Bernard Sunley 1910-1964 Contractor and philanthropist lived and worked here 1941-1958 - green plaque erected by City of Westminster at 24 Berkeley Square London W1J 6EJ
Born at Catford in south-east London, he was the son of John Sunley, a florist and fruiterer, and was educated at St Ann's School in Hanwell.[1] After leaving school at the age of fourteen, he hired a horse and cart to move earth, and then went into the landscape gardening business.[2] One of his first major contracts was re-laying the pitch at Highbury for Arsenal FC.[3]
In November 1931, at Holy Trinity Church, Southall, Sunley married Mary Goddard, a daughter of William Goddard, a farmer, of Waxlow Farm, Southall.[4] They had two daughters and a son.
From earth-moving, Sunley moved into the open-cast mining business. In 1940, he founded Bernard Sunley & Sons.[5] During the Second World War he built over 100 airfields, and in 1942 he purchased the business of Blackwood Hodge, then a supplier of agricultural machinery and later a successful plant hire and sale business.[6] He subsequently "ranked alongside the most successful property developers of the 1950s property boom".[5]
Sunley campaigned as a Conservative Party candidate for Ealing West in 1945, but was unsuccessful.
Sunley established the Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation in 1960 with a pledge of £300,000 worth of shares. As of 2011, it had made grants of more than £92 million.[3]
He died in 1964. His son, John Sunley (died 2011) was a property developer and philanthropist.[3] His grandson is Richard Tice, a businessman and leader of Reform UK.
^‘SUNLEY, Bernard’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016
^"Bernard Sunley, builder, is dead". The New York Times. 22 November 1964. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
^ abcJohn Sunley , The Daily Telegraph, 22 March 2011
^Marriages solemnized at the parish church of Holy Trinity Southall in the County of Middlesex, No. 138, November 18, 1931 ancestry.co.uk, accessed 22 November 2022 (subscription required)
^ ab"Sunley, Bernard (1910–1964)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/50212. Retrieved 25 July 2015. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^"Blackwood Hodge Memories". Retrieved 15 October 2017.
^. Imperial College London. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
This United Kingdom business-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
bernard, sunley, november, 1910, november, 1964, british, property, developer, founder, sons, born4, november, 1910catford, london, englanddied20, november, 1964, 1964, aged, hampstead, london, englandoccupationproperty, developerknown, forfounder, sonschildre. Bernard Sunley 4 November 1910 20 November 1964 was a British property developer and the founder of Bernard Sunley amp Sons Bernard SunleyBorn4 November 1910Catford London EnglandDied20 November 1964 1964 11 20 aged 54 Hampstead London EnglandOccupationProperty developerKnown forFounder Bernard Sunley amp SonsChildren3RelativesRichard Tice grandson Bernard Sunley 1910 1964 Contractor and philanthropist lived and worked here 1941 1958 green plaque erected by City of Westminster at 24 Berkeley Square London W1J 6EJBorn at Catford in south east London he was the son of John Sunley a florist and fruiterer and was educated at St Ann s School in Hanwell 1 After leaving school at the age of fourteen he hired a horse and cart to move earth and then went into the landscape gardening business 2 One of his first major contracts was re laying the pitch at Highbury for Arsenal FC 3 In November 1931 at Holy Trinity Church Southall Sunley married Mary Goddard a daughter of William Goddard a farmer of Waxlow Farm Southall 4 They had two daughters and a son From earth moving Sunley moved into the open cast mining business In 1940 he founded Bernard Sunley amp Sons 5 During the Second World War he built over 100 airfields and in 1942 he purchased the business of Blackwood Hodge then a supplier of agricultural machinery and later a successful plant hire and sale business 6 He subsequently ranked alongside the most successful property developers of the 1950s property boom 5 Sunley campaigned as a Conservative Party candidate for Ealing West in 1945 but was unsuccessful Sunley established the Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation in 1960 with a pledge of 300 000 worth of shares As of 2011 it had made grants of more than 92 million 3 He died in 1964 His son John Sunley died 2011 was a property developer and philanthropist 3 His grandson is Richard Tice a businessman and leader of Reform UK Bernard Sunley Hall named after him is a hall of residence for Imperial College London students at 40 44 Evelyn Gardens Square 7 See also editCity Tower Manchester formerly Sunley House References edit SUNLEY Bernard Who Was Who A amp C Black an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc 1920 2016 Bernard Sunley builder is dead The New York Times 22 November 1964 Retrieved 15 October 2017 a b c John Sunley The Daily Telegraph 22 March 2011 Marriages solemnized at the parish church of Holy Trinity Southall in the County of Middlesex No 138 November 18 1931 ancestry co uk accessed 22 November 2022 subscription required a b Sunley Bernard 1910 1964 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press 2004 doi 10 1093 ref odnb 50212 Retrieved 25 July 2015 Subscription or UK public library membership required Blackwood Hodge Memories Retrieved 15 October 2017 Evelyn Gardens Imperial College London Archived from the original on 19 April 2016 Retrieved 3 May 2016 nbsp This United Kingdom business related biographical article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bernard Sunley amp oldid 1173006584, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
