Sir Arthur Philip du Cros, 1st Baronet du Cros (26 January 1871 – 28 October 1955) was a British industrialist and politician.
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He was born in Dublin, the third of seven sons of Harvey du Cros. He grew up in modest conditions; his father, later a well-known manufacturer, was at the time only a bookkeeper with an income of £170 a year. He attended a national school in Dublin and then became employed with the civil service at the lowest-paid grade. During 1892 he joined the Pneumatic Tyre and Booth's Cycle Agency Ltd, of which his father was now the chairman, and was made a joint managing director during 1896 when it was first traded as a public company.[1]
In 1895 he married Maude Gooding, the daughter of a Coventry watch manufacturer; they had two sons and two daughters before a divorce of 1923.
In 1901 du Cros founded the Dunlop Rubber Company, converting 400 acres (1.6 km2) of land in Birmingham henceforth known as Fort Dunlop for the production and manufacture of tyres. Dunlop subsequently purchased the goodwill and trading rights of du Cros' Pneumatic Tyre Company and diversified into making other rubber products in addition to tyres. To ensure the company's supply of rubber du Cros secured plantations in Malaya and Ceylon; by 1917 Dunlop owned about 60,000 acres (24,000 ha) of rubber-producing land.[1]
In 1906 du Cros entered politics, unsuccessfully contesting the seat of Bow & Bromley as a Conservative candidate, a seat to which his brother was elected during 1910. During 1908 he was elected Member of Parliament for Hastings, a position his father had immediately before.[1]
During 1909 he formed (and was the director of) the Parliamentary Aerial Defence Committee to ensure funding for military aeronautical development, of which he was a strong proponent. During the First World War he worked for the Ministry of Munitions on an honorary basis, buying two motorised ambulance convoys with his own money and helping form an infantry battalion, being a former captain of the Royal Warwickshires and for some years being the honorary colonel of the 8th battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. During 1916 he was created a baronet. He continued to represent Hastings until 1918, when he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Clapham, a position he resigned 4 years later.
On April 14th 1913 Du Cros' home at St Leonards was burnt down by suffragettes angry at his opposition to votes for women [2]. Contemporary newsreels reported the estimated cost of the damage to be £10,000. [3]
His later career featured much financial impropriety. He found it difficult to distinguish between personal and company assets, using company funds to sponsor family investments and appointing family members to senior position without regard for merit. He also participated in financial manipulation as a close associate of James White, a financier who specialised in share rigging and whose actions left Dunlop close to bankruptcy in 1921. Du Cros had already lost influence within the company and was dismissed after the 1921 depression.[1]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Harvey du Cros |
Member of Parliament for Hastings 1908–1918 |
Succeeded by Laurance Lyon |
| Preceded by Harry Greer |
Member of Parliament for Clapham 1918–1922 |
Succeeded by John Leigh |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet (of Canons) 1916–1955 |
Succeeded by Harvey Du Cros |