OLD PLYMOUTH . UK
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WHO WAS WHO IN OLD PLYMOUTH

JOHN FREDERICK WINNICOTT (1855-1948)

John Frederick Winnicott was born in Plymouth on September 8th 1855 and christened on Thursday November 15th 1855 at the Ebenezer Wesleyan Methodist Chapel.

He was the second son of Mr Richard Weeks Winnicott (1822-1877), ironmonger, and his wife Caroline, née Bond, who had married at Saint Andrew's Church on Thursday September 9th 1852.  His older brother, also Mr Richard Weeks Winnicott (18532-1929), was born on Tuesday August 9th 1853.  Their home was at 13 George Street, Plymouth, where his father had his business.

Mr Winnicott married Miss Elizabeth Martha Woods at Saint Andrew's Church, Plymouth, on Wednesday January 26th 1887.

By the time of the 1891 census, they had two daughters, Violet Winnicott, born July 22nd 1889; and Kathleen Winnicott, born March 9th 1891, were living at number 17 Gordon Terrace, Mutley.  Also in the household were two domestic servants, Miss Emma S Perriman and Miss Beatrice A Borlace, and a 49-years-old nurse by the name of Mrs Emma E Hawke, from East Stonehouse.  They were joined by Donald Woods Winnicott on April 7th 1896.  All the children were baptized at Mutley Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on August 19th 1889, April 23rd 1891, and May 16th 1896 respectively.

He was a partner in the firm of Messrs Winnicott Brothers, hardware merchants and manufacturers, of Frankfort Street, Plymouth, and first entered public service as a co-opted member of the Borough Free Library Committee.  In November 1906 he was elected to succeed his brother, Alderman Richard Weeks Winnicott (1853-1929), as Mayor of Plymouth.

It was during this first term as Mayor that he was responsible for welcoming the Prince and Princess of Wales, later King George V and Queen Mary, when they visited the Town on their way to open the Royal Dockyard Extension at Devonport.

During his lifetime he was chairman of the Plymouth Mercantile Association, the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce and the Mount Edgcumbe Training Ship; a trustee of the Plymouth Savings Bank and a member of the managers of the South Devon and East Cornwall Hospital.  He was also vice-president of the Plymouth Conservative Association and a Justice of the Peace.

Following a second term as Mayor in 1921-22, during which he welcomed HRH the Prince of Wales, later Duke of Windsor, upon his return to this country from his historic visit to India, Japan and the Far East, he received his knighthood in the New Year's Honours List 1924.  Mrs Elizabeth Martha Winnicott died on October 11th 1925 and was buried at Efford Cemetery on October 25th 1925.  He placed a stained glass window in the Borough Free  Library in September 1927 as a memorial to his wife.  He took an active part in the establishment of the Didworthy Sanatorium for Consumptives and at the start of the Second World War he donated a shock-proof X-ray machine to the South Devon and East Cornwall Hospital.

On Friday November 9th 1934 Alderman Sir John Frederick Winnicott received the Freedom of the City of Plymouth 'In recognition of the eminent and distinguished service rendered by Alderman Sir John Frederick Winnicott JP, to this city, and in pursuance of the Local Government Act 1933, that the said Sir John Frederick Winnicott JP be and he is hereby admitted an honorary freeman of the City of Plymouth.'

As a "Thank You" for the honour he paid for the canopy to be placed over the Mayflower Memorial stone on the Barbican.

The Winnicott warehouse in Frankfort Street was destroyed during the Blitz of Plymouth in March 1941.  They managed to find premises at number 6 Bedford Terrace, off Tavistock Road at North Hill, but became wholesale only. 

Sir John Frederick Winnicott died on December 31st 1948 at his home, "Rockville", Seymour Road, Mannamead, Plymouth.  He was 93 years of age and was survived by one son, Mr Donald Woods Winnicott, who had nothing to do with the business, and two daughters.

The business passed into the management of the another two brothers, Mr Victor Richard Winnicott (1887-1955) and Mr Harold Winnicott (1888-1962), the sons of Mr Richard Weeks Winnicott (1853-1929).