Sir George Sidney Bishop CB

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(15 October 1913 – 9 April 1999) was a British civil servant and businessman.

Early life

George Bishop was born near

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

Education

Bishop attended Ashton-in-Makerfield Grammar School (since 1978

Byrchall High School Byrchall High School is a secondary school and specialist mathematics and computing school with academy status, in the Ashton-in-Makerfield area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester. Admissions It has a mixed intake of bo ...

) and the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

to read Economics and Government under

Harold Laski Harold Joseph Laski (30 June 1893 – 24 March 1950) was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School of ...

Career

Bishop's first job was for a Quaker organisation in South Wales which assisted the unemployed through subsistence production. On the outbreak of the second world war he moved to the Ministry of Food as a statistician, subsequently running its Emergency Services division. After the war Bishop became a private secretary to ministers of food Ben Smith and John Strachey. Bishop was active in winding up the disastrous groundnut oil scheme. In 1959 he was promoted to Deputy Secretary, then the youngest such appointment ever. In 1961 Bishop moved to the then sugar company

Booker McConnell Booker Group Limited is a British food wholesale operator and subsidiary of Tesco. In January 2017, it was announced that the British multinational supermarket retailer Tesco had agreed to purchase the company for £3.7 billion. It was confirm ...

, becoming vice-chairman in 1970 and chairman in 1972. He was knighted in 1975 and retired in 1979.

Exploration

Having climbed his first mountain at the age of 8, Bishop regularly climbed in North Wales, the Lake District and Scotland. He and second wife Una went on 18 expeditions to the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. For the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, of which he was president 1983–87, he mounted a scientific expedition to the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

area of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. He made the first crossing of the Wunaamin Miliwundi Range there with Una.

Personal life

He married Marjorie Woodruff in 1940; they had one daughter but the marriage was dissolved in 1961. In the same year he remarried Una C.C. Padel, daughter of

Charles Padel Charles Frederick Christian Padel MA (20 July 1872 – 11 March 1958) was an English educationalist, headmaster of Ashby Grammar School from 1909 to 1912 and of Carlisle Grammar School, 1912 to 1932 Padel was born in York, the son of Christian G ...

. Lady Bishop died in 2015 at the age of 96.

Honours

* 1947 –

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) – Civil Division. * 1958 –

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) – Civil Division. * 1975 –

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

(Kt). * Fellowship of the

References

1913 births 1999 deaths Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society Alumni of the London School of Economics Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Bachelor {{UK-business-bio-stub