George Mesnard Parsons (1890 – 26 February 1963) was an English

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

who served as President of the

Institute of Brewing The Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD) is an industry trade association for brewers and distillers, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. The IBD had its headquarters at Clarges Street in London London until 2014 at which t ...

Career

Parsons was born in 1890. He entered the brewing industry as a pupil at the Swan Brewery in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in 1910. He later worked at two London breweries, rose to be a junior brewer and received the Silver Medal in Malting and Brewing from the

City and Guilds of London Institute The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

. His career was interrupted by service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, during which he was stationed in France.Cox, H. J. (1963)
"Obituary: G. M. Parsons"
''Journal of the Institute of Brewing'', vol. 69, issue 3, page 201 (subscription required). Retrieved 27 April 2016. On demobilisation, he returned to his old profession, this time as second brewer at Young & Co.'s Brewery Ltd. in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

. In 1935, he took up the post of Head Brewer at Eldridge Pope & Co. While there, he became involved in the

's London Section Committee. He went on to serve on IOB's Examination Committee before being elected an Ordinary Member of the IOB's Council in 1953. The following year, he was appointed its Deputy President and in 1956 became President, in which role he served for two years. In 1962, he became its Vice-President. He also served on Incorporated Brewers' Guild's Committee on Brewing Careers in 1952 and 1957. Parsons was also involved in several masonic circles. Parsons died on 26 February 1963 leaving a widow, two sons and a daughter. According to his obituary in the IOB's journal, he "served whole-heartedly so many sections of our Industry".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, George Mesnard 1890 births 1963 deaths English brewers 20th-century English businesspeople