Harry Pilkington

The Right Honourable
The Lord Pilkington
The Right Honourable The Lord Pilkington
Born	William Henry Pilkington; 29 April 1905; St Helens, Lancashire, England
Died	23 December 1983 (aged 78); St Helens, Lancashire, England
Years active	1934–1973
Spouses	; Rosamond Margaret Rowan (died 1953) (m. 1930) ; Mrs Mavis Joy Doreen Wilding (m. 1961)
Honours	Knighted 1953; Life Peer 1968

William Henry Pilkington, Baron Pilkington (29 April 1905 – 23 December 1983) was an English glass manufacturer and president of the Federation of British Industries, who is remembered politically as chairman of the Pilkington Committee that produced the controversial Pilkington Report of 1962. He was also Chancellor of Loughborough University from 1966 to 1980.^[1]

Early life and education

Pilkington was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the eldest son of Richard Austin Pilkington (1871-1951), JP, of Eccleston Grange, St Helens, a director of the family glass-manufacturing business, Pilkington Brothers Ltd,^[2] and his wife, Hope (1876-1947), daughter of the politician and judge Herbert Cozens-Hardy, 1st Baron Cozens-Hardy.^[3]

His younger brother,Lawrence, would join him as a director of the family business; the third brother was the biologist and writer Roger Pilkington.^[4] His sister Margaret was a Girl Guide leader, awarded an MBE and a Silver Fish Award for her work with the Guide International Service.

The Pilkington family were Congregationalist.^[5] He was educated at Rugby School and Magdalene College, Cambridge.^[1]

Pilkington Brothers Ltd

Pilkington joined the board of the family business, Pilkington Brothers Ltd, in 1934 and served as chairman from 1949 to 1973. This glass manufacturing company became the lone survivor of twenty-four British glass manufacturers from the 19th century. While other companies died from competition, the Pilkington company advanced its techniques, especially in safety glass and glass sheets, using the company's proprietary float glass process.^[6] In 1967 the company controlled 85% of the glass-making business in the United Kingdom and exported its products to over 100 countries.

Pilkington Report

The Pilkington Report concluded that the British public were not being well-served by commercial television due to what it regarded as its American-influenced programming (such as westerns). It further concluded that although the British public had not been explicitly asked whether they wanted commercial radio, there was no evidence to support the contention that they wanted it. The unintended result of this conclusion was the creation of offshore commercial pirate radio in 1964. It also commended the BBC for the high quality of its television programming and recommended that the franchise for the-then third television channel should be granted to the BBC (which opened as BBC 2 in 1964), rather than to a commercial operator.

Personal life

In 1930, Pilkington married firstly, Rosamond^[7] Margaret, daughter of Royal Army Medical Corps Colonel Henry Davis Rowan, of Rathmore, Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland. Rosamond died in 1953, having had with her husband a son and two daughters. He married secondly Mavis Joy Doreen, daughter of master reed-maker Gilbert Caffrey, of Woodleigh, Lostock Park, Bolton, and former wife of Dr John Hesketh Wilding.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

Pilkington was known for his 'warm-hearted personality'; when a young couple moved in nearby, they decided to grow roses but lacked the experience in pruning. The wife was acquainted with Pilkington's gardener at Windle Hall, and made a phone call; the then-Lady Pilkington answered, telling her 'I'll pass the message on, but Harry prunes all ours'- within the hour, Pilkington arrived at the couple's house by bicycle, equipped with pruning shears.

Even as a Governor of the Bank of England, Pilkington cycled around London, 'to the delight and consternation of those who knew him.'^[12]

Honours and arms

Knighted in 1953 New Years Honours List,^[13] Pilkington was created a Life Peer on 18 January 1968, in the 1968 New Years Honours List taking the title Baron Pilkington, of St Helens in the County Palatine of Lancashire.^[14] He was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc) by Loughborough University in 1966.^[15]

Coat of arms of Harry Pilkington
Crest Upon a mount and between two tufts of grass Vert a mower habited per pale Argent and Gules holding up a scythe Proper. Escutcheon Argent a cross flory Gules voided of the field between five roses in saltire of the second barbed and seeded Proper. Motto Now Thus Now Thus ^[16]

References

^ ^a ^b "Obituary: Lord Pilkington". The Times. 23 December 1983. p. 12.
^ The Directory of Directors, Thomas Skinner & Co., 1927, p. 1242
^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, ed. Peter Townend, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1970, p. 1248
^ Burke's Landed Gentry, 14th edition, ed. Alfred T. Butler, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1925, p. 1353
^ "Roger Pilkington, British Author, 88". The New York Times. 24 May 2003. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
^ "Pilkington plc - Company Profile". Reference for Business. 2000.
^ Published sources give both this spelling and "Rosamund"
^ Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 1973, p. 893
^ Dod's Parliamentary Companion, 136th edition, 1968, p. 218
^ Glass Technology, vol. 25, collected issues 2-6, 1984, p. 54
^ The International Year Book and Statesman's Who's Who, International Publications Service, 1983, p. 540
^ https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.2022.0025
^ "No. 39777". The London Gazette. 13 February 1953. p. 906.
^ "No. 44507". The London Gazette. 19 January 1968. p. 759.
^ "Honorary Graduates and University Medallists since 1966". Loughborough University. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
^ Debrett's Peerage. 1973.

External links

National Portrait Gallery, London – Sir Harry sat for six portraits
"Pilkington Shines Again". Time. 15 December 1967.
New Yorker magazine commenting upon the Pilkington Report, July 1962.
Speech by Sir Harry to the Empire Club of Canada - 1 December 1955, Toronto, Canada.

Academic offices
Preceded by Sir Herbert Manzoni as Chair of Governors of Loughborough College of Technology	Chancellor of Loughborough University 1966–1980	Succeeded by Sir Arnold Hall