Cecil Robbins Cherry was the Eastern head of Boustead & Co. and the chairman of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce. He served as the chamber's representative on the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements.

Cherry in 1939

Early life

edit

Cherry was born in Windsor, Berkshire.[1]

Career

edit

After leaving school, Cherry was employed at the private banking house Thomas Ashby & Co in Staines-upon-Thames. He remained with the company after it was absorbed by Barclays in 1905, and worked as a bank inspector. He came to Singapore in 1913 and joined Boustead & Co. He became the company's Eastern head in 1934.[1] In the same year, he began serving on the committee of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and was elected a member of the Straits Settlements Association.[2][3] He was the chairman of the board of directors of Cold Storage.[4]

Cherry was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1935.[5][6] In the following year, he was elected the Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.[7] He was a member of the Singapore Harbour Board. In March 1938, he began acting as an unofficial member of the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements in place of Edwin Norman Collet Woollerton.[8] In October 1938, he was appointed a member of the advisory committee of the Malayan Rubber Fund in place of James Robertson.[9] Cherry was appointed the chairman of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce in 1939.[1] In April, he began acting as the chamber's representative in the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements in place of Sir John Bagnall, who had gone on leave.[10] Just prior to being nominated an official member of the council, he had been acting as an unofficial member for Joseph William de Piro.[2] He resigned both as the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the legislative council in April of the following year, and was replaced by John Ivo Dawson.[11][12] He served as the Director of Salvage in 1941.[13] He also served as a director of the Alexandra Brickworks and the chairman of Haytor Rubber Estates.[14][15]

In March 1948, Cherry became a member of the Board of Directors of Standard Chartered.[16] He was appointed the chairman of the Malakoff Rubber Estates in place of Sir Harold Snagge, who had resigned.[17] He resigned from his position on the Board of Directors of Standard Chartered in July 1955 on his retirement from business in London.[18]

Personal life

edit

Cherry married Mary Ada Stopford, a prominent golfer, on 19 March 1934 in Winchester, England.[19] Rifle shooting was a hobby of his. Prior to arriving in Singapore, he participated in club shoots in Bisley, Surrey. Cherry served with the Singapore Volunteer Artillery before and during World War I. He was a supporter of the Singapore Rowing Club, which merged into the Singapore Yacht Club in 1921.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d "Mainly About Malayans". The Straits Times. Singapore. 2 April 1939. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "CHAMBER OF COMMERCE COUNCILLOR". The Straits Times. Singapore. 21 April 1939. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  3. ^ "STRAITS SETTLEMENTS ASSOCIATION". The Straits Times. Singapore. 14 August 1934. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  4. ^ "COLD STORAGE PROFIT RISES". The Straits Times. Singapore. 29 September 1941. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  5. ^ "THE RULERS OF JOHORE AND PAHANG". The Straits Budget. Singapore. 6 June 1935. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  6. ^ "CHAMBER OF COMMERCE COUNCILLOR". The Straits Times. Singapore. 21 April 1939. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  7. ^ "ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IMPROVED". The Straits Times. Singapore. 25 April 1936. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  8. ^ "NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS". The Straits Budget. Singapore. 24 March 1938. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Hon. Mr. C. R. Cherry". The Sunday Tribune. Singapore. 30 October 1938. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Mr. C. R. Cherry As Chamber's Councillor". The Singapore Free Press. Singapore. 21 April 1939. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  11. ^ "MR. J. I. DAWSON ELECTED COMMERCE CHAIRMAN". The Malaya Tribune. Singapore. 27 March 1940. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Mr. J. Dawson To Be Made A Legislative Councillor". The Malaya Tribune. Singapore. 13 April 1940. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  13. ^ "400 Tons Of Waste Paper Await Operation Of Big Singapore Mill". The Singapore Free Press. Singapore. 28 July 1941. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Alexandra Brickworks Have Better Year". The Straits Times. Singapore. 24 April 1938. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Haytor Rubber Estates". The Singapore Free Press. Singapore. 13 March 1936. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Malayan News Briefs". The Malaya Tribune. Singapore. 11 March 1948. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Malakoff Chairman". The Straits Times. Singapore. 26 June 1948. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  18. ^ "CHARTERED BANK OF INDIA, AUSTRALIA & CHINA". The Daily Telegraph. Singapore. 12 March 1956. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  19. ^ "MARRIAGE". The Straits Budget. Singapore. 12 April 1934. Retrieved 21 May 2024.