Charles Melville McLaren, 3rd Baron Aberconway, (16 April 1913 – 4 February 2003) was a British industrialist and horticulturalist. He was the son of Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway, and Christabel Macnaghten. He died in 2003.

Education

He was educated at Eton and New College, Oxford, and became a barrister of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

Career

As a young man, he became a director of

John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its heig ...

, where his father was chairman. Due to this connection, he took part in the secret, unofficial meeting of British businessmen with Hermann Göring arranged by Birger Dahlerus in August 1939 as a last-ditch effort to forestall war. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, becoming a second lieutenant. After the war, he took a more active role in the family corporations, preparing to succeed his father. He was also a director of Westland Aircraft from 1947 to 1985. He was made a Justice of the Peace for Denbighshire in 1946, and High Sheriff of Denbighshire in 1950. In 1953, he succeeded his father in the barony, the chairmanship of John Brown and English China Clays, and various other industrial interests. He continued in these chairmanships until 1986 and 1984, respectively. Despite his corporate responsibilities, Lord Aberconway took a keen interest in horticulture. Besides maintaining the family's Bodnant Garden, he was the President of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

from 1961 to 1983 and oversaw the management of the Chelsea Flower Show. His annual assertion became famous: Despite inheriting a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, he rarely attended. Throughout his life, he enjoyed writing pithy, memorable and topical letters to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. He is buried at the mausoleum called "The Poem" within Bodnant Garden, the traditional burial place of the Lords Aberconway.

Family

He married Deirdre Knewstub, daughter of John Knewstub, on 6 December 1941, and had three children: #Julia Harriet McLaren (b. 22 September 1942), married Capt. Charles Ridley and has issue #Dr Caroline Mary McLaren (b. 24 October 1944), married Raimund Sargent and has issue # Henry Charles McLaren, 4th Baron Aberconway (b. 1948) The couple divorced in 1949, and he married Ann Bullard (''née'' Aymer, mother of the Countess of Onslow) the same year. They had one son: #Michael Duncan McLaren, KC (b. 29 November 1958), married Caroline Stacey and has issue; present manager of Bodnant Garden.

References

* ''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2007

External links

thePeerage.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aberconway, Charles Maclaren, 3rd Baron 1913 births 2003 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford 3 People educated at Eton College Victoria Medal of Honour recipients High sheriffs of Denbighshire Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II English justices of the peace

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 ''* ...

Aberconway