Sir Geoffrey Cecil Ryves Eley (18 July 1904 – 17 May 1990) was a British businessman and writer. He served as a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

, and as High Sheriff of both the County of London and the City of London.

Early life and education

Eley was born in

East Bergholt East Bergholt is a village in the Babergh District of Suffolk, England, just north of the Essex border. The nearest town and railway station is Manningtree, Essex. East Bergholt is north of Colchester and south of Ipswich. Schools include Eas ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, one of four sons born to Charles Cuthbert Eley, a barrister and noted gardener, and Ethel Maxwell Ryves. His great-grandfather William Eley co-founded the

Eley Brothers Eley Limited is a British manufacturer of firearms cartridges. Historically the company has produced a broad variety of ammunition, but today specialises in .22 Long Rifle cartridges for competitive target shooting. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, si ...

. He was the younger brother of Maxwell Eley, a gold medalist in rowing at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

. He 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 ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

(BA, 1925; MA, 1947). He also studied at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1925 and 1926.

Career

He was appointed a

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 1947 Birthday Honours for his services following the war, when he was Director of Overseas Disposals,

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...

. He was appointed to the Court of Directors for the

in 1949. He was knighted in the 1964 Birthday Honours. He was chairman of the Brush Group, Ltd., Heinemann Group of Publishers Ltd.,

Richard Thomas and Baldwins Richard Thomas and Baldwins Ltd (RTB) was a major iron, steel and tinplate producer, primarily based in Wales and formed in 1948 by the merger of Richard Thomas & Co Ltd with Baldwins Ltd. It was absorbed into British Steel Corporation in 1967. The ...

and

Thomas Tilling The Tilling Group was one of two conglomerates that controlled almost all of the major bus operators in the United Kingdom between World Wars I and II and until nationalisation in 1948. Tilling, together with the other conglomerate, British El ...

. He also served as

High Sheriff of the County of London Below is a list of sheriffs of the County of London, from the creation of the county in 1889 to its abolition in 1965: *1889–1890: Alfred de Rothschild, of Senmore Place *1890–1891: Sir James Whitehead, Bart, of Highlield House, C ...

in 1954 and 1955, and

High Sheriff of Greater London The office of high sheriff, as the monarch's representative in a county, is over 1,000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The office of high sheriff remained first in precedence in each county until the reign of Edward ...

in 1966 and 1967. In 1979 the book ''The Birmingham Heritage'' was published. He had co-written this with

Joan Zuckerman Joan, Lady Zuckerman (born Lady Joan Alice Violet Isaacs; 19 July 1918 – 25 March 2000) was a British hostess, writer and painter. Life Zuckerman was born in Sussex in 1918. Her mother was the Honourable Eva Violet Mond, President of the Nati ...

. The book carried a foreword written by the politician, Roy Jenkins.

Personal life

In 1937, he married Penelope Hughes Wake-Walker, daughter of Admiral Sir

Frederic Wake-Walker Admiral Sir William Frederic Wake-Walker KCB CBE (24 March 1888 – 24 September 1945) was a British admiral who served in the Royal Navy during World War I and World War II, taking a leading part in the destruction of the , and in Operation ' ...

and Muriel, daughter of Sir Collingwood Hughes, 10th Baronet. They had two sons and two daughters. His youngest daughter, Chloë Sarabella, married Richard Christian Wynne Fremantle, grandson of

Thomas Fremantle, 3rd Baron Cottesloe Thomas Francis Fremantle, 3rd Baron Cottesloe, 4th Baron Fremantle (5 February 1862 – 9 July 1956) was a British peer and sportsman who competed in the shooting event at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Biography Early life Thomas Francis Fremantle ...

. He is buried in the cemetery at

in Suffolk. Geoffrey Eley grave

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eley, Geoffrey Cecil Ryves 1904 births 1990 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English bankers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor People associated with the Bank of England High Sheriffs of the County of London English non-fiction writers High Sheriffs of Greater London People from East Bergholt 20th-century English businesspeople