James William Leigh Wood

1870 - 1949  (79 years)

• Name	James William Leigh Wood  [1, 2, 3]
  Birth	1870	[2, 4]
  	son of J. W. Wood
  Occupation	1888 -	with Cox & Co, bankers  [2]
  Military Service	abt 1900	South Africa ; Anglo-Boer War  [2]
  	mentioned twice in despatches & awarded the Queen's Medal
  Marriage	abt Nov 1900	St Pancras   [2, 3, 5]
  	Joanna Elizabeth Turnbull,   b. abt 1870, Wellington, NZ ,   d. abt Aug 1955, Uxbridge
  Decoration	1902	CMG  [1, 2]
  Occupation	1908 - 1937	Merchant Banker, Brown Shipley & Co  [2]
  Military Service	1916 - 1919	General Staff, War Office  [1]
  	mentioned in despatches
  Decoration	1918	CB  [2]
  Decoration	1919	KBE  [2]
  Post/Rank/Title	bef 1919	Lieut-Colonel  [1]
  Name Change	1919	James Leigh-Wood  [2]
  Residence	1927	24 Great Cumberland Place, Marylebone   [1, 6]
  Death	21 Mar 1949	32 Upper Brook St, Mayfair   [4, 7]
  	On March 21, 1949, at 32, Upper Brook Street, W.1, Sir James Leigh-Wood, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G., whose remains were cremated at Golders Green on March 24, in the presence of his family, in his 79th year. He asked that there should be no service of commemoration, but hoped for the silent prayers of his friends at home and oversea when they knew of his passing. [The Times, 25 Mar 1949]
  Burial	24 Mar 1949	Golders Green Crematorium   [7]
  Notes	Lieutenant-Colonel Sir James Leigh-Wood, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G., for many years a considerable figure in the City, died at his home in London on Monday at the age of 78. James William Wood (he assumed the additional surname, Leigh, in 1918) was the son of the late J. W. Wood and was born in 1870. At the age of 18 he joined the banking firm of Cox and Company and began those travels in India and the colonies which were to give him an abiding enthusiasm for Imperial solidarity, so that for many years he took a deep interest in the Royal Empire Society and was a vice-president at the time of his death. He served in the Army during the South African war, was mentioned twice in dispatches and awarded the Queen's Medal. In 1902 he was made a C.M.G. Six years later he was admitted to a partnership in Brown, Shipley and Company, merchant bankers, and played a very full part in the affairs of the company for nearly 30 years. During the 1914-18 war his services in administrative posts at the War Office were mentioned in dispatches and he was made a C.B. in 1918 and a K.B.E. a year later. Meanwhile his reputation in the City continued to grow and he was invited to join the boards of a large number of important banking and insurance companies. When he retired from Brown, Shipley and Company in 1937 he retained other important interests, including the deputy chairmanship of the Eastern Bank (of which he later became chairman), his seat on the London Board of Advice of the National Bank of Australasia, and his directorship of the Commercial Union Assurance Company, which he had previously served as chairman. While a young man living abroad he had taken part in most forms of sport and he became associated with track athletics in 1927 through the activities of his son. When the Empire Games were instituted in 1929 he was invited to become chairman of the federation and of the council in England. He accompanied the team to Canada in 1930, took an active part in the organization of the games in London in 1934 and in Sydney in 1938. His advice and help were sought by and willingly given to a number of philanthropic bodies and for many years he was a vice-president of the Boy Scouts' Association and the Gordon Boys' Home. He was also a governor of Christ's Hospital and St. Bartholomew's Hospital. A liveryman of the Goldsmiths' Company, he was appointed one of his Majesty's Lieutenants for the City of London in 1930. He married in 1900 Joanna Elizabeth, daughter of the late Walter Turnbull. There were two children of the marriage, a son and a daughter. [The Times, 25 Mar 1949]
  Person ID	I1225	Tatham | Heathcote branch | Parent of spouse
  Last Modified	13 Dec 2010

  
  

  Family	Joanna Elizabeth Turnbull,   b. abt 1870, Wellington, NZ ,   d. abt Aug 1955, Uxbridge  (Age ~ 85 years)
  Marriage	abt Nov 1900	St Pancras   [2, 3, 5]
  Notes	Mary only dau. Only son Roger Leigh-Wood (1906-1987): educ Winchester & Trinity College, Oxford; prominent athlete (Pres. Oxford Univ. Athletic Club, 1929; British Olympic Team, 1928; Empire Games Team, 1930); chairman Chartered Bank, Commercial Union, etc. 7 serv. in Apr 1911
  Children	+ 1. Mary Leigh Wood,   b. 26 May 1905, Paddington ,   d. 12 Aug 1975, St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth  (Age 70 years)
  Last Modified	13 Dec 2010
  Family ID	F0388	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S04] H Curtis: Notes for a Pedigree of the Tathams of Co. Durham. [S05] The Times, obituary, 25 Mar 1949. [S02] BMD Index, marriage reg Pancras, 4Q1900. [S07] Other Sources, National Portrait Gallery. [S01] Census, UK, 1911. marr 10 yrs [S05] The Times, forthcoming marriages, 19 Apr 1927. dau Mary [S05] The Times, death notice, 25 Mar 1949.