Sir George Alfred Wills, 1st Baronet of Blagdon (3 June 1854 – 11 July 1928) was a President of

Imperial Tobacco Imperial Brands plc (formerly Imperial Tobacco Group plc), is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, England. It is the world's fourth-largest international cigarette company measured by market share after Philip Mo ...

and the head of an eminent

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

family. He was the son of

Henry Overton Wills III Henry Overton Wills III (22 December 1828 – 4 September 1911) of Kelston Knoll, near Bath in Somerset, was a prominent and wealthy member of the Bristol tobacco manufacturing family of Wills which founded the firm of W. D. & H. O. Wills. As ...

and Alice Hopkinson and was educated at

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist ...

before joining his father’s business; he eventually became the managing director. He was responsible for the giving of £110,000 and £25,000 for the creation of a hall of residence for Bristol University students. Many of the boarding houses at Mill Hill School are located on Wills Grove, named after George Alfred Wills. George Alfred Wills was created a Baronet in 1923 Birthday Honours.thePeerage.com - Person Page 7452
/ref> He was responsible, with his brother

Henry Herbert Wills Henry Herbert 'Harry' Wills (20 March 1856 – 11 May 1922) was a businessman and philanthropist from Bristol, and a member of the Wills tobacco family. He was the son of Henry Overton Wills III and Alice Hopkinson and was born in Clifton, Brist ...

, for the building of the

Wills Memorial Building The Wills Memorial Building (also known as the Wills Memorial Tower or simply the Wills Tower) is a neo-Gothic building in Bristol, England, designed by Sir George Oatley and built as a memorial to Henry Overton Wills III

in memory of his father

. Another brother was Walter Melville Wills, who was also involved with the family tobacco business.(

WD & HO Wills W.D. & H.O. Wills was a British tobacco manufacturing company formed in Bristol, England. It was the first British company to mass-produce cigarettes, and one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco along with John Player & Sons. The c ...

) Wills was a nephew of

Sir Edward Payson Wills ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Bt,

Sir Frederick Wills Sir Frederick Wills, 1st Baronet (22 November 1838 – 18 February 1909) was a businessman, philanthropist and politician in the United Kingdom. He was a director of W. D. & H. O. Wills, a famous tobacco company headquartered in Bristol which ...

Bt, &

Sir Frank William Wills Sir Frank William Wills (17 August 1852 – 26 March 1932) of Berkeley Square, Bristol, England, was a member of the Wills tobacco family, who became a noted British architect and went on to serve as Lord Mayor of Bristol. Early life and care ...

Kt, and also a cousin of

Gilbert Wills, 1st Baron Dulverton Gilbert Alan Hamilton Wills, 1st Baron Dulverton (28 March 1880 – 1 December 1956), also known same Sir Gilbert Wills, 2nd Baronet of Northmoor & Manor Heath, was a British businessman and Conservative Member of Parliament from 1909 to 1929. ...

, &

Sir Ernest Wills, 3rd Baronet Sir Ernest Salter Wills, 3rd Baronet of Hazelwood & Clapton in-Gordano, Laird of Meggernie Castle CStJ JP (30 November 1869 – 14 January 1958) was Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire from 1930 to 1942. Life The son of Sir Edward Payson Wills, 1st B ...

of Hazelwood. Seats - Combe Lodge,

Blagdon Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. According to the 2011 ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, & Burwalls,

Leigh Woods Leigh Woods is a area of woodland on the south-west side of the Avon Gorge, close to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, within North Somerset opposite the English city of Bristol and north of the Ashton Court estate, of which it formed a part. St ...

Long Ashton Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a population ...

, Somerset.

References

External links

George Wills obituary
1854 births 1928 deaths People educated at Mill Hill School People associated with the University of Bristol Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom {{England-business-bio-stub