Sir William Robert Marshall Cockburn (26 April 1891 – 1 September 1957) was a Scottish banker who spent most of his career with the

Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China (informally The Chartered Bank) was a bank incorporated in London in 1853 by Scotsman James Wilson, under a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria.

. He became the bank's managing director from 1940 to 1955. Cockburn also had a brief career as a

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 ...

er. He played once for the

Scotland national cricket team The Scotland national cricket team represents the country of Scotland. They play their home matches at The Grange, Edinburgh, and also some other venues. Scotland became Associate Members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1994

in 1921.CricketEurope Stats Zone profile
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Early life

Cockburn was born on 26 April 1891 in Paisley, where his father George Cockburn was a schoolmaster. He was educated at

Paisley Grammar School Paisley Grammar School is a secondary school in Paisley, the largest town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The school was founded in 1576 by royal charter of King James VI and is situated on Glasgow Road. The school is recognised as one of Scotland's ...

and at the Glasgow High School. In 1908, aged 16, he became an apprentice at the

Union Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by the ...

, before joining the

Chartered Bank The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China (informally The Chartered Bank) was a bank incorporated in London in 1853 by Scotsman James Wilson, under a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria.

in 1911.

Career

Cockburn's career with the bank took him overseas, firstly as a cadet in the banks branches on the coast of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He then held various posts across

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

and the

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

, serving with the bank in

Indo-China Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

. In 1934 he became manager of the bank's branch in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. He returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1936 or 1937, when he became assistant general manager of the Chartered Bank. He was promoted in 1940 to become chief general manager, and held that post for until 1955, when he retired to become 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 * ''Di ...

of the bank. The 15 years of Cockburn's tenure as general manager included both

World War II 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 the subsequent reconstruction of the Far East. In a few months at the end of 1941 and early 1942, two thirds of bank's eastern branches fell to the Japanese conquest of Asia, and were sequestrated. Cockburn was recognised as an expert on the economies of Asia, especially of China. He served as Chairman of the Eastern Exchange Banks Association and the British Overseas Banks Association, as vice-president of the

British Bankers' Association The British Bankers' Association (BBA) was a trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector. From 1 July 2017, it was merged into UK Finance. It represented members from a wide range of banking and financial services. The asso ...

and as president of the Manchester and District Institute of Bankers. Cockburn was knighted in the 1955

New Year Honours list The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

. The title was conferred 18 March 1955.

Cricket

Cockburn played three times for the

Federated Malay States )Under God's Protection , capital = Kuala Lumpur1 , religion = Islam , legislature = Federal Legislative Council , type_house1 = State level , common_languages = , title_leader = Monarch , leader1 ...

against the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

between 1919 and 1921,Other matches played by William Cockburn
at CricketArchive before playing his only match for Scotland, a first-class match against

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 ...

in August 1921. He died in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

on 1 September 1957.

Death

Cockburn, who lived at Twyford in Hampshire, had a succession of serious illnesses in the last 20 years of his life. He died aged 66 on 1 September 1957, and was survived by his wife and a daughter. His funeral was held at St Johns

crematorium A crematorium or crematory is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a crematorium can also be ...

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, William 1891 births 1957 deaths Scottish bankers Sportspeople from Paisley, Renfrewshire Federated Malay States cricketers Scottish cricketers People educated at the High School of Glasgow Knights Bachelor Standard Chartered people Scottish expatriates in China Bank presidents and chief executive officers People educated at Paisley Grammar School 20th-century Scottish businesspeople British expatriates in Vietnam British people in British Malaya British expatriates in Japan British expatriates in China