BOSTOCK, Henry John

Bostock was managing director and then chairman of Lotus Ltd, a shoe manufacturer based in Stafford. 

Bostock was born in Stafford on 6 January 1870, the son of Edwin Bostock, a shoe manufacturer. He was educated at King’s School in Chester, and then joined the family firm at the age of seventeen. After completing his apprenticeship, he took over responsibility for sales at Edwin Bostock. He married Eleanora Handley, daughter of a JP from Liverpool, in 1900. 

The usual practice in the shoe industry was for retailers to place advance orders with shoemakers, who would then make and deliver the product. Bostock saw an opportunity for a new model, whereby the shoemaker would hold stock so customers could have their orders fulfilled immediately. With support from the family business, he set up a new company, Lotus Ltd. By 1920 this company had become so successful that Bostock was able to buy out his father, and also a related business, Frederick Bostock in Northampton. Bostock served as managing director of Lotus and, from 1923, was also chairman. He resigned as managing director in 1945, and finally retired in 1953. 

Bostock served as a JP for Stafford, and was also mayor of Stafford and High Sheriff of Staffordshire. He was awarded a CBE for services to industry. He died in Stafford on 27 December 1956. 

Burke’s Peerage, ‘Henry John Bostock’, http://www.thepeerage.com/p35425.htm.  

‘Henry John Bostock (1870-1956), http://www.bostock.net/tree/bostgen/names/duff/henry1870.html  

The Times, Obituary, 8 January 1957. 

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