Obituary of Sir Frederick Wills 1838

OBITUARY

SIR FREDERICK WILLS

Sir Frederick Wills, a member of the famous firm of tobacco manufacturers at Bristol, died yesterday morning at Cannes, where he had been staying for the benefit of his health. At the annual meeting of the Imperial Tobacco Company on Tuesday last it was stated that his condition had improved, but heart trouble developed during Wednesday.
Sir Frederick, who was born in 1838, was the son of the late Henry Overton Wills, and was a cousin of Lord Winterstoke, Sir Edward Payson Wills being his brother. He was educated at the Independent College, Taunton, Amersham School, Buckinghamshire, and married in 1867, Anne, daughter of the late Rev. James Hamilton. From school he went direct into the tobacco factory, of which his father was one of the founders. In 1864 he was sent from Bristol to London to manage the branch just opened, and he remained in London for ten years, during which the business increased rapidly. He returned to the Bristol business, resuming part-management for 15 years, at the end of which he was again put in charge of the London branch. In 1892 the firm was converted into a limited liability company, of which he became director, and eight years ago he was appointed director of the newly formed Imperial Tobacco Company. In 1885 he was elected to the Bristol City Council.

For many years he was a prominent member of the Liberal party, and in 1882 he was president of the Anchor Society, whose annual gathering on Colston Day is generally the occasion of a speech by some Cabinet Minister. Shortly after that he found himself unable to accept Mr. Gladstone's Home Rule policy and became a Unionist. In 1895 he unsuccessfully opposed Mr. Thomas Owen, another Bristolian, for the Parliamentary representation of Launceston, and in 1898 he was defeated in the same division by Mr. Fletcher Moulton. At the general election of 1900 Sir Frederick succeeded Mr. Lewis Fry as Unionist member for North Bristol, which he represented until ill health compelled him to retire in 1906. In the following year he was created a Baronet.
Sir Frederick for a long period took an active part in the public life of Bristol, especially in art and music; and even after his retirement from Parliament he continued to show interest in many political and philanthropic movements, and was a prominent supporter of Bristol medical and other charities. He was governor of Guy's Hospital, and gave generously in the neighborhood of Bournemouth, which he made his home. Personally he was a kindly, unostentatious man, who made many friends, while his business capacity was highly regarded in commercial circles, and he is credited with having contributed very largely to the remarkable extension of Messrs. Wills's business. He is succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, Mr. Gilbert Alan Hamilton Wills.