Sir William Robert Marshall Cockburn (26 April 1891 – 1 September 1957) was a Scottish banker who spent most of his career with the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China. He became the bank's managing director from 1940 to 1955.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | William Robert Marshall Cockburn |
| Born | 26 April 1891 Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland |
| Died | 1 September 1957 (aged 66) Winchester, Hampshire, England |
| Domestic team information | |
| Years | Team |
| 1921 | Scotland |
Source: CricketArchive, 31 December 2007 | |
Cockburn also had a brief career as a cricketer.[1] He played once for the Scotland national cricket team in 1921.[2]
Early life
editCockburn was born on 26 April 1891 in Paisley,[3] where his father George Cockburn was a schoolmaster.[4] He was educated at Paisley Grammar School[3] and at the Glasgow High School.[5]
In 1908, aged 16, he became an apprentice at the Union Bank of Scotland,[4] before joining the Chartered Bank in 1911.[3]
Career
editCockburn's career with the bank took him overseas, firstly as a cadet in the banks branches on the coast of China.[6]
He then held various posts across Southeast Asia and the East Asia,[3] serving with the bank in Indo-China, Malaya, Japan and China.[4] In 1934 he became manager of the bank's branch in Shanghai.[3]
He returned to the United Kingdom in 1936[4] or 1937,[3] when he became assistant general manager of the Chartered Bank.[4] He was promoted in 1940 to become chief general manager, and held that post for until 1955, when he retired to become a director of the bank.[3][4]
The 15 years of Cockburn's tenure as general manager included both World War II and the subsequent reconstruction of the Far East.[6] In a few months at the end of 1941 and early 1942, two thirds of bank's eastern branches fell to the Japanese conquest of Asia, and were sequestrated.[3]
Cockburn was recognised as an expert on the economies of Asia, especially of China.[3][6] He served as Chairman of the Eastern Exchange Banks Association and the British Overseas Banks Association, as vice-president of the British Bankers' Association and as president of the Manchester and District Institute of Bankers.[4]
Cockburn was knighted in the 1955 New Year Honours list.[7][8] The title was conferred 18 March 1955.[9]
Cricket
editCockburn played three times for the Federated Malay States against the Straits Settlements between 1919 and 1921,[10] before playing his only match for Scotland, a first-class match against Ireland in August 1921.[2] He died in Winchester on 1 September 1957.[5]
Death
editCockburn, who lived at Twyford in Hampshire,[4] had a succession of serious illnesses in the last 20 years of his life.[3] He died aged 66 on 1 September 1957,[3] and was survived by his wife and a daughter.[4] His funeral was held at St Johns crematorium in Woking.[11]
References
edit- ^ Cricinfo profile
- ^ a b CricketEurope Stats Zone profile
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Sir W. Cockburn". The Times. London, England]. 6 September 1957. p. 12. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Bank director". Glasgow Herald. Glasgow, Scotland. 3 September 1957. p. 3. Retrieved 19 December 2015 – via Google News.
- ^ a b CricketEurope Stats Zone Biography
- ^ a b c "Sir William Cockburn". The Times. London, England]. 10 September 1957. p. 10. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ^ "No. 40366". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1954. p. 1.
- ^ "The New Year Honours". The Times. London, England]. 1 January 1955. p. 4. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ^ "No. 40433". The London Gazette. 18 March 1955. p. 1630.
- ^ Other matches played by William Cockburn at CricketArchive
- ^ "Deaths". The Times. London, England]. 1 September 1957. p. 12. Retrieved 19 December 2015.