Charles Marcus Mander

Sir Charles Marcus Mander, 3rd Baronet (22 September 1921 – 9 August 2006) was an industrialist, property developer, landowner and farmer. He was known as Marcus Mander to his family and friends.

Charles Marcus Mander was the only son of Charles Arthur Mander by Monica Neame, of Kent, born at Kilsall Hall, Tong, Shropshire. He was educated at Wellesley House School, Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, but did not complete his degree following the outbreak of war.

After officer training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he was commissioned in the Coldstream Guards in World War II, serving in North Africa, Belgium, Germany and Italy where, following the Salerno landings, he was gravely wounded in the fierce fighting at Calabritto on the slopes of Monte Camino, in October 1943.

From 1945, he was a director of Mander Brothers, the family paint, property and inks conglomerate founded in Wolverhampton in 1773. He was soon responsible for its property portfolio, and promoted the redevelopment of the centre of Wolverhampton, where in 1968 the Mander Centre and Mander Square were established on the site of the Georgian family works. Sir Charles was High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1962-63 before two City posts with property groups, first as chairman of Arlington Securities (sold to British Aerospace) and then as chairman of London & Cambridge Investments. He also developed a township for 11,500 people at Perton outside Wolverhampton on the family agricultural estate, which had been requisitioned as an airfield during World War II.

In the year 2000, he sold part of his estate at Little Barrow, Donnington, near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, in order to meet underwriting losses at the Lloyd's insurance market. According to The Times newspaper (24 June 2000), Lady Mander had been offered a settlement by Lloyd's, but refused, which resulted in her being declared bankrupt. The mansion house was then sold to meet a debt believed to be well over one million pounds.

Sir Charles converted to Roman Catholicism following a business visit to Damascus in 1955. Shortly after, following family disagreement, he resigned his directorship with Mander Brothers.