William Plender, 1st Baron Plender, (20 August 1861 – 19 January 1946), known as Sir William Plender between 1911 and 1923 and as Sir William Plender, Bt, between 1923 and 1931, was a British chartered accountant and public servant.

Background

Plender was born at Felling,

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, the son of William Plender, of The Oaks, Dalston, Northumberland, by Elizabeth Agnes Smallpiece Vardy.thepeerage.com William Plender, 1st and last Baron Plender
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Public life

Plender was a partner in Deloitte, Plender, Griffiths and Company, chartered accountants, and served as President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants between 1910 and 1912. He was

knighted 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 Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1911. During the First World War he served as Treasury controller of German, Austrian and Turkish banks confiscated during the conflict from 1914 to 1918 and as financial advisor to the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

in 1918. He was made a Knight of Grace of the Venerable Order of Saint John (KStJ) and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1918. He was further honoured in 1923 when he was created a Baronet, of Ovenden in the Parish of Sundridge in the County of Kent, in honour of his "...public services". He was later

High Sheriff of the County of London Below is a list of sheriffs of the County of London, from the creation of the county in 1889 to its abolition in 1965: *1889–1890: Alfred de Rothschild, of Senmore Place *1890–1891: Sir James Whitehead, Bart, of Highlield House, Cat ...

between 1927 and 1928 and

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...

between 1928 and 1929 and was a lieutenant of the City of London. He was once again President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants from 1929 to 1930 and appeared as an expert witness for the defence in the 1931

Royal Mail Case The Royal Mail Case or ''R v Kylsant & Otrs'' was a noted English criminal case in 1931. The director of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, Lord Kylsant, had falsified a trading prospectus with the aid of the company accountant to make it look ...

. In January of that year he was raised to the peerage as Baron Plender, of Sundridge in the County of Kent, in recognition of his "...public services". He was also a member of the Committee on National Expenditure headed by Sir George May which published the

May Report The May Report, within the economic history of the United Kingdom, was a publication on 31 July 1931 by the Committee on National Expenditure ("May Committee"). The May Committee was set up to suggest ways for the government to curb expenditure afte ...

in July 1931. Plender Street in

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

was renamed in his honour in 1937.

Personal life

Lord Plender was twice married. He married firstly Marian Elizabeth Channon in 1891. After her death in December 1930 he married secondly Mabel Agnes Laurie, daughter of Peter George Laurie and widow of G. N. Stevens, in April 1932. Both marriages were childless. Plender died in January 1946, aged 84. The baronetcy and barony died with him. In 1931 Lord Plender donated oak bookcases, furniture and panelling to furnish a library in Royal Grammar School, Newcastle. The room, now used as a classroom, is named after him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plender, William Plender, 1st Baron 1861 births 1946 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire British accountants Deputy Lieutenants of the City of London People from Sundridge, Kent Barons created by George V