William James Tatem, 1st Baron Glanely (6 March 1868 – 28 June 1942), known as Sir William Tatem, Bt, between 1916 and 1918, was a Welsh ship-owner and

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

owner and

breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed, to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist ...

Career

Tatem was born in Appledore, North Devon from where he originally went to sea. He moved to Cardiff at the age of 18 and began work at the shipping offices of Anning Brothers. In 1897 he founded the Lady Lewis Steamship Company with a ship of that name and in 1910 this became the Tatem Steam Ship Company. He became, in addition to that company, chairman of the Atlantic Shipping and Trading company, Dulverton Steamship company, the West of England Steamship Owners' Protection and Indemnity Association, and the British Corporation for Registration of Shipping and Aircraft. He was chairman of the Cardiff Shipowners' Association in 1907 and President of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers in 1935. He also came to have directorships in other industries in south Wales and elsewhere. He was chairman of Crosswells Brewery in Cardiff and director of the Cardiff Docks and Railways company, Rhymney Railway company, the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

company, Anglo-Ecuadorian Oilfields and Lobitos Oilfields Ltd, Mount Stuart Drydocks Ltd, and Cardiff Exchange Co Ltd. Tatem was a DL and JP for the county of

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, of which he became High Sheriff in 1911, as well as becoming a JP for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

in 1922. He was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1916 and raised to the

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 ...

as Baron Glanely, of St. Fagans in the County of Glamorgan, on 28 June 1918.

Philanthropy

Tatem was a benefactor of

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

Cardiff, then known as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and donated the money to build the 1904 Chemistry and Physics block. He was president of the University College from 1920 to 1925, and again from 1934 until 1942. In 1928, he became an honorary Freeman of the City of Cardiff. He provided £10,000 for the construction of a new church for the Ely district of Cardiff, the Church of the Resurrection, in memory of his wife, Ada Mary. The church was consecrated in 1934. He was governor of Cardiff Royal Infirmary and President of the Royal Hamadryad Seamen's Hospital.

Spanish Civil War

During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, Glanely was part of widespread Welsh support for the Spanish Republic. In 1937, he helped the National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief to open a home at Cambria House,

Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...

for 50

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

child refugees. He let the Basque Government charter his two oldest steamships, and , to bring Republican refugees out of the Republican-held part of northern Spain,Heaton, 2006, page 60 which was encircled by

insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well ...

forces. On 14 July, ''Molton'' tried to enter Republican-held Santander but the insurgent cruiser '' Almirante Cervera'' captured her and the insurgent armed trawler ''Galerna'' took ''Molton'' to

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

, which by then had fallen to Franco's forces. ''Pilton'' was more successful, firstly carrying many refugees out of Santander, and then, on 27 July 1937, bringing refugees from

Avilés Avilés (Asturian and ;) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias. The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged ...

to France.

Thoroughbred horse racing

In the

interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

period he was one of the leading owners in British flat racing. He bought Exning House at Exning, near Newmarket and the nearby Lagrange stables in 1919 and maintained the stables until it was requisitioned by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1939. He was British flat racing Champion Owner in 1919 and 1941, and was elected to the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

in 1929. His racing colours were black jacket, red, white and blue belt and cap. He was chairman of the companies owning

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

racecourses. His horses won six British Classic Races: *

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...

– '' Grand Parade (1919)'' *

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 ya ...

– '' Rose of England (1930)'' * 2,000 Guineas – ''

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

(1934)'' * 1,000 Guineas – '' Dancing Time (1941)'' * St. Leger – ''

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

(1930), Chulmleigh, (1937)''

Personal life

Tatem married, on 14 September 1897, Ada Mary, daughter of Thomas Williams of Cardiff, Wales. The couple had one son, Thomas Shandon Tatem, born 20 July 1898, who died on 14 June 1905 aged six years. Lady Glanely died on 10 April 1930 after sustaining injuries in a car accident. Lord Glanely was killed during

World War II 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 ...

in an air-raid in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

in June 1942, aged 74,CWGC Civilian Casualty Record, Municipal Borough of Weston-Super-Mare
cwgc.org. Accessed 2 December 2022. when, having no surviving heir, his titles became extinct. He was buried in

Cathays Cemetery The Cathays Cemetery is one of the main cemeteries of Cardiff, Wales. It is in the Cathays district of the city, about north of Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre () is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wal ...

, Cardiff.

References

Sources

* * *
Lord Glanely profile
National Horseracing Museum website

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glanely, William Tatem, 1st Baron 1868 births 1942 deaths People from Torridge District Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Epsom Derby winners British businesspeople in shipping British people of the Spanish Civil War British civilians killed in World War II Deputy lieutenants of Glamorgan Deaths by German airstrikes during World War II Businesspeople from Cardiff Barons created by George V High sheriffs of Glamorgan