Charles Hambro, Baron Hambro (24 July 1930 – 7 November 2002) was a British merchant banker and political fundraiser. He was the Chairman of

Hambros Bank Hambros Bank was a British bank based in London. The Hambros bank was a specialist in Anglo-Scandinavian business with expertise in trade finance and investment banking, and was the sole banker to the Scandinavian kingdoms for many years. The bank ...

from 1972 until its merger with

Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English-speaking countries as SocGen (), is a French multinational universal bank and financial services company founded in 1864. It is registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby i ...

in 1998. He was the senior honorary treasurer of the Conservative Party from 1993 to 1997.

Early life

Hambro was born on 24 July 1930.Lord Hambro
''The Daily Telegraph'', 9 November 2002Lord Hambro
''The Scotsman'', 12 November 2002 He was an heir to the

.Lord Hambro
''The Times'', 11 November 2002 His great-great-grandfather, Carl Joachim Hambro, was an immigrant to England from Denmark who founded the

in 1839. His father was the merchant banker Sir Charles Jocelyn Hambro. His mother, Pamela Cobbold of the East Anglian brewing family, died when he was 21 months old. He grew up at

Delcombe Manor Delcombe Manor is a Listed building, Grade II*-listed manor in Milton Abbas, Dorset, England. History The manor was built circa 1750 using flint and stone from Milton Abbey. It was originally two separate cottages which were joined.Clive AsletVil ...

in Dorset.Pamela Hambro and the lost world of Milton Abbey
''Dorset Life'', December 2009 After his mother's death, his stepmother became Dorothy Mackay, who was banker Marcus Wallenberg's ex-wife. During World War II, he was sent to live first with the Wallenbergs in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and later with the

Morgan Morgan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment'', also called ''Morgan!'', a 1966 comedy film * ''Morgan'' (2012 film), an American drama * ''Morgan'' (2016 film), an American science fiction thriller * ...

s, another banking dynasty, in New York City. He returned to England in 1943. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, where he played on the cricket team. He then served in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

for two years.

Career

Hambro started his career at the family business, Hambros Bank, in 1952. He was appointed managing director in 1957, deputy chairman in 1965, and chairman in 1972. He was in charge through interesting but turbulent times, beginning with the stock market and property crash of 1973–74. Hambros was one of the leading banks called in by the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

to launch the financial lifeboat which dealt with the collapse of the

Slater Walker Slater Walker was a British industrial conglomerate turned bank that got into financial difficulties in the 1970s. It specialised in corporate raids. Its fall shook the British banking system at the time, and it had to be bailed out by the Bank of ...

empire and generally saved the financial system from collapse. In 1998, Hambros Bank was acquired by

. It represents its private wealth management subsidiary, SG Private Banking. From 1987 to 1999, he was on the board of directors of the shipping and distribution group P&O. He was on the boards of the

Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance plc was a large British insurance company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was established through the merger of the Guardian Assuranc ...

and

Taylor Woodrow Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest housebuilding and general construction companies in Britain. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until its merger with rival housebuilder George Wimpey ...

Political activity

Hambro was the senior honorary treasurer of the Conservative Party from 1993 to 1997. He was in charge of replenishing the £19 million overdraft. His efforts were rewarded with a life

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

, created 26 September 1994; he took the title Baron Hambro, of Dixton and Dumbleton in the County of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

Other roles

He was on the board of trustees of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

from 1984 to 1994.

Personal life

On 4 July 1954, Hambro was married to his first wife, Rose Evelyn Cotterell (1932–2006), the daughter of

Sir Richard Cotterell, 5th Baronet Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom), Lt-Col Sir Richard Charles Geers Cotterell, 5th Baronet Justice of the Peace, JP Territorial Decoration, TD KStJ CBE (1 June 1907 – 5 December 1978), a British soldier. Early life Cotterell was born on 1 Jun ...

and Lady Lettice Lygon. Before their divorce in 1976, they had a daughter and two sons: * Hon. Clare Evelyn Hambro (born 1957), who married Eivind Rabben, son of Knut Rabben, in 1989. * Hon. Charles Edward Hambro (born 1959), who married Nicole J. Nicholas, daughter of Dr. James A. Nicholas, in 1986. They later divorced. * Hon. Alexander Robert Hambro (born 1962), who married Harriet "Hattie" Ward Jones, daughter of David Ward Jones, in 1984.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, U.S.A.:

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, pages 1277. In the same year he divorced his first wife, he married his second wife, Cherry Huggins, daughter of Sir

John Huggins John Jerome Huggins Jr. (February 11, 1945 – January 17, 1969) was an American activist. He was the leader in the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Panther Party who was killed by black nationalist US Organization members at the University ...

, a former

Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jama ...

. She was a divorcee with one daughter, Miranda. He had nine grandchildren: Christiana,

Tatiana Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Origin Tatiana is a feminine, diminutive derivative of the Sabine—and later Latin� ...

, Charles, Edward, Alexander, Marina, Jemima and Sam. He was the owner of two manors in

: Dixton Manor in Alderton, and Dumbleton Hall in

Dumbleton Dumbleton is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Tewkesbury, Tewkesbury district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The village is roughly 20 miles from the city of Gloucester. The village is known to have existed in the time ...

. He organised pheasant shoots on the latter estate. He was a member of the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

. He also gambled at the Bahamian Club in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

Death

He died on 7 November 2002 in London.

Arms

References

External links

Hammersley connection – showing connections to the Baring and Hammersley banking families
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hambro, Charles 1930 births 2002 deaths Bankers from London People from Dumbleton People educated at Eton College Coldstream Guards officers British corporate directors Hambro, Charles Hambro, Baron Conservative Party (UK) officials British people of Danish descent British people of German-Jewish descent Danish barons

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

20th-century English businesspeople Life peers created by Elizabeth II