Officers of the Company
Vivian W H Bendall MRICS FNAEA Hon FASI IRRV – Master
Vivian Bendall joined the Livery in June 1995 and was appointed Master at the Court Meeting on 8th December 2011. He is a Chartered Surveyor and sole principal of Bendall Chartered Surveyors, of Croydon, which has been a family practice since it was established in 1924. In the 1960’s and 70’s he was a Croydon Councillor holding chairmanship of various committees and he was a member of the Greater London Council in the early 1970’s being vice Chairman of the North East Area Planning Board. In the two general elections of 1974 he unsuccessfully fought the parliamentary constituency of Hertford and Stevenage. In 1975 he was elected as Parliamentary Candidate for Ilford North which he won in by-election in 1978. He held the Parliamentary seat for 19 years until 1997.
Vivian's interests are cricket and motor racing. His grandfather was a former Past Master of the Fruiterers. He was former Chairman of the Livery Committee and, at present, Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the Company. His partner is Angela who is also a Liveryman of the Company.
Guy C D Harrison MIPA MABRP - Prime Warden
Guy Harrison joined the Livery on 24th March 1987 and was elected as an Assistant to the Court in December 2003. He has for many years been a Trustee and the Hon. Treasurer of The Glass Sellers Charity Fund and is passionate about the many good causes that The Charity Fund supports. He is an Insolvency practitioner and was fortunate to have been trained by Booth White & Co, who provided an excellent training in all Insolvency matters.
He is a keen conservationist and together with his family they set up The Jeffery Harrison Memorial Trust, which was a memorial to his late Father. The object was to continue the research work that his Father and Grand Father had undertaken at The Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve. The Reserve is now the ‘blueprint’ for the restoration of a Gravel Pit and is a good example as to how industry and conservation can co-exist side by side. The Reserve and the Trust are now managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust, the family having retired after managing the Reserve for twenty years. It is a popular tourist attraction in the Sevenoaks area. Funds were raised to appoint a Warden, open the Reserve to the public and to build the Interpretive Center, which houses a large collection of mounted birds and animals and many interesting artefacts that have been found on the site. Funding was always a problem and Guy Incorporated his love of Paintings with Fundraising and many very successful art exhibitions have been held at The Reserve and yes he did purchase one or two!
He is also a passionate Gardener and was lucky enough to have bought a property where there had been a beautiful garden and although it was neglected when he obtained the property, he is now in the process of restoring it to its former glory. What is more the property includes a Calvinist Baptist Grave yard which has to be kept tidy at all times.
Andrew Parmley MusM, PhD, Hon FGS, Alderman - Renter Warden
Andrew Parmley joined the Glass Sellers Company in 2002 and was appointed an Assistant to the Court in 2009.
He studied music at Manchester, London and Cambridge Universities, and at the Royal Academy of Music. After a spell of working as Musical Director at Blackpool Pleasure Beach he became a teacher and is, at present, Head of Senior School at The Harrodian School in Barnes, West London.
After ten years as a member of the Court of Common Council (the local authority for the City of London) Andrew was elected Alderman for the Ward of Vintry in December 2001. He has been Chairman of the Board of Governors of both the City of London School for Girls and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. At present he is Chairman of the Montessori St Nicholas Charity and a member of the Board of the Barbican Centre.
Andrew has been the Organist at St James’ Garlickhythe for 30 years. He is a member of the following livery companies: Musicians' Company (Master), Vintners' Company (Court Assistant), Joiners & Ceilers' Company (Court Assistant), Water Conservators' Company (Hon. Liveryman), Horners' Company (Hon. Freeman), and the Parish Clerks' Company (Master 2006-07).
Gwenllian Rhys FRSA – Master’s Assistant
Gwen was appointed to the new role of Master’s Assistant in December 2011 having joined the Court in June 2008.
Clothed in the Livery in December 1993, shortly after the Company agreed to admit women, her involvement goes back to 1983 when she accompanied Liveryman Peter Rawlinson to Livery events.
She has undertaken a number of tasks within the Company and is currently serving for the second time on the F&GPC.
Gwen’s City connections include membership of the Queenhithe Ward Club and in 2003 she founded Women in the City, an award-winning organisation that promotes, recognises and rewards female talent. Its Annual Lunch is one of the City’s signature events. In 2011 she formed the Women in the City Foundation supporting individuals to make better informed and more aspirational career choices. In 2009, Gwen was named Management Champion by the CMI City Branch.
A Town Councillor in Brackley, Northamptonshire, Gwen is Chair of the Planning Committee and sits on a number of Working Parties. She is a fellow of the RSA, mentors young people and has recently become a Trustee of the Brackley Feoffee Fund.
