Sir Jack Wolfred Ashford Harris, 2nd Baronet (23 July 1906 – 26 August 2009) was a New Zealand businessman, and the second baronet of the Harris Baronetcy of Bethnal Green, County of London which was created for his father Sir Percy Harris (1876–1952) in 1932. Frieda Harris was his mother. He succeeded to the title in 1952. Harris was born in London, and educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

and Trinity Hall,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

where he received a BA. He came to New Zealand in 1926. Harris was chief executive (1936–1970) of Bing, Harris and Co., a New Zealand general importing and exporting company established in 1858 by his grandfather, Wolf Harris (1858–1926). He later lived in

Waikanae Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kāpiti Coast, north of the Wellington, New Zealand. The name is a Māori language, Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the flathead grey mullet, grey mullet". The area surrounding the town is notable fo ...

near

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. He died aged 103 on 26 August 2009 at a rest home in the suburb of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

. Upon his death, he was succeeded as baronet by his son, Christopher John Ashford Harris, as 3rd Baronet.

References

*''Memoirs of a Century'' by Sir Jack Harris (2007, Steele Roberts) *''Obituary'' in Dominion Post of 5 September 2009 page B6 *''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage'', page 1077-8 (1959, 102nd edition) *''Who's Who in New Zealand'' (1991, 12th edition)
Photo from ''Dominion Post'' on his 103rd birthday
1906 births 2009 deaths 302 English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand men centenarians Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople People educated at Shrewsbury School People from Waikanae {{NewZealand-business-bio-stub