Sir David Kenneth Rowe-Ham (19 December 1935 – 21 July 2020), until about 1959 David Kenneth Ham, was a British chartered accountant who served as Lord Mayor of London, Master of the Company of Chartered Accountants, and President of the Crown Agents.

Early life Born in Brighton in December 1935, as David K. Ham,Births Mar 1936: "HAM David K / Mundy / Brighton 2b 300", FreeBMD, 3 November 2025 the only son of Kenneth Henry Rowe Ham and his wife Muriel Phyllis Mundy, as a child the young Ham lived in Worcester.National Registration Act 1939 (England and Wales) Register for Worcester Royal Infirmary, Castle Street, Worcester, October 1939, page 3 He was educated at the Dragon School and Charterhouse."Rowe-Ham, Sir David (Kenneth)", Who's Who online edition, December 2007, accessed 3 November 2025 In July 1955, as David Kenneth Ham, a cadet from the Mons Officer Cadet School, he was commissioned into the Royal Armoured Corps as a second lieutenant on the National Service list.The London Gazette, Supplement 40536, 15 July 1955, p. 4081 In October 1956, he transferred as Second Lieutenant D. K. Ham into the Emergency Reserve of Officers of the Mobile Defence Corps;The London Gazette, Supplement 40917, 2 November 1956, p. 6257 later, with a promotion to Lieutenant and a change of name to Rowe-Ham, he received further Emergency Reserve commissions in February 1957,The London Gazette, Supplement 41169, 10 September 1957, p. 5280 February 1959,The London Gazette (Supplement 41646), 27 February 1959, p. 1473 and April 1960.The London Gazette, Supplement 42002, 5 April 1960, p. 2535

In 1957, Kenneth, Muriel, and David K. Ham were voters together in Edgbaston.Birmingham Edgbaston Constituency, Polling District CA (79) — Edgbaston Ward, p. 3 (344, Hagley Road)

Career As Ham, Rowe-Ham was articled for five years at Carter and Company, a large provincial accountancy practice, and qualified as a chartered accountant from Edgbaston in 1962."Ham, David Kenneth, A.C.A., a1962, 344 Hagley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham", in The Accountant, Volume 146, Part 2 (Lafferty Publications, 1962), p. 459"David Rowe-Ham, later Sir David", Accountancy, Vol. 104 (1989), p. 93 The same year, in the name of Kenneth Rowe-Ham, his father was managing director of Bradley and Co. Ltd., hollow-ware manufacturers.Hardware Trade Journal, Vol. 266 (1962), p. 47

In the 1970s, Rowe-Ham was elected as a member of the Court of Common Council of the City of London Corporation and was a consultant to Touche Ross from 1984 to 1993. He was Sheriff of the City of London for 1984–1985 and Lord Mayor of London for 1986–1987. He was also Master of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for 1985–1986. "Past Masters", The Chartered Accountants Company, accessed 4 November 2025

During his year as Lord Mayor, Rowe-Ham initiated the Lord Mayor's Dragon Awards, awarded for community engagement. At a banquet in the City for King Fahd of Saudi Arabia in March 1987, Rowe-Ham "stressed the esteem in which the British people hold the Kingdom and its people".Saudi Arabia, Vol. 4, No. 4 (April 1987) p. 2 He also hosted King Hassan II of Morocco.Valerie Hope, My Lord Mayor: Eight Hundred Years of London's Mayoralty (1989), p. 213

In 1995, The Director described Rowe-Ham as "a leading light in the City with a wealth of directorships".The Director, Vol. 49, Issues 1-5 (1995), p. 46 In March 1997, he became the first President of the Crown Agents when they were converted into a private sector company limited by guarantee, with D. H. Probert as the first Chairman.Barrie Ireton, Britain's International Development Policies: A History of DFID and Overseas Aid (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), p. 157 In 1999, he was chairman of Brewin Dolphin."Business News", The Times, 17 February 1999 From 2006 until the end of 2010 he was Chairman of Arden Partners, of Edgbaston, a stockbroking and financial services company."Arden Partners", The Waterlow Stock Exchange Yearbook (2009), p. 357Masa Serdarevic, "Arden Partners chairman to step down", Financial Times, 11 December 2010, accessed 4 November 2025 From before 1991 until he resigned in 2018, he was a director of Olayan Europe Limited, of 140 Piccadilly.David ROWE-HAM, Company Information at gov.uk, accessed 4 November 2025

Rowe-Ham continued for many years to hold office as an Alderman of the City of London and in October 2002 and May 2004 stepped in as "Lord Mayor Locum Tenens", acting as a deputy for Lord Mayors while they were indisposed."Court Circular", The Times, Friday 25 October 2002, accessed 4 November 2025"Court Circular", The Times, Thursday 27 May 2004, accessed 4 November 2025

Personal life In 1963, in Stratford upon Avon, Rowe-Ham married Elizabeth Jane Aston,"David K. Rowe-Ham / Elizabeth J. Aston", FreeBMD, accessed 3 November 2025 and they had one son. In 1980, he married secondly Sandra Celia Nicholls, the widow of Ian Glover (died 1975), and with her had a second son, as well as gaining a young step-son.GLOVER Sandra C. / Rowe-Ham", FreeBMD, accessed 4 November 2025

He died on 21 July 2020, while living at Virginia Water.

Honours Officer of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, July 1985The London Gazette, Issue 50206, 23 July 1985, p. 10118 Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, October 1986The London Gazette, Issue 50691, 21 October 1986, p. 13575

References