James Brabazon Grimston, 5th Earl of Verulam (11 October 1910 – 13 October 1960) was a British peer and businessman. Verulam was the eldest son of

James Grimston, 4th Earl of Verulam James Walter Grimston, 4th Earl of Verulam (17 April 1880 – 29 November 1949) was a British peer, electrical engineer and businessman, sometimes identified with the fringes of the intelligence service. Verulam was the son of James Grimston, 3rd E ...

, and Lady Violet Brabazon, younger daughter of the 12th Earl of Meath. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. His first job was in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

after which he was

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Enfield Zinc Products. In 1949 he became

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Enfield Rolling Mills Enfield Rolling Mills was a British manufacturer of non-ferrous metals. The company was founded in 1924 as a private company, located on the River Lea in Enfield Lock near London. In 1933, it became a public company, and became known as 'Enfiel ...

. He was mayor of St Albans in 1956; and

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Cremation Society from 1955 to 1958. He was also a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of the

District Bank The Manchester and Liverpool District Bank was formed in 1829 and it became one of the leading provincial joint stock banks; its name was shortened to District Bank in 1924. The Bank was acquired by the National Provincial Bank in 1962 but kept ...

and sat on various committees concerned with health, welfare and disability. He was succeeded in titles by his younger brother, John Grimston.

Jim Forrester and work in Brynmawr

At the age of 19, whilst studying at Oxford, James first went to

Brynmawr Brynmawr (; , ,) is a market town, community and electoral ward in Blaenau Gwent, Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at above sea level at the head of the South Wales Valleys. It grew with the devel ...

on an international work camp. Brynmawr had suffered from high unemployment due to the closure of local coal mines in the 1920s, and a Quaker initiative known as the

Brynmawr Experiment The Brynmawr Experiment was an effort led by the visionary idealist Peter Scott to address issues of poverty and unemployment in Brynmawr, South Wales between 1929 and 1939. Initially a relief project response of the Quakers in South-East England, i ...

had been set up to help find unemployed local people a livelihood. In 1934, Peter Scott, previously the instigator of the Quaker work in Brynmawr, decided to set up a Subsistence Production Society (SPS) in the area, and James was appointed as the Area Organiser, where he was known as ''Jim Forrester'', the surname being derived from his family courtesy title

Lord Forrester The title Lord Forrester was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1633 for Sir George Forrester, Bt who had already been created a baronet in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia in 1625. When his only son died, Forrester was given a regrant of the ...

. The SPS consisted of farms, a bakery and other facilities where members could obtain food and products they wanted in return for work. In 1939, due to preparations for war providing work for local unemployed people, the SPS collapsed. After the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, James continued to try to work in Brynmawr by establishing a model rubber factory.

References

1910 births 1960 deaths 5

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

20th-century British businesspeople People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Mayors of St Albans {{UK-earl-stub