William Pearce

Sir William Pearce (18 March 1853 – 24 August 1932) was an English chemical manufacturer and Liberal Party politician in the East End of London, in England. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Limehouse constituency from 1906 to 1922. He played cricket as an amateur for Kent County Cricket Club and Essex County Cricket Club in his 20s, making three first-class appearances, all of them for Kent. Family and education Pearce was born in Poplar, London, the son of William Pearce, a chemical manufacturer based in East London. He was educated at the Royal College of Chemistry and School of Mines and at the Royal College of Science in South Kensington. In 1885, he married Ethel Alexandra, the daughter of Edwin Neame from Selling, Kent. They had four daughters. Career Pearce followed his father into the chemical trade. He became a director of Spencer, Chapman & Messel, Ltd which was located in Silvertown. He later became a Vice-President of the Federation of British Industries and was a Fellow of the Chemical Society. He also served as the first Treasurer of the Association of British Chemical Manufacturers which was established in October 1916 to encourage co-operation in the industry in the face of effective co-ordination of the sector by wartime Germany. He was later elected a member of the Council of the London Chamber of Commerce. Politics