Harold Mackintosh, 1st Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax

Harold Vincent Mackintosh, 1st Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax (June 8 1891, Halifax, West Yorkshire - December 27 1964, Norwich) was a British peer.

Early life

He was the son of John and Violet Mackintosh who had a toffee factory on "Queens Road" in Halifax, then Albion Mills and also in the USA, Canada, Germany and Australia. He was educated at Halifax New School. Instead of going to university, he spent a few years in Krefeld in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany where he ran a Mackintosh toffee factory, and learnt the language. He was a member of the German international hockey team, prior to the First World War. During the First World War, he joined the Royal Navel Volunteer Reserve.

Chocolate and confectionery

He was the owner of the confectionary business of John Mackintosh & Sons Ltd from 1920 when his father died of a heart attack. The company John Mackintosh & Sons Ltd was floated in March 1921. He was involved in the amalgamation of a group of Halifax building societies into the Halifax Building Society in 1928.

In September 1931, he narrowly avoided merging the company with Rowntrees of York. Both companies already had a joint subsidiary in the Republic of Ireland.

As a result of a lunchtime meeting at the Savoy Hotel, he bought the A.J. Caley confectionery company in Norwich from Unilever in 1932. The Caleys site is now the Chapelfield shopping centre. This takeover of Caleys helped the Mackintosh company to expand its range of products notably changing its reliance on toffee to products with chocolate toffee such as "Quality Street" in 1936 and "Rolo". To launch "Quality Street", he had a full page advertisement on the front of the "Daily Mail" on May 2 1936. Hi brother Eric managed the Caleys factory.

National Savings

He was Chairman of the National Savings Committee from 1943, becoming President in 1958. In 1956, under his leadership, National Savings introduced Premium Bonds.

Recognition

In 1922, he was knighted when he was 31, one of the youngest ever people to be knighted for his work with Sunday schools. In 1935 he was made a baronet, in 1948 he became Lord Mackintosh of Halifax (a barony), and in 1957 he became Viscount Mackintosh of Halifax. In 1948, he was given an honorary LLD by the University of Leeds.

On "Unthank Road" in Norwich is "Harold Mackintosh House".

UEA

He served as Chancellor of the University of East Anglia between 1962 and 1964, before the university was actually founded..

Publications

* "Early English Figure Pottery", 1938

Personal life

In 1916, he married Constance Emily Stoneham. She was born on the same day as him, and they had a happy marriage. They had three children: Harold, John (born October 7 1921) and Mary.

He was a devout Methodist. He was a keen supporter of the Sunday School Movement, becoming President of the National Sunday School Union from May 3 1924 until 1925, then World Sunday School Association. In December 1927 he became President of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society. In 1960 he became President of the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association. From 1942-6, he was President of the Advertising Association. He also supported the British Empire Cancer Campaign. He had a large collection of Toby jugs, and had an extensive knowledge of Ralph Wood and Staffordshire pottery. His son John attended an American university as he felt no British university was prepared to the necessary standard in Business Administration.

From 1934-42, he lived at [http://www.cony-hall.co.uk/history.htm Conynghan Hall] near Harrogate. Then they lived at "Greystones" in Luddenden. In 1947, he moved to Thickthorn Hall, south-west of Norwich. He left £218,404 in his will. His wife died in 1975

External links

* [http://members.aol.com/calderdale/mmm5.html Biography]
* [http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/features/His-creative-confections-earned-Halifax.4087475.jp Early history of Mackintosh May 2008 "Halifax Courier"]