| Owen Philipps, 1st Baron Kylsant | |
|---|---|
Baron Kylsant, picture taken in the 1920s |
|
| Born | Owen Cosby Philipps 25 March 1863 |
| Died | 5 June 1937 (aged 74) |
| Known for | Businessman, politician |
| Title | Baron Kylsant of Carmarthen in the County of Carmarthen and of Amroth in the County of Pembroke |
| Political party | Liberal Member of Parliament (1906–1910) Conservative Member of Parliament (1916–1922) |
| Board member of | Chairman and Chief Executive of Royal Mail Steam Packet Company |
| Criminal charge | Publishing a document with intent to induce a person to advance property (section 84 Larceny Act 1861)[1] |
| Criminal penalty | 12 months imprisonment[2] |
| Spouse | Mai Alice Magdalene Morris (1902–1937) |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | KCMG (1909) KStJ (1926) GCMG (1918) |
Owen Cosby Philipps, 1st Baron Kylsant (25 March 1863 – 5 June 1937) was a British businessman and politician, later jailed for producing a document with intent to deceive.
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Philipps was the third of five sons of the Reverend Sir James Erasmus Philipps, 12th Baronet, of Picton Castle, and his wife the Hon. Mary, daughter of the Hon. Reverend Samuel Best. Educated at Newton College, Newton Abbott in Devon he became an apprentice with a Newcastle-on-Tyne shipping firm, Dent & Co, in 1880 and upon completion of his apprenticeship he moved to the Glasgow shipping firm Allan & Gow in 1886.[3]
With financial assistance from his eldest brother John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids Philipps set up his own shipping firm Philipps & Co in 1888, bought his first ship in 1889 and by the end of the nineteenth century the two brothers owned two shipping lines; King Line Ltd and the Scottish Steamship Company, a finance company; the London Maritime Investment Company, and the London and Thames Haven Petroleum Wharf.[3] Taking advantage of a low share price the brothers acquired shares in the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and by 1902 Owen had become chairman and managing director of the line.[3] Over the next twenty years Philipps and the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company acquired a controlling interest in over another twenty companies including names such as the Union-Castle Line and the Pacific Steam Navigation Company.[4][3] Acquisitions continued culminating in the purchase of the White Star in 1927.[3]
Philipps had a reputation for acting unilaterally without consulting board members and being an autocrat, whilst the complex share structure of the firms within the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company group allowed Phillipps continued control of the whole group and to hide trading losses in individual firms by moving reserves around.[3] In 1924 Phillipps also becamse chairman of Harland and Wolff, the Belfast shipbuilders.
In 1928 Philipps applied to extend the government guarantee on a loan from the Midland Bank, the application was refused and as a result the group defaulted on part of the next repayment. Much of the groups finances were based on Debenture Stock paying fixed interest at 5% and the main trustee of this stock was Philipp's eldest brother, Viscount St Davids, who was unhappy with the way debenture stock was being issued, especially a £2,000,000 issue in 1928. St Davids made his concerns public and the stock market values of the whole group declined sharply. Worried by these revelations the government, fearing an economic crisis, appointed the accountant, William McLintock to investigate the group finances. His report issued in early 1930 revealed that Royal Mail Steam Packet Company had liabilities in excess of £10,000,000. This was enough for the banks to act and much of Philipps' powers were removed to trustees apppointed by the banks, although Philipps remained chairman until November 1930.[3] In February 1931 Philipps and his wife went to South Africa on holiday and in his absence McLintock revealed that the Royal Mail Steam Packet group had been paying dividends to stockholders despite trading at a loss for several years. McLintock did not report this activity as fraudulent although politicians used the term when the matter was discussed in the House of Commons.[3]
On his return from holiday Philipps was arrested and charged with making false statements with regard to the companies accounts for 1926 and 1927 contrary to section 84 of the Larceny Act 1861. The company auditor, Harold John Morland, was charged with aiding and abetting the same offences. Philipps was also charged with issuing a document (the prospectus issued for the 1928 debenture stock issue) with intent to deceive contrary to section 84 of the Larceny Act 1861.[1] Both men were committed for trial at the Old Bailey.[3]
The trial took place in July 1931 and lasted 9 days and was presided over by Mr Justice Wright. Both men pleaded not guilty to all the charges, but at the end of the trial Philipps was found guilty of the final charge of issuing a document with intent to deceive, both men were found not guilty of the first two charges. Morland was discharged and Philipps was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.[2] After one night in prison he was released on bail pending an appeal against the conviction. The appeal was heard in November 1931 and Philipps' appeal against the conviction and the sentence were dismissed and he subsequently served ten months in Wormwood Scrubs prison before being released in August 1932.[3]
Since his time in Scotland, Philipps had been interested in politics and after two unsucessful attempts to stand for Parliament he was elected as Member of Parliament for Pembroke and Haverfordwest as a Liberal in 1906. Relected at the General Election in January 1910 he declined to stand again at the second general election in December 1910.[3]
He later left the Liberal Party and joined the Conservative Party being elected unopposed as the MP for City of Chester at a by-election in 1916. Re-elected at the 1918 General Election he served until 1922, but did not stand again.
In 1904, Philipps was High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire[5] and became a Deputy Lieutenant for Pembrokeshire in 1917,[6] and Lord Lieutenant of Haverfordwest in 1924.[7] In 1909, Philipps was invested as a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG),[8] later raised to Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1918.[9]
In 1912 he was invested as a Knight of Grace of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem[10] and raised to a Knight of Justice in 1916.[11]
On 14 February 1923, he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Kylsant, of Carmarthen in the County of Carmarthen and of Amroth in the County of Pembroke.[12]
Following his conviction he resigned all his knighthoods and lieutenancys.[3]
Owen Philipps married Mai Alice Magdalene Morris on 16 September 1902 and they had three daughters. Philipps died at the age of 74 and the barony became extinct as he had no sons.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Wimburn Laurie |
Member of Parliament for Pembroke and Haverfordwest 1906 – December 1910 |
Succeeded by Hon. Henry Guest |
| Preceded by Robert Yerburgh |
Member of Parliament for Chester 1916–1922 |
Succeeded by Sir Charles Cayzer, Bt |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Sir Charles Philipps, Bt |
Lord Lieutenant of Haverfordwest 1924–1931 |
returned to Pembrokeshire |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Kylsant 1923–1937 |
Extinct |