Philip Fleming (15 August 1889 – 13 October 1971) was a British merchant banker and

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is di ...

who competed in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

Early life

Philip Fleming was born on 15 August 1889 at

Newport-on-Tay Newport-on-Tay is a small town in the north-east of Fife in Scotland, acting as a Commuting, commuter suburb for Dundee. The Fife Coastal Path passes through Newport-on-Tay. The area itself is surrounded by views of the two bridges that cross the ...

, Fife, Scotland. He was a son of Robert Fleming, a merchant banker. Fleming 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, C ...

and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. During

World War I 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 ...

, he and his brother

Valentine Fleming Major Valentine Fleming (17 February 1882 – 20 May 1917) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament who was killed in World War I. He was the father of authors Peter Fleming and Ian Fleming, the latter of whom created the James Bond c ...

, joined the

Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars The Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars (QOOH) was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army's auxiliary forces, formed in 1798. It saw service in the Second Boer War with 40 and 59 Companies of the Imperial Yeomanry and was the first Yeomanry ...

, in which his brother was killed.

Boating

Fleming made one appearance for

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in the

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

rowing in the winning boat of 1910. He joined

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior to ...

and in 1912 he was

strokeman In rowing, the stroke is the rower seated closest to the stern of the boat. In the United Kingdom, the "stroke side" is the port side of the boat, because sweep rowing boats are usually rigged such that the stroke is on the port side of the boat. ...

of the Leander

eight 8 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 8 or eight may also refer to: Years * AD 8, the eighth year of the AD era * 8 BC, the eighth year before the AD era Art *The Eight (Ashcan School), a group of twentieth century painters associated with the As ...

which won the gold medal for Great Britain

rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics featured four events, for men only. All races were held in Djurgårdsbrunnsviken from Thursday to Saturday, 17 to 19 July. Medal summary Bronze medals Bronze medals were not awarded to the losing semi fina ...

. The Leander eight beat the crew from

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, by one length in the Olympic final at Stockholm. The 2003 Oxford blue boat, which won the Boat Race by 1 foot, was named 'Philip Fleming'.

Career

He was a partner of

Robert Fleming & Co Robert Fleming & Co. was an asset manager and merchant bank founded in Dundee, Scotland, in 1873. In 1909, the firm moved its headquarters to London, England. It was sold to Chase Manhattan Bank for over $7 billion in 2000. Flemings was a 50% pa ...

, the merchant bank and he held many directorships. Fleming rode with the Bicester and the Heythrop Hunts. He was Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire and

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much older ...

in 1948. In 1951 he founded the PF Charitable Trust.The Sunday Times ''The generosity game 1/2'' 22 December 2002
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Personal life

Fleming married Jean Hunloke, the daughter of

Philip Hunloke Major Sir Philip Hunloke (born Philip Perceval, 26 November 1868 – 1 April 1947) was a British sailor and courtier. He was the son of Captain Philip Perceval of the Royal Horse Guards, but changed his name in 1905. He was a crew member ...

who had won a bronze medal

sailing at the 1908 Summer Olympics Sailing/Yachting is an Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad ( 1896 Olympics in Athens, Greece). With the exception of the 1904 and the canceled 1916 Summer Olympics, sailing has always been included on the Olympic schedule ...

. Fleming is the grandfather of

Rory Fleming Rory is a given name of Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the ga, Ruairí/''Ruaidhrí'' and gd, Ruairidh and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas. for the given name "Rory". The meaning of the name is "red king", ...

and uncle of

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

, the creator of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

Death

Fleming died at

Woodstock, Oxfordshire Woodstock is a market town and civil parish, north-west of Oxford in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 3,100. Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is next to Wo ...

, at the age of 82.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Philip 1889 births 1971 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Scottish male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Scottish bankers British Army personnel of World War I Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars officers Olympic medalists in rowing People from Newport-on-Tay Scottish Olympic medallists Scottish soldiers Anglo-Scots Members of Leander Club Oxford University Boat Club rowers Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

20th-century Scottish businesspeople