Sir Reginald Arthur Spence (1888 – 13 September 1961) was a wine merchant,

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, educationist, and philanthropist who worked in India. He was involved in the establishment of

Barnes School Barnes School, Deolali, is a boarding school in west India. It was established in 1925, on the basis of a 1718 original foundation. It is a private co-educational prep school. It is an Anglican school, founded in 1925, under the auspices o ...

in Deolali. Spence was born in 1888. He was educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553 ...

and worked in India from 1901 in the wine company of Phipson & Co., Bombay along with W.S. Millard and H.M. Phipson. He also volunteered with the Bombay Light Horse, a European regiment, where he became a Lieutenant in 1917. The regiment was involved in ceremonies for visiting dignitaries. Spence as elected to the Legislative Assembly of India for the term of 1921–23. He was also a secretary in the

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publi ...

from 1920 to 1933. A major contribution was on the game fishes of the Bombay region. He helped to establish the natural history section of the

Prince of Wales Museum Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, (CSMVS) originally named Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, is a museum in Mumbai (Bombay) which documents the history of India from prehistoric to modern times. It was founded during Briti ...

where he was member of the board of trustees. He was also a prominent Freemason, serving as District Grand Master of Bombay. He was knighted in 1926, became Sheriff of Bombay in 1928 and retired to England in 1933. He served in the Sussex Home Guard. He died at his home, Pear Tree Cottage, Blackboys, Sussex in 1961.

References

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External links

The Reginald Spence Fund
English philanthropists 1888 births 1961 deaths 20th-century British philanthropists Knights Bachelor Members of the Bombay Natural History Society