Walrond Arthur Frank Sinclair
Sir Walrond Arthur Frank Sinclair (c1880-1952)
President of the British Tyre and Rubber Co
1952 Obituary [1]
We have learned with regret of the death of Sir Walrond Sinclair, which occurred in London, after some months of illness, on Saturday last, August 30th.
Sir Walrond, who was seventy-two, had for many years occupied a prominent position in the tyre and rubber industry, and at the time of his death was the president of the British Tyre and Rubber Company, Ltd.
Sir Walrond joined that company in 1924, when it was formed under the title of the British Goodrich Rubber Company, Ltd., and from 1925 to 1942 was its managing director.
He was appointed chairman in 1927, in which office he continued until quite recently, when, on account of failing health, he felt compelled to resign. The board then elected him president of the company.
In addition to his work for the British Tyre and Rubber group of companies, Sir Walrond held many important offices in the rubber industry. He had served successively as president of the Tyre Manufacturers Conference, the Institution of the Rubber Industry, and the Federation of British Rubber Manufacturers' Association.
In the first world war Sir Walrond was attached to the War Office on the staff of the Adjutant-General, and in 1917 he was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General. Later in the same year Sir Walrond was transferred to the Ministry of National Service, becoming director of national service for the London and South-Eastern Region. He was created K.B.E. in 1918.
When the second world war came Sir Walrond was called upon immediately by the rubber manufacturing industry to institute and direct the voluntary control scheme for rubber. He relinquished his office as controller in October, 1940, when he was invited to accompany the British Mission to South America organised by the Department of Overseas Trade.