Owen Philipps
Toronto Daily Star, November 21 1931
Owen Philipps, 1st Baron Kylsant (1863-1937) bought his first ship in 1889 with help from his older brother. He went on from there to buy a controlling interest in more than twenty other companies, including the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and the White Star Line. He was arrested early in 1931 for "Publishing a document with intent to induce a person to advance property", which violated Section 84 of the Larceny Act (1864).
Lord Kylsant's appeals were exhausted at the time of this photo, and he was hauled off to Wormwood Scrubs to serve ten months in the clink. According to his obituary in the TImes, on his release in August 1932 he was greeted as follows:
On his return to Coomb he was given a warm welcome and his car was drawn by 40 men at a running pace for about a quarter of a mile to the entrance of the house, and passed under an arch of laurel and evergreen which had been built over the gates.
Most ex-convicts don't end their terms in this way.
When Lord Kylsant passed away, his hereditary peerage ended with him, as he had fathered three daughters and no sons.
Created August 11, 2025.