James Voase Rank
James Voase Rank (1881–1952)
1881 Born in Hull son of Joseph Rank (1854-1943).
Educated at Hymers College, Hull, and at Weston College, Harrogate.
Trained with a firm of wheat merchants, and then joined his father's company, Joseph Rank, on the commercial side, becoming a prominent wheat buyer on the Baltic exchange.
1907 Made a director of the company
1907 Married Ursula Mary Ferrier; they had a daughter.
James was his father's right-hand man
As managing director, James steadily increased the number of the company's mills, and became a national figure in the milling business.
1926 Divorced his wife
1927 Married a divorcee, Mrs Patricia Edytha Morgan (d. 1954). There were no children of the marriage.
1928–9 President of the Millers' National Association; he devised a scheme for rationalizing the industry, which involved quotas and the buying-in of redundant capacity.
1938 Helped the government to build up a strategic reserve of wheat
Later was director of the Ministry of Food's imported cereals division, a post he continued to hold until his death.
Gave generously to hospitals and charitable institutions
1952 Died at the London Clinic
See Also
Sources of Information
- Biography of Joseph Rank, ODNB