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Charles Rawlinson MBE B52
Charles was born in Rugby, in 1934, to parents of strongly held moral and ethical values. He was awarded the top scholarship to Canford, where he benefitted from two particularly gifted teachers. The first nurtured his natural singing talent and lifelong love of music while the second inspired his deep and enduring passion for English history. It was the latter who encouraged him to sit for Jesus College, Cambridge, to which he gained an open exhibition to study law.
After Cambridge, he returned home and took articles with a small firm in Rugby. He qualified in 1958, having been placed 6th in the country, and was recommended for a position at Peat Marwick & Mitchell (now KPMG). It wasn’t long before he requested a six-month placement in Canada and it was in Toronto that he met his wife Jill. Throughout his life, Charles consistently credited Jill with making everything possible, saying he had been ‘blessed beyond words by her constant love and support’.
On returning to London, Charles joined Morgan Grenfell’s finance department and the couple married soon after, in May 1962. At the same time, they purchased a home in the village of Saffron Waldon, in Essex, which was to provide a long-term family base for the couple and their three daughters, Julia, Eleanor and Charlotte.
Early in his time at Morgan Grenfell, Charles was given a two-year secondment as managing director of the Investment Bank of Ireland, in Dublin, where he was credited with modernising the wider financial system. On his return to London, he was made partner at Morgan Grenfell and then took up the role of group finance director.
He was subsequently appointed joint chairman of the bank and vice-chairman of the Morgan Grenfell Group. He also had a major role in Morgan Grenfell Asia, becoming its chairman and leading the company for 13 years which involved a regular commute to Singapore and other countries in Asia.
Throughout his career Charles was committed to the development of professional standards and ethics, not just in the City with the ICA but in everything in which he was involved. He was known to urge others to consider in any action, not just in a professional context, whether what they wanted to do was ethically and morally right, long before they asked if it was legal.
In 1984, he was asked to become chairman of the Hundred Group, whose membership is composed of the finance directors of the largest companies in the UK. During this period, he was also the finance director for Willis Faber.
Outside work, Charles also maintained a long-term commitment to the National Association of Boys Clubs. During his chairmanship of that association, he oversaw the controversial introduction of girls.
Eventually, his wide-ranging responsibilities became too much and in 1987, his doctor advised him he needed to retire. Although he took this advice, as he wound down his city life, he took up board positions with three companies closer to home.
Charles also bought a 22ft Drascombe Longboat which provided many happy moments, sailing with family and friends on the Deben and further afield. He also had a desire to stay connected with his own family’s roots in the Cartmel area, on the southern edge of the Lake District, and in the late 1980s, Charles was asked to join the board of the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra which was suffering from a lack of support during the recession. He took the decision to wind it up and out of the ashes rose the Britten Sinfonia, to which he devoted his unwavering support, caring deeply about the future of classical music in the UK. Today, it is recognised as the leading chamber orchestra in England.
Throughout his life he held true to the values instilled in him by his parents and Canford. He remained close to Canford and Jesus College, maintaining a relationship with both. At Canford his ongoing support helped develop musical opportunities for pupils and it gave him enormous pleasure that the youngest of his six grandchildren, Frederick and Oriana were able to benefit from the same education he enjoyed. Charles’ contributions to public life were acknowledged with an MBE in the New Year’s Honours of 2012 ‘for charitable services to young people and music’. He was a man of immense integrity who combined an encyclopaedic knowledge with a shrewd grasp of world issues, and was known for incisive questions and stimulating debates, as well as a kind heart and wry sense of humour.
