Background
BISHOP, George was born on October 15, 1913 in Wigan, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester). Son of late J. and M. Bishop.
BISHOP, George was born on October 15, 1913 in Wigan, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester). Son of late J. and M. Bishop.
Bishop attended Ashton-in-Makerfield Grammar School and the to read Economics and Government under Harold Laski.
Bishop"s first job was for a Quaker organisation in South Wales which assisted the unemployed through subsistence production. On the outbreak of the second world war he moved to the Ministry of Food as a statistician, subsequently running its Emergency Services division. After the war Bishop became a private secretary to ministers of food Ben Smith and John Strachey.
Bishop was active in winding up the disastrous groundnut oil scheme.
In 1959 he was promoted to Deputy Secretary, then the youngest such appointment ever. In 1961 Bishop moved to the then sugar company Booker McConnell, becoming vice-chairman in 1970 and chairman in 1972.
He was knighted in 1975 and retired in 1979. Having climbed his first mountain at the age of 8, Bishop regularly climbed in North Wales, the Lake District and Scotland.
Foreign the Royal Geographical Society, of which he was president 1983-1987, he mounted a scientific expedition to the Kimberley area of Western Australia.
He made the first crossing of the King Leopold Range there with Una.
Panel for Civil Service Manpower Review 1968-1970, Royal Commission, on the Press 1974-1977. Council of China, Burma, India Theatre of Operations 1973-1979.
Married 1st Marjorie Woodruff (divorced in 1961), one daughter. Married 2nd Una Padel in 1961.