Lord Kitchener

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Biographical Information

Lord Kitchener, the past President of Garden Organic's passed away on 16 December 2011, aged 92. "Henry Kitchener was a wonderful supporter of the organisation, having joined Lawrence Hills’ band of enthusiasts in July 1958, as member number 171, and became its president in 1973, a position he was to occupy for the next thirty-five years. Jackie and I first met him when we started working for HDRA in the spring of 1974. We were housed in a small caravan, at the far end of the Trial Ground among the comfrey and chickens; our new home provided by Lawrence as a perk of the job, in lieu of wages! Lord Kitchener, or Henry, as he preferred to be known, launched a fundraising appeal to build a bungalow for the Hills, so that we could move into their old house. HDRA members rallied to the cause and the required sum was raised in record time, to our immense gratitude...

"His involvement with the organic movement was wider than his work with HDRA. He was a founder member of the Soil Association and, in 1960, he provided financial backing for ‘Wholefood of Baker Street’ “ the first shop in London to sell organic food. It did well, with support from luminaries such as Yehudi Menuhin, but proved to be commercially unviable, despite repeated financial interventions from Henry, and closed in 2001..."