William Plender, 1st Baron Plender (20 August 1861 – 19 January 1946), known as Sir William Plender between 1911 and 1923 and as Sir William Plender, Bt, between 1923 and 1931, was a British chartered accountant and public servant.

Background

Plender was born at

Felling Felling is the process of cutting down trees,"Feller" def. 2. and "Felling", def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd ed. via CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press. 2009. an element of the task of logging. The person cutting the trees is ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, the son of William Plender, of The Oaks, Dalston,

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, by Elizabeth Agnes Smallpiece Vardy.thepeerage.com William Plender, 1st and last Baron Plender
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Public life

Plender was a partner in Deloitte, Plender, Griffiths and Company, chartered accountants, and served as President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants between 1910 and 1912. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1911. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served as

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

controller of German, Austrian and Turkish banks confiscated during the conflict from 1914 to 1918 and as financial advisor to the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

in 1918. He was made a Knight of Grace of the

Venerable Order of Saint John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

(KStJ) and Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(GBE) in 1918. He was further honoured in 1923 when he was created a Baronet, of Ovenden in the Parish of Sundridge in the County of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, in honour of his "...public services". He was later

High Sheriff of the County of London Below is a list of sheriffs of the County of London, from the creation of the county in 1889 to its abolition in 1965: *1889–1890: Alfred de Rothschild, of Senmore Place *1890–1891: Sir James Whitehead, 1st Baronet, of Highlield H ...

between 1927 and 1928 and

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instru ...

between 1928 and 1929 and was a lieutenant of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. He was once again President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants from 1929 to 1930. In January 1931 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Plender, of Sundridge in the County of

, in recognition of his "...public services". He was also a member of the Committee on National Expenditure headed by Sir George May which published the

May Report The May Report, within the economic history of the United Kingdom, was a publication on 31 July 1931 by the Committee on National Expenditure ("May Committee"). The May Committee was set up to suggest ways for the government to curb expenditure afte ...

in July 1931. Plender appeared as an expert witness for the defence in the 1931

Royal Mail Case The Royal Mail Case or ''R v Kylsant & Otrs'' was a noted English criminal case in 1931. The director of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, Lord Kylsant, had falsified a trading prospectus with the aid of the company accountant to make it lo ...

, and under cross-examination stated that it was routine for firms "of the very highest repute" to use secret reserves in calculating profit without declaring it. Plender Street in

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

was renamed in his honour in 1937.

Personal life

Lord Plender was twice married. He married firstly Marian Elizabeth Channon in 1891. After her death in December 1930 he married secondly Mabel Agnes Laurie, daughter of Peter George Laurie and widow of G. N. Stevens, in April 1932. Both marriages were childless. Plender died in January 1946, aged 84. The baronetcy and barony died with him. In 1931 Lord Plender donated oak bookcases, furniture and panelling to furnish a library in

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle The Royal Grammar School (RGS), Newcastle upon Tyne, is a coeducational private day school for pupils aged between 7 and 18 years. Founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, the Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, it received royal foundation by Queen Eliz ...

. The library, named after him, was used as a classroom until an internal refurbishment in the late 2010s. The oak bookcases remain in a first floor classroom overlooking the main hall.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plender, William Plender, 1st Baron 1861 births 1946 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire British accountants Deputy lieutenants of the City of London People from Sundridge, Kent Barons created by George V People from County Durham High sheriffs of Kent High sheriffs of the County of London