John Geoffrey Rowe Orchard

John Geoffrey Rowe Orchard (1903 – 5 January 1952) was an English chartered accountant and Conservative Party politician.

John Geoffrey Rowe Orchard
Coat of arms of the City of Exeter
Municipal posts
1937Sheriff of Exeter
1946–1952Alderman of Exeter
1950Mayor of Exeter
1951–1952Deputy Mayor of Exeter
Personal details
Born1903
Plymouth, England
Died5 January 1952(1952-01-05) (aged 48)
West Indies
Political partyConservative Party (UK)
RelativesJohn Headon Stanbury (grandfather)
EducationMalvern College
Occupation
  • Chartered accountant
  • politician
  • golfer
AwardsBessborough Trophy

Early life and education

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Orchard was born in Plymouth in 1903, the youngest of three children of John Bailey Rowe Orchard (1862–1928) and Amy Cecilia Stanbury (1867–1948), daughter of John Headon Stanbury.[1][2]

He attended Malvern College, a fee-charging boarding school in Worcestershire.[1]

Career

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Orchard served his articles in London with Messrs Nevill, Hovey, Gardner & Co. He was admitted an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 1926 and commenced in practice in Exeter later that year. He was principal firstly of Messrs Orchard & Rigby and then of Messrs Orchard & Hamlin until 1940.[1]

Orchard inherited the Royal Clarence Hotel upon the death of his father in 1928.[3] He became the first winner of the Bessborough Trophy in 1931 when it was played at the Palace Hotel, Buxton.[4]

In 1930, Orchard was elected to the Exeter City Council. In 1936, he was captain of the Exeter Golf and Country Club.[5] He was Sheriff of Exeter in 1937.[6] In 1938, he was president of the Exeter Fat Stock and Poultry Show.[7] After service in Malaya with the Royal Observer Corps in World War II, Orchard returned to Exeter and in 1946, was elected an Alderman of the city. He was one of seven directors of Exeter City Football Club in the 1946–47 season.[8] In 1950, he was Provincial Junior Grand Warden of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Devonshire.[9] The same year, he succeeded Godwin Michelmore as Lord Mayor of Exeter.[3] He was Deputy Lord Mayor of Exeter the following year until his death on 5 January 1952 while on cruise in the West Indies.[1]

Orchard was Chairman of the Conservative Party in Exeter.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Notes and Notices". The Accountant. 126: 99. 16 February 1952. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Business Notes: Wills and Bequests". The Economist Group. Internet Archive. 6 July 1907. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Eight Hundred Years of Exeter's Mayors and Lord Mayors". Retrieved 14 Feb 2023.
  4. ^ Nash, Tim (12 June 2008). "Return of the historic Bessborough Trophy". Health Club Management. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  5. ^ Devon Golf Captains. FlipHTML5 Official Website. 17 June 2021. p. 21.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ "Sheriffs of the City and County of the City of Exeter". Exeter Memories. David Cornforth. Retrieved 12 April 2023. 1937 John G.R. Orchard
  7. ^ "NOTICES BARNSTAPLE Xmas Fat Stock Show". Western Times. British Newspaper Archive. 11 November 1938. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Hopes and Expectations 1946/47". The Grecian Archive. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Provincial Junior Grand Wardens". Provincial Grand Lodge of Devonshire Craft Masonry. 2021: 19. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
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Civic offices
Preceded by Mayor of Exeter
1950
Succeeded by
Frederick Peter Cottey