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William Rootes, 1st Baron Rootes

 

 
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William Rootes, 1st Baron Rootes
 
 
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William Edward Rootes, 1st Baron Rootes GBE
Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom....
 (17 August 1894–12 December 1964) was a noted Coventry
Coventry

Coventry is a City status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. With a population of 303,475 at the United Kingdom Census 2001 , Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom....
 motor manufacturer and the innovative Chairman of the Promotion Committee which founded the University of Warwick
University of Warwick

The University of Warwick is a British campus university located on the outskirts of Coventry, West Midlands , England and is University of Warwick#Academic standards as one of the country's leading universities....
.

Early life
William (Billy) Rootes was born in Goudhurst
Goudhurst

Goudhurst is a village in Kent on the Weald, about south of Maidstone.It stands on a crossroads, where there is a large village pond....
, Kent. His father, William, owned a general engineering business in Goudhurst, which included bicycle
Bicycle

The bicycle, bike, or cycle is a pedal-driven, human-powered transport with two bicycle wheel attached to a bicycle frame, one behind the other....
s. William attended a motor show organised by Sir David Salomons
David Lionel Goldsmid-Stern-Salomons

Sir David Lionel Goldsmid-Stern-Salomons, 2nd Baronet was a scientific author and barrister.The son of Philip Salomons of Brighton, and Emma, daughter of Jacob Montefiore of Sydney, he succeeded to the Baronetcy originally granted to his uncle David Salomons in 1873....
 in Tunbridge Wells in 1895.






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William Edward Rootes, 1st Baron Rootes GBE
Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom....
 (17 August 1894–12 December 1964) was a noted Coventry
Coventry

Coventry is a City status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. With a population of 303,475 at the United Kingdom Census 2001 , Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom....
 motor manufacturer and the innovative Chairman of the Promotion Committee which founded the University of Warwick
University of Warwick

The University of Warwick is a British campus university located on the outskirts of Coventry, West Midlands , England and is University of Warwick#Academic standards as one of the country's leading universities....
.

Early life


William (Billy) Rootes was born in Goudhurst
Goudhurst

Goudhurst is a village in Kent on the Weald, about south of Maidstone.It stands on a crossroads, where there is a large village pond....
, Kent. His father, William, owned a general engineering business in Goudhurst, which included bicycle
Bicycle

The bicycle, bike, or cycle is a pedal-driven, human-powered transport with two bicycle wheel attached to a bicycle frame, one behind the other....
s. William attended a motor show organised by Sir David Salomons
David Lionel Goldsmid-Stern-Salomons

Sir David Lionel Goldsmid-Stern-Salomons, 2nd Baronet was a scientific author and barrister.The son of Philip Salomons of Brighton, and Emma, daughter of Jacob Montefiore of Sydney, he succeeded to the Baronetcy originally granted to his uncle David Salomons in 1873....
 in Tunbridge Wells in 1895. Billy and his brother Reginald (Reggie) shared their father's interest in things mechanical. In 1905, whilst their parents were out, Billy took Reggie out for a drive in their father's New Orleans motor car. Unfortunately, Billy crashed the car. Billy attended Cranbrook
Cranbrook, Kent

Cranbrook is an old market town in Kent in South East England. It is also the smallest town in Kent. It is on the Maidstone to Hastings road and five miles north of Hawkhurst....
 School, and on leaving school in 1909 was apprenticed to the Singer car company. William had moved the family business to Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst

Hawkhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells , Kent, England. The parish lies to the south-east of Tunbridge Wells....
 by this time, and expanded into the motor trade. Billy left Singer in 1913 to start his own car agency. He sold all of his first batch of cars within a few months of leaving Singer. The business was moved to Maidstone
Maidstone

Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary....
 before World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, and the firm worked on the maintenance and repair of aero engines during the war.

Knighthood


Billy and Reggie were knighted for their work setting up shadow factories.

Death


Although Lord Rootes’ untimely death in 1964 prevented him being installed as the University's first Chancellor, his name is still strongly connected with the University in many ways. These include the Rootes Social Building, Rootes student residences and the Lord Rootes Memorial Fund
Lord Rootes Memorial Fund

The Lord Rootes Memorial Fund was endowed in memory of the late William Rootes, 1st Baron Rootes to benefit students at the University of Warwick....
.

External links