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William Cockburn (banker)

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William Cockburn
Personal information
Full name
William Robert Marshall Cockburn
Born(1891-04-26)26 April 1891
Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Died1 September 1957(1957-09-01) (aged 66)
Winchester, Hampshire, England
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1921Scotland
Source: CricketArchive, 31 December 2007

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.

Cockburn also had a brief career as a cricketer.[1] He played once for the Scotland national cricket team in 1921.[2]

Early life

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Cockburn 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

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Cockburn'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

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Cockburn 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

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Cockburn, 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

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  1. ^ Cricinfo profile
  2. ^ a b CricketEurope Stats Zone profile
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b CricketEurope Stats Zone Biography
  6. ^ a b c "Sir William Cockburn". The Times. London, England]. 10 September 1957. p. 10. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  7. ^ "No. 40366". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1954. p. 1.
  8. ^ "The New Year Honours". The Times. London, England]. 1 January 1955. p. 4. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  9. ^ "No. 40433". The London Gazette. 18 March 1955. p. 1630.
  10. ^ Other matches played by William Cockburn at CricketArchive
  11. ^ "Deaths". The Times. London, England]. 1 September 1957. p. 12. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
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