Sir Arthur Noel Mobbs KCVO OBE (1878–1959) was the founder of Slough Estates, one of the United Kingdom's largest property businesses.[1][2]
Sir Noel Mobbs | |
|---|---|
 Sir Noel Mobbs KCVO OBE | |
| Born | 1878 Northampton, England |
| Died | 1959 |
| Education | Bedford Modern School |
| Known for | Founder of Slough Estates |
Career
editBrought up in Northampton, Mobbs was educated at Bedford Modern School.[3] Together with his brother, Herbert, he founded the Pytchley Autocar Company in 1903 to sell private vehicles: the business was later bought by Mercantile Credit.[4] Another of Noel's brothers, Edgar, was a well-known Rugby player and Captain of the England team in 1910.[5]
In 1920, Noel Mobbs and Sir Percival Perry acquired Slough Depot, a vehicle park where thousands of disused military vehicles had been abandoned.[4] They sold the vehicles and converted the factories and let them out for industrial use, so establishing the Slough Trading Estate.[4]
Mobbs was also keen to establish sporting and social facilities for the people of Slough and in 1928 he bought Stoke Park Golf Club for £30,000 and reformed it.[6] He also established the Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens which are open to the public[7] as well as the Slough Community Centre which opened in 1936.[6]
Mobbs had financed the R Malcolm & Co aircraft component company and in 1943 took control with himself as managing director and Marcel Lobelle as chief designer. Lobelle became a director and the company was renamed ML Aviation after their initials.[8]
He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1948.[9]
Mobbs was an avid bridge player[4] and in 1950, he chaired the British Bridge League.[10] He died in Bournemouth in 1959.[4]
Family
edit
He married Frances.[4] His grandson was Nigel Mobbs, a more recent chairman of Slough Estates.[11]
References
edit- ^ Obituary in The Times, Sir Noel Mobbs, November 27, 1959. p. 17
- ^ "Mobbs, Sir (Arthur) Noel, (8 June 1880–25 Nov. 1959)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U240859. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1.
- ^ Underwood, Andrew (1981). Bedford Modern School of the black & red. ISBN 9780950760803. OCLC 16558393.
- ^ a b c d e f "Stoke Park Club" (PDF). Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ Obituary: Sir Nigel Mobbs Daily Telegraph, 22 October 2005
- ^ a b "Slough 1900-1945". slough.info. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ Buckinghamshire Literary Map BBC
- ^ "ML Aviation". Postcards from Slough. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ "No. 38311". The London Gazette. 10 June 1948. p. 3369.
- ^ The Great Bridge Scandal By Alan Truscott Page (x) Master Point Press, 2004, ISBN 978-1-894154-67-3
- ^ Obituary: Sir Nigel Mobbs Archived 2011-06-16 at the Wayback Machine The Independent, 1 November 2005
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