{{short description|British navy officer and businessman}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Simon Warrender | honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|UK|DSC}} | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date|1922|08|11|df=yes}} | birth_place = Mayfair, London, England | death_date = {{death date and age|2011|05|08|1922|08|11|df=yes}} | death_place = Melbourne, Australia | education = | father = Victor Warrender | relatives = John Warrender (brother) | spouse = {{marriage|Pamela Myer|1950|1986|end=div.}} | children = 2+ | module = {{Infobox military person | embed = yes | branch = Royal Navy | branch_label = Service | unit = Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve<br/>{{HMS|Savage|G20|6}} | rank = | battles = World War II | battles_label= Wars | commands = }}}} '''Simon George Warrender''' DSC (11 August 1922 – 8 May 2011) was a Royal Navy officer and businessman. He was decorated for his actions in World War II, and immigrated to Australia after the war's end, when he was involved in the aviation industry. He married into the Myer family, and he and his wife Pamela were prominent on the Melbourne social scene.
==Early life and education== Warrender was the second son of Victor Warrender and the former Dorothy Rawson (daughter of Richard Rawson). He was born at his parents' house in Mayfair; his father was a Conservative Party politician, and in 1942 was raised to the peerage as Baron Bruntisfield. His godfather was Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis.<ref name=schwartz2011/>
Warrender grew up at Exton Hall in Rutland, and attended Ludgrove School and Eton College, where he displayed a talent for fencing.<ref name=schwartz2011>{{cite news |last1=Schwartz |first1=Larry |title=Blueblood marched to own drum: OBITUARIES |work=The Age |date=11 June 2011}}</ref><ref name=tele>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/naval-obituaries/8702850/Simon-Warrender.html Obituary: Simon Warrender], ''The Telegraph'', 15 August 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2017.</ref>
==Naval career== In 1939, Warrender joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on a whim, despite his parents' objections. After training at {{HMS|King Alfred|1939 shore establishment|6}}, he was posted to the minelayer {{HMS|Manxman|M70|6}}. He commanded a flotilla of boats in the Battle of Madagascar, and later took part in relieving the Siege of Malta.<ref name=tele/>
In 1943, Warrender transferred to the destroyer {{HMS|Savage|G20|6}}, which formed part of an Arctic convoy for the following two years. He was ''Savage<nowiki>'</nowiki>''s torpedo control officer during the Battle of the North Cape, and helped sink the German battleship ''Scharnhorst'', for which he was awarded the Distinguish Service Cross (DSC). In 1944, Warrender was posted to Melbourne, Australia, as a flag lieutenant to help prepare for the arrival of the British Pacific Fleet.<ref name=tele/>
Towards the end of the war he was stationed in Hong Kong, where he helped relieve the POW camp at Sham Shui Po and re-establish British administration.<ref name=tele/>
==Life in Australia== Warrender took to flying after returning to civilian life, and in 1949 resolved to fly to Australia. His flight, in a single-engine Percival Proctor, took 34 days and was widely reported upon by Australian newspapers. It was a marketing stunt for his aircraft company, Sponson Developments.<ref> [http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/229771433 Lord's son here to sell planes], ''The Sun'', 14 June 1949.</ref>
In June 1950, Warrender married Pamela Myer, the daughter of Australian businessman Sir Norman Myer, in London. The wedding was attended by many leading members of the aristocracy, as well as three members of the Royal Family.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18485601 Royalty At Wedding of Pamela Myer], ''The Sunday Herald'', 18 June 1950.</ref> They decided to settle in Melbourne, where Warrender set up as an insurance broker.<ref name=tele/> The couple also imported four toy poodles from London, making them among the first breeders in Australia.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/43597216 Couple will breed toy poodles], ''The Australian Women's Weekly'', 16 December 1950.</ref>
Warrender and his wife became a fixture on the Melbourne social scene, and counted several other noteworthies among their friends, including future prime minister Harold Holt.<ref name=smh>[http://www.smh.com.au/national/melbourne-life/the-whole-truth-on-liedetector-expert-20110516-1epw8.html Family mourns an honourable man], ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 17 May 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2017.</ref>
He became an Australian citizen in 1967.<ref name=tele/>
He was a member of the exclusive Melbourne Club, but resigned his membership in 1971 to protest the alleged exclusion of Jewish members of his wife's family; he was the first person to resign in the club's history.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110346703 'Anti-Jew policy' in club], ''The Canberra Times'', 3 April 1971.</ref>
He returned to the aviation industry in later life, helping Freddie Laker in his unsuccessful attempt to break into the Australian market in the 1970s, and later chaired Australia World Airways, which purported to be a competitor for Qantas but never went into operation.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122405736 Second carrier to fly by November], ''The Canberra Times'', 25 March 1992.</ref>
==Death and legacy== Warrender died on 8 May 2011. He and his wife had divorced in 1986, but remained close<ref name=smh/> and were lifelong partners.<ref name=carbone2011/>
Pamela M. Warrender, who was the daughter of Sir Norman Myer, founded the Committee for Melbourne,<ref name=carbone2011>{{cite web | last=Carbone | first=Suzanne | title=The whole truth on lie-detector expert | website=The Age | date=16 May 2011 | url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-whole-truth-on-lie-detector-expert-20110516-1epw8.html | access-date=15 January 2024}}</ref> an apolitical member-based organisation that seeks to have a positive impact on the long-term development of Greater Melbourne.<ref>{{cite web | title=Who We Are | website=Committee For Melbourne | date=8 August 2023 | url=https://melbourne.org.au/about-us/who-we-are/ | access-date=15 January 2024}}</ref>
One son, Alexander, predeceased his father.<ref name=carbone2011/> Another son, Simon H. Warrender, founded the Melbourne Prize Trust in 2004, dedicated to awarding arts prizes for urban sculpture, literature, and music created by Melbourne creatives.<ref name=about>{{cite web | title=About | website=Melbourne Prize Trust | url=https://melbourneprizetrust.org/about/ | access-date=15 January 2024}}</ref>
==Publications== In 1973, Warrender published an autobiography, ''Scores of Years'' with a foreword written by politician Jim Cairns.<ref>[http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131700623 WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE], ''The Canberra Times'', 28 December 1973.</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warrender, Simon}} Category:1922 births Category:2011 deaths Category:Royal Navy officers of World War II Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Category:British emigrants to Australia Category:People educated at Eton College Category:Younger sons of barons Category:Businesspeople in aviation Category:Naturalised citizens of Australia Category:Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Category:People educated at Ludgrove School