William Joseph Noble, 1st Baron Kirkley, (13 January 1863 – 11 September 1935), known as Sir William Noble, Bt, between 1921 and 1930, was a British

shipowner A ship-owner is the owner of a merchant vessel (commercial ship) and is involved in the shipping industry. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain frei ...

Background

Noble was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, the son of John Noble and Mary, daughter of James Black.

Career

Noble entered the shipping business at the age of fifteen and became a partner in Cairns, Noble & Co, which operated the Cairn Line and was later taken over by Furness, Withy & Co Ltd, of which he became a director. He remained chairman of the Cairn Line until his death. He was first honorary president of the Baltic and White Sea Conference from 1913 to 1921 and also served as president of the

Chamber of Shipping The UK Chamber of Shipping is the trade association and voice of the UK shipping industry, representing around 200 member companies. They work with Government, parliament, international organisations and others to champion and protect the industry ...

in 1920 and on the Executive of the

Shipping Federation {{no sources, date=August 2020 The Shipping Federation was an association of employers in the shipping industry. It was formed in 1890 in response to the London dock strike of 1889 and the successes of the National Union of Seamen and various do ...

. He was a member of the Tyne Improvement Commissioners and was shipping representative on the advisory sub-committee of the Ministry of Transport. He was vice-president of the Newcastle and

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

from 1915 until his death and was president of the

Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers The Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) is a professional and learned society for all members of the commercial shipping industry worldwide. After being founded in 1911 in London, the ICS was granted a Royal Charter in 1920. The Institute ...

in 1919–1921 and 1929. During the First World War he served on a number of government and local committees. In 1930 he led the British Economic Mission to South Africa. Noble was created a Baronet, of West Denton Hall in the County of Northumberland, in the

1921 Birthday Honours The 1921 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were ...

and raised to the peerage as Baron Kirkley, of Kirkley in the County of Northumberland, in 1930, taking his title from Kirkley Hall, Northumberland, which he bought in 1929.

Personal life

Kirkley married Margaret, daughter of William Dixon, in 1888. The couple had four children, two sons and two daughters. Their older son, William, died in the First World War, and their second son, John, died in infancy. Their elder daughter, Sheila, married the surgeon Frederick Williamson. Their younger daughter, Phyllis, married Cecil Dodd, son of Sir Edwin Dodd, later changing her name to Dodd-Noble. Lady Noble died in September 1928. Kirkley survived his wife by seven years and died in September 1935, aged 72. His titles became extinct upon his death, as he had no surviving male issue.

Footnotes

References

*Obituary, '' The Times'', 12 September 1935 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkley, William Noble, 1st Baron 1863 births 1935 deaths People from Newcastle upon Tyne English businesspeople British businesspeople in shipping Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Barons created by George V