Sir ''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 p ...

Thomas Leslie Rowan (22 February 1908 – 29 April 1972) was a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

and industrialist. He served in the Colonial Office and HM Treasury, and was Principal Private Secretary to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

and

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

, before joining the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., as economic minister. After some years heading the Overseas Finance Section of the Treasury, in 1966 he moved into the private sector as head of

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

, and from 1971 until his sudden death was chairman of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Early life

Rowan was born at

Dunlavin Dunlavin () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland, situated about south-west of Dublin. It is centred on the junction of the R412 and R756 regional roads. It was founded around the end of the 17th century and became a prominent town in ...

, in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, then part of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

. He was a younger son of Thomas Rowan of

Dromore West Dromore West () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. Dromore West is situated on the Dunneil River and sits between the Ox Mountains and the Atlantic coast. A river walk runs from just below the petrol station towards the sea. There is an old ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

, a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

clergyman and headmaster who became a missionary in British India, where Rowan spent most of his early childhood."Rowan, Sir (Thomas) Leslie (1908–1972), civil servant and industrialist", in ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' (Oxford: OUP, 2004) From 1920 to 1926, Rowan was educated as a day boy at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

, serving as School Captain in his final year. He was in the school's First XI (

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

), First XI (

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

), and First XV (

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

). He was then an Exhibitioner at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

John Fforde John Standish Fforde (16 November 1921 – 10 April 2000) was a British economist who was active in the Bank of England between 1957 and 1984. As Chief Cashier between 1966 and 1970, his signature appeared on British Bank Notes. After retiremen ...

, Richard Sidney Sayers, John Harold Clapham, ''The Bank of England and Public Policy, 1941–1958'' (Cambridge University Press, 1992)
p. 239
/ref> and also went on to captain the

England men's national field hockey team The England men's national field hockey team competes in most major international tournaments except the Olympic Games. England's only appearance at the Olympics was at London 1908 when they won gold; since then English players have competed at t ...

Hugh Dalton Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton, (16 August 1887 – 13 February 1962) was a British Labour Party economist and politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947. He shaped Labour Party foreign policy in the 1 ...

later described Rowan as "A bit too pi for me. School prefect type."

, ''The Political Diary of Hugh Dalton, 1918–40, 1945–60'' (Cape, 1986), p. 485

Career

Rowan served in the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

from 1930 to 1933, then was a civil servant in

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

until 1947, but with responsibilities outside of it. In 1941, Rowan became Assistant Private Secretary to

while he was British prime minister during 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 ...

, and then was promoted to be Churchill's

Principal Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

; he remained at

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...

in this post when

took over as prime minister in 1945. 10 Downing Street 2010 entzerrt

In 1947, Rowan was briefly Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Minister for Economic Affairs, then from 1947 to 1949 returned to HM Treasury as Second Secretary, gaining a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

in the

1949 Birthday Honours The 1949 King's Birthday Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made "on the occasion o ...

. From 1949 to 1951, Rowan was economic minister at the

British Embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, excluding honorary consulates. The UK has one of the largest global networks of diplomatic missions. UK diplomatic missions to capitals of other Com ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and returned from there to head the Overseas Finance Section of HM Treasury. In 1966, he succeeded Sir Charles Dunphie as head of the

Vickers Group Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

, with shipbuilding and armaments divisions. In 1971, he became chairman of the British Council.

Private life

In 1939, Rowan was unmarried and living at Sloane House, Chelsea. In 1944, in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, Rowan married Catherine Patricia Love, an officer in the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the ...

and a daughter of Brigadier R. H. A. D. Love, of

Mayford Mayford is a village in Woking borough of the county of Surrey, England. It is roughly 2 miles south of Woking on Egley Road, part of the A320 between Woking and Guildford, Surrey. The village is mainly centred on the roundabout in the middle ...

, and they had four children, Sarah Josephine Rowan, Susannah V. Rowan, Charles Rowan and Mark D. R. Rowan.''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great Br ...

'', vol. 3 (2003), p. 3834; "LOVE Catherine P / Rowan / Kensington 1a 177" in ''England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005'' (1944, first quarter)
"Miss Catherine Patricia Love"
in ''List of Officers on the Active List of the Royal Navy'' (1942), p. 390 Their daughter Susannah married Johnson Tamlyn, and their granddaughter Joanna Tamlyn married Sir Henry de la Poer Beresford-Peirse, 7th Baronet. Their son Mark married Katharine Julia Fraser, a great-granddaughter of

Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat and 2nd Baron Lovat (21 December 1828 – 6 September 1887) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier. He was responsible for overseeing the reconstruction of Beaufort Castle, and was the 22nd Chief of Clan Fraser of Lova ...

, and they have four children. On 13 October 1964, Rowan and his wife were the last dinner guests Winston Churchill entertained at

Chartwell Chartwell is a country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years it was the home of Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his death in January 1965. In th ...

before his death. Lady Rowan later said of the occasion "It was sad to see such a great man become so frail". At the time of his death on 29 April 1972, Rowan was living in

Brompton, London Brompton, sometimes called Old Brompton, survives in name as a ward in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. Until the latter half of the 19th century it was a scattered village made up mostly of market gardens in the county of ...

SW3. He left an estate valued for probate at £56,422, .

Honours

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB),

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginnin ...

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...

(CVO), 1947 *

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB), The 1949 King's Birthday Honours

Major publications

*''Arms and Economics: The Changing Challenge'' (Cambridge University Press, 1960) *''Investment and Development: The Role of Private Investment in Developing Countries'' (Overseas Development Institute, 1965)

External links

Order of service for memorial service of Sir Thomas Leslie Rowan (1908-1972)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowan Leslie 1908 births 1972 deaths Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order English male field hockey players Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Tonbridge School Principal Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister Second Permanent Secretaries of HM Treasury People of the British Council