and served as its Honorary Colonel (1915–16). On 16 February 1917 he was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

Saltwood Saltwood is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe District of Kent, England. Within the parish are the small hamlets of Pedlinge and Sandling. Geography Saltwood is located immediately to the north of Hythe on the high land ...

in the

County of Kent Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. ...

. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Wakefield, of

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a hamlet in Canada England *The ...

in the County of Kent on 21 January 1930, and on 28 June 1934 he was further honoured when he was created Viscount Wakefield, of Hythe in the County of Kent.

Hythe (Kent)

In his day, Wakefield was one of the most prominent and well-known characters in the town of

Hythe, Kent Hythe () is an old market town and civil parish on the edge of Romney Marsh in Kent, England. ''Hythe'' is an Old English word meaning haven or landing place. History The earliest reference to Hythe is in Domesday Book (1086) though there i ...

, and the official Year Book of Hythe Town Council, in its list of Freemen of the

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

describes him as "Hythe's greatest benefactor". He was created a Freeman of the Borough on 30 May 1930, under the provisions of the

Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act 1885 The Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act 1885 ( 48 & 49 Vict. c.29) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave the councils of municipal boroughs in England and Wales the power to award the title of honorary freeman to "persons of ...

. His name appears on many memorial inscriptions in Hythe today, and also lives on as the name of one of the town's

masonic lodges A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

. Viscount Wakefield is buried at Spring Lane Cemetery, Seabrook, within the Borough of Hythe, from which he took his title.

Additional notes

It is often erroneously reported that Wakefield was commonly known by the nickname, or colloquial name, of "Cheers". Although he did prefer this name, it was in fact a given (baptismal) name, his middle name, having been the maiden name of his mother. Wakefield and his wife had a daughter, Freda Ware (née Wakefield). Freda accompanied her parents on many of their public engagements including Wakefield's business trip to America as part of the Sulgrave Institution. Wakefield left Freda, her husband Ivor and her four children a living each for their futures.

Sussex Motor Yacht Club

Wakefield was a member of Sussex Motor Yacht Club and in 1931 donated The Warwick Vase, "The International Championship of London, Challenge Trophy" to the club.

Czech Society of Great Britain

Wakefield was chairman of the Czech Society of Great Britain. He was awarded

Order of the White Lion The Order of the White Lion () is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia having no civilian decoration for its citizens in the 192 ...

in 1923.

Howard 'Grace' Cup

In 1931 Lord Wakefield purchased a grace cup from the Howard family and donated it to the Victoria and Albert museum. The ivory bowl within the setting of the cup is said to have belonged to Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered in Canterbury cathedral in 1170.

References

External links

British Delegation Pays Tribute to Former President and Puts Wreaths on Grave
on ''The New York Times'', 13 Sep 1922 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wakefield, Charles Cheers 1859 births 1941 deaths English philanthropists Wakefield, Charles Cheers, of Hythe Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Businesspeople from Liverpool People educated at Liverpool Institute High School for Boys Sheriffs of the City of London 20th-century lord mayors of London 20th-century English politicians Burmah-Castrol British businesspeople in the oil industry Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Honorary Fellows of the British Academy Grand Officers of the Order of the White Lion Barons created by George V Viscounts created by George V

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