Sir William Henry Neville Goschen, 1st Baronet, (30 October 1865 – 7 July 1945), known as Harry Goschen, was a British businessman and banker from the prominent Goschen family.

Family and early life

Harry was born at 7 Chapel Street, Grosvenor Square, London, the son of Henry Goschen (1837–1932) and Augusta Eleanor Shakerley, niece of Sir Charles Shakerley, 1st Baronet. Henry Goschen was the younger brother of

George Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen George Joachim Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen, PC, DL, FBA (10 August 1831 – 7 February 1907) was a British statesman and businessman best remembered for being "forgotten" by Lord Randolph Churchill. He was initially a Liberal, then a Liber ...

. Their grandfather was prominent publisher and printer

Georg Joachim Göschen Georg Joachim Göschen (22 April 1752Several sources list 22 December 1752 as his date of birth; while others list 22 April 1752 as the date he was baptised. – 5 April 1828) was a German publisher and bookseller in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxo ...

. His third son Wilhelm Heinrich (William Henry) Göschen (1793–1866) came to England in 1814 and founded together with the German merchant Heinrich Frühling (1790–1841) the merchant bank Frühling & Göschen, of Leipzig and London. He married an English woman and had several children, including George, Henry and Edward. His younger brother was Major General

Arthur Goschen Major-General Arthur Alec Goschen (6 January 1880 – 28 June 1975) was a British Army officer who served as an Area Commander during the Second World War. Family and education Goschen was born in London, the child of Henry Goschen (1837–1932 ...

. Harry 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, ...

from 1879 to 1884. In 1886, he was gazetted as a lieutenant in the 24th Middlesex Volunteer Rifles, the London Regiment.

Career

Goschen joined the family merchant banking firm Frühling & Göschen, and became involved in insurance. He was director of the Ocean Marine Insurance Co., Sun Insurance Office and Sun Life Assurance Society. His personality and role during the First World War were later recalled in ''

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'' (f ...

'': In 1920, he merged his families bank Frühling & Göschen with Cunliffe Brothers, owned by Lord Cunliffe, to form Goschens & Cunliffe. During his career, he served as chairman of the London Clearing banks, the National Provincial Bank and the Accepting Houses Committee, and as a director of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China. Goschen also sat on various other boards and charities, including commissioner of the Public Works Loan Board, Warden of the Royal Chapel of the Savoy, Member House Committee of the London Hospital and served as Prime Warden of the

Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company and formally titled The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London, is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of Lond ...

. Goschen was appointed a deputy lieutenant for Essex in 1920. He retired from business in 1936.

Honours

Goschen was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

for his services during the First World War. He was knighted in the same order (KBE) in April 1920, for "valuable services on many Government Committees" during the war. In the

1927 Birthday Honours The 1927 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were p ...

, Goschen 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 14t ...

, of Durrington House in the Parish of Sheering and

County of Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom, for public services. He was also a Knight of Grace of the

Order of St. John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

Personal life

On 23 November 1893, Goschen married Christian (1871–1951), daughter of Lt.-Col.

James Augustus Grant Lieutenant-Colonel James Augustus Grant (11 April 1827 – 11 February 1892) was a Scottish explorer of eastern equatorial Africa. He made contributions to the journals of various learned societies, the most notable being the "Botany of the Sp ...

. They had one daughter, Christian Eleanor Margaret, in 1895. She married Claud Douglas-Pennant, grandson of

Edward Douglas-Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn Edward Gordon Douglas-Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn (20 June 1800 – 31 March 1886), was a Scottish landowner in Wales, and a Conservative Party politician. He played a major part in the development of the Welsh slate industry. Life Born Edwa ...

, and younger brother of the fifth Baron Penrhyn. He died at Durrington House, his Essex estate, in 1945. The baronetcy became extinct upon his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goschen, Harry 1847 births 1924 deaths Military personnel from London Harry Goschen British bankers Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British people of German descent People educated at Eton College Deputy Lieutenants of Essex Volunteer Force officers London Regiment officers