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- George John Frederick Dawson (1907–1985) was a British businessman and convicted fraudster who became one of the country's first post-war millionaires by dealing in army surplus vehicles and scrap metal. His wealth and lavish lifestyle resulted in him being dubbed the "Cockney millionaire" by the press. Dawson first went into business as a motor vehicle agent, dealing in second-hand vehicles. In 1938 he was convicted on fraud charges relating to his business and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. Dawson made his first major deal in army surplus in 1946, buying 12,000 British army vehicles from the Ministry of Supply for £360,000. A journalist later reported that the amount paid for the vehicles was only 10% of their true value. In addition, the civil servant who had negotiated the sale became a director of another of Dawson's companies while still working at the Ministry. Dawson made his largest surplus deal in 1950: the purchase of U.S. Army material in Germany comprising 18,000 vehicles and trailers and 6,500 tons of scrap metal for $3,200,000 (£1,143,000). In 1953 during a dispute between the British and Icelandic governments over fisheries limits, Dawson reached an agreement with Icelandic trawler owners to land and sell their fish in Britain. Although seven landings were made, Dawson's venture was ultimately unsuccessful and he later said it had cost him £100,000. Dawson was involved in various business deals from 1954 until 1957, at which point he was declared bankrupt. In 1959 he was convicted on fraud charges relating to these deals and received a six-year jail sentence, later reduced to four years on appeal. Dawson was married twice and had six children. His second wife was Olga Mallet, née Mironoff, mother of Tania Mallet and aunt of Helen Mirren. (en)
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- 40262 (xsd:nonNegativeInteger)
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- Bermondsey, London, England (en)
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- Charged with fraud and conspiracy in 1938 and 1959 (en)
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- 1938 (xsd:integer)
- (en)
- 1.262304E8
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- Westminster, London, England (en)
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- Deals in army surplus vehicles and scrap metal (en)
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- (en)
- Florence Redford (en)
- Olga Mallet née Mironoff (en)
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- George John Frederick Dawson (1907–1985) was a British businessman and convicted fraudster who became one of the country's first post-war millionaires by dealing in army surplus vehicles and scrap metal. His wealth and lavish lifestyle resulted in him being dubbed the "Cockney millionaire" by the press. Dawson first went into business as a motor vehicle agent, dealing in second-hand vehicles. In 1938 he was convicted on fraud charges relating to his business and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. (en)
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- George Dawson (businessman) (en)
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