On this day in 1965 the Court of The Barbers' Company met at Tallow Chandlers’ Hall. The Clerk reported with deep regret the death of Past Master J. P. Denny on the 19th September 1965 aged 96. He had been a member of the Livery for 75 years. The Court stood in silence as a tribute to his memory.
At the same meeting, the Court expressed their satisfaction at the election of Past Master Alderman Sir Lionel Denny – J. P. Denny’s son – to the high office of Lord Mayor for the ensuing year. Sir Lionel was Master of the Company at the outbreak of the Second World War and was responsible for the dispersal of the Company’s treasures, saving them from destruction when the Hall was destroyed by incendiary raids in 1940. He served as Lord Mayor of London in 1965 and, during his year in office, laid the foundation stone of the present Hall. He was appointed Barber Emeritus in 1981.
A portrait of Sir Lionel in Lord Mayor’s robes and wearing his chain of office hangs in the Court Room at Barber-Surgeons’ Hall. It was painted by Terence Cuneo in 1972 and contains the artist’s signature mouse which can be found hidden in the folds of robes.
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