Donald Stokes
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Lieutenant-Colonel Donald Stokes, Baron Stokes TD |
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|---|---|
| Born |
Donald Gresham Stokes 22 March 1914 Plymouth, Devon, England |
| Died | 21 July 2008 (aged 94) |
| Alma mater | Harris Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | Head of British Leyland Motor Corporation, 1968-1975 |
| Title | President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers |
| Term | 1972 |
| Predecessor | Robert Lank Lickley |
| Successor | John William Atwell |
| Spouse(s) | Laura Elizabeth Courteney Lamb (1914-1995) |
| Children | y |
| Parent(s) | Harry Potts Stokes Mary Elizabeth Gresham Yates/Stokes |
| Awards | Commandre de l'Ordre de Leopold II |
Lieutenant-Colonel Donald Gresham Stokes, Baron Stokes TD (22 March 1914 – 21 July 2008) was an English industrialist. He was the head of British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BL) from 1968 to 1975.
Stokes was born in Plymouth, and educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton, Devon. In 1930 he commenced an engineering apprenticeship with Leyland Motors, which included further education at the Harris Institute of Technology in Preston. During the Second World War, Stokes served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In the early summer of 1939 he married Laura Elizabeth Courteney Lamb. Excepting the break for military service between 1939 and 1945, Stokes stayed with Leyland throughout his career, although he also served in the Territorial Army. In 1968 he was appointed chairman and managing director of British Leyland, a challenging role much in the public eye at the time.
In 1977 Michael Edwardes was appointed chief executive at British Leyland, but Stokes remained on the board till 1979.
Stokes was awarded with a knighthood in the 1965 Birthday Honours, having the honour conferred by The Queen on 11 November. He was created a Life Peer taking the title Baron Stokes, of Leyland in the County Palatine of Lancaster on 9 January 1969 and sat as a Crossbencher in the House of Lords. By the time he died he had become the second eldest member.
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