Alexander Boyd and the Early Years.

I have not been able to find out exactly when this story begins. According to the firm's notepaper it was established in 1860 but other evidence suggests that Alexander Boyd opened his first shop in Lisburn at No. 9 Cross Row in 1861. He was of farming stock and came from the Bailiesmills district; in 1861 he was just twenty years old. At that time Lisburn had a population of 7,400 and there were 1,200 houses. The only bank was the Northern Bank in Castle Street and the town was run by the Town Commissioners who met in the Court House in Castle Street by permission of the Marquis of Hertford who owned most of the town and the country round it. Not that be lived in Lisburn or had any love for it except as a source of income. On his one and only visit he said "If I ever see this place again it will be too soon". During 1871 progress was being made in the town, a proper piped water supply was being laid on, enquiries were being made by the Town Commissioners for the purchase of two urinals to be placed in the public streets and the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland visited Lisburn and graciously received a public address

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Alexander Boyd was a druggist but, as was customary in those days, his business ranged over a much wider field. Druggist, grocer, wine merchant, spirit dealer, insurance agent, his varied business grew and prospered. So much so that in 1871 he opened a second shop at No. 19 Market Square, Lisburn which, according to the opening announcement had been "fitted up in the most approved manner". Also in the announcement he begged to thank his friends for the large share of favours he has received since commencing business and solicits a continuance while he pledges himself to unabated efforts to merit same.

He continued to prosper and, although no figures are available, there is evidence to suggest that his annual profits were around £1,000. Of course labour was cheap in those days and for the first ten years the business was run mainly with the aid of apprentices whose terms of service-five years and £5O -would these days hardly be termed princely. In 1871 when he opened his second shop Alexander Boyd employed six apprentices and three assistants whose wages were in the region of £50 per annum.

One of his 1871 apprentices was James McKeown who left two years later and founded the present firm of James McKeown & Co., Ltd., Bakers and Grocers. Alex Brown, another of the 1871 vintage, left at the end of his term in 1876 to commence his own business and shortly afterwards was the recipient of a typically acid letter from Alexander Boyd, his late employer:

  "I have heard that yon are looking after my customers in a pretty general may lately. Well, I don't deny the right of any one to do the best for themselves but they should first do honest themselves .I will be obliged to you for the amount due by you to me. In the event of it not being paid within one week I shall think it my duty to protect myself in a manner perhaps not agreeable to you.

Respy,
     A. Boyd".

On 21st September, 1872 an event of great significance to the future of the firm occurred in the appointment of James Andrew Hanna as an assistant. James A. Hanna also came of farming stock and was born in 1852 in Ballydougherty, Co. Armagh. He served his apprenticeship to the grocery trade in Henry's of Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan. Although he was only twenty years old when he came to Lisburn he was soon to become more of a manager than an assistant and Alexander Boyd gradually came to rely more and more on the young man. Indeed by 1878 James A. Hanna was virtually running the business. Alexander Boyd, a popular and convivial resident of Lisburn, had other things to do. The merchants of Lisburn, had a more leisurely life in those days.
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Although hours were long the normal practice was to spend the afternoon discussing the affairs of the day with one's cronies in one of the local hostelries or the News Room.

In 1867Alexaner joined St. John's Masonic  Lodge No. 178 of which a John McBride was Secretary and John Reid, Worshipful Master. The Lodge was favoured by the merchants of Lisburn and no doubt Alexander Boyd found himself among friends. Indeed he was to become Worshipful Master on two  occasions, in 1872 and 1877.

  On 1st November, 1874 Alexander Boyd bought "Thornhill" from John McBride, presumably the Secretary of the Masonic Lodge, for £810 held forever at a yearly rent of £6.10.0 payable to Sir Richard Wallace, the Marquis of Hertford's successor.

"Thornhill", an imposing villa on the Magheralave Road beside the Ulster Provincial School, now Friends School, was, in 1858, occupied by Mr. Pennington and prior to Alexander Boyd's purchase, was called Prospect Cottage. A century later it was acquired by Friends School for use as a Preparatory Department. It is now, appropriately enough called "Prospect House". In 1876 a sharp controversy arose between the School Committee and Alexander Boyd over an angle of ground taken by the school for a new entrance without Mr. Boyd's knowledge or consent. Finally Alexander Boyd wrote on 9th November 1876:

"I see you admit a responsibility-which had you done sometime ago 'The Friends' might have taken advantage of until things settled themselves. l have been treated to too much 'craft' and  too little candour. All in Lisburn know I am incapable of an act of unkindness ….  One of the gentlemen of your committee calling upon me can settle the matter in five minutes".

Presumably this is what happened because there is no more mention of the matter.

Early in 1877 Henry Major, Alexander Boyd's friend and business associate died. As well as being a dealer in wines and spirits he was agent for a number of Insurance Companies and Alexander Boyd from then on appeared to become more concerned with this side of his business. In June 1879 he negotiated insurance cover for the Railway Hotel, Railway Street, Lisburn. This was to be expected because, although Alexander Boyd owned "Thornhill" he lived most of the time in the Railway Hotel, finding it no doubt a convenient place in which to indulge his ever increasing desire for alcoholic refreshment.

It was there on a Sunday morning in July the following year that he died in the arms of his friend and colleague, James A. Hanna. He was buried in the graveyard at Bailiesmills Reformed Presbyterian Church outside Lisburn.

The Alister Connection and the Partnership

  In his will Alexander Boyd left 'Thornhill' and his business to his sister Jane. Jane was married to James Alister who owned a hem-stitching business at 25 King Street in Belfast. After his marriage James came to reside in Lisburn, first in Stannus Place, then in Bachelors Walk and eventually in 'Thornhill'.

  So in July 1880 the situation was that Alexander's business was owned by his sister Jane but run by James A. Hanna. James Alister had his own business in Belfast and in any event knew little about the drug, wine and grocery trade. So, to ensure that the very profitable business would continue, a partnership was formed between James Alister and James A.. Hanna to continue the business, at this time in Market Square, under the style and title of Alexander Boyd & Co. The Cross Row shop was presumably let and presumably became the property of Jane Alister. Certainly it was let in 1876 to a Mr. Parkinson at £24 per annum.

James A. Hanna, Chairman 1907 - 1920

At the time of his death. Alexander Boyd had in his business stock valued at £4,234.6.0 and debts due to himof £2,200.18.0. On the other hand he had accounts amounting to £5,433.7.9, leaving a balance due to his estate £1,001.16.3 The partnership therefore acquired the goodwill of the business, stock-in-trade an the debts due to Alexander Boyd and took over responsibility for the accounts due. The balance of £1,001.16.8 became the capital of the partnership. This was allocated between the partners, James A. Hanna's share being £54.10.0 the amount of salary due to him at Alexander Boyd's death and the balance £947.6.8 being James Alister's share, left presumably by Alexander to his sister Jane.

Although these are the figures which formed the base for subsequent calculations they are not in accordance with the partnership agreement made on 26th March, 1881 but dated 1880. According to the agreement the capital of the partnership was £1,500 all provided by James Alister. The difference is probably accounted for by an agreement between the partners to set off the value of fixtures, etc. against any loss in the collection of debts due. The three most important provisions in the agreement were, first, that the profits were to be divided equally between the partners without reference to the capital provided, second, that each partner was to be paid a salary of £200 per annum in exchange for giving his exclusive time and attention to the business and, third, that the capital of the partnership could by agreement be added to at any time by either of the partners. Subsequent events were to show just how important these provisions were. The partnership was to last initially for ten years.
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The new venture was a great success. Profits for the year to 31st July 1881 amounted to £1,164.9.1. James Hanna's drawings for the year, an impecunious young bachelor, were £65.10.0 while James Alister drew £198.0.1, both men adding considerable sums to their capital accounts. This pattern continued throughout the decade. Surplus funds were put on deposit in the Northern Bank and, oddly enough, in the Standard Bank of South Africa. Money was lent to Andrew Millar and Co. Ltd., Jam Manufacturers of Belfast and a number of houses were bought in various parts of Lisburn. One of these was Castle View, a villa on the North Circular Road purchased in 1883 for £525. In 1886 this house was bought from the partnership by James A. Hanna who in 1885 had married Isabella McComb, the daughter of an Antrim doctor. They lived in this house for all their married fife and, indeed, their elder son lived in it afterwards until 1948 when he went to live in Donaghadee.

During this period a branch shop was opened at No. 35 Market Square, Lisburn. An advertisement in an Ulster Directory published in the eighties lists the occupations of the firm as Grocers, Tea and Coffee Dealers, Druggists and Wine & Foreign Produce Importers. The tea was strong, pungent and rich flavoured, the family medicines strictly pure and full strength and the old Douro port wines of choice bouquet and fine flavour, eminently suitable for invalids.

The acquisition of more commodious premises was the next aim of the flourishing partnership and in July 1888 tentative offers were made for the purchase of two other shops in Market Square. These negotiations were unsuccessful but in June the following year Dr. Samuel Musgrave's house and dispensary at the corner of Railway Street and Castle Street together with three houses in Castle Street were bought for £700 and a yearly rent for ever of £100.

This was a long established dispensary. It is referred to in the reminiscences of Mrs. George Wilson, an observant lady with a vivid and fairly accurate memory who lived all her life in Lisburn. She remembered it as, in 1858, having two bow windows with black glass in the lower half and coloured bottles above. At that time, she recalled, Dr. Musgrave had a house-keeper and an old manservant who was known as 'Dr. John'.

  Ten years after this purchase the offices next door in Railway Street occupied by R. H. Berryhill were acquired from the Musgraves for a rent of £40 per annum. This was from Sir James Musgrave, Baronet, brother of the doctor, who lived at Drumglass House, Belfast.

The Musgraves were very successful businessmen. James became the moving spirit behind a firm of iron founders and engineers. Samuel followed in the footsteps of his father, also Samuel, in becoming dispensary doctor in Lisburn. Dr. Samuel, Senior, first set up shop as a doctor in Bridge Street, Lisburn in June 1790. He was a supporter of the United Irishmen and was in due course arrested for high treason and brought to Dublin. It is said that he was treated leniently because he used his medical skills to save the life of the jailer's wife –poetic justice? He died in 1884 and Dr. Samuel, junior, died in 1893.

Two other sons, Henry and Edgar, founded the tea and sugar importing firm of H. and E. Musgrave. The author, Forrest Reid, was an apprentice in the firm and had this to say of them:-"Though generosity was not a Musgrave characteristic I liked Henry: towards his brother, Edgar, when I watched him saving the backs of envelopes and lifting little bits of string from the floor, my feeling was more of curiosity". However they were generous in other directions, presenting Musgrave Park, Musgrave Clinic and Riddel Hall to Belfast and the. statue of Brigadier General John Nicholson to Lisburn. The last of the Musgrave, Henry, died on 2nd January 1922. Five years earlier he was made an Honorary Burgess of the City of Belfast Of more immediate interest, in January, 1919, he transferred the remainder of the Musgrave property in Railway Street to Boyd's for a rent in perpetuity of £125 per annum, and to bring this story back to its place in the scale of time-more or less-in 1891 Boyd's owed Musgrave's for tea and sugar £820, in those days a sizeable sum.
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Reverting to Dr. Musgrave's house and dispensary, steps were soon to be taken to make use of the newly acquired property. In May 1889, George Sands, a local architect was commissioned to draw up plans and estimate the cost of a new building. The contract was given to Messrs. D. and P. MacHenry and the erection of Castle Buildings, in the words of a contemporary reporter "One of the must complete, extensive and ornate establishments to be found in any provincial town in Ireland" was soon under way.

In November 1890 the new premises were opened to the public. Castle Buildings was truly a magnificent achievement. The shops were finished in pitch-pine, the elaborate fittings being of oak, walnut, mahogany and ebony with mirror panels. Electric lighting was used-quite an innovation; eight arc lamps of 1,000 candlepower, six of them outside the building, were supplied with current from a generator driven by a Crossley gas engine.

Interior lighting was from wrought iron gas brackets, there were speaking tubes in the shops to the stores upstairs and a hand-operated hoist was used for the movement of goods to and from the two large stores on the first and second floors. The goods entrance was from Railway Street, using part of the present Pharmacy and there was a stable on the first floor in a store in the yard, access being by a wooden ramp. The gas engine had a heavy stone wheel which was started by hand. Hector Hanna, elder son of James A. Hanna, recalls that his father used to start the wheel himself and came home with his veins swollen by the strain. The old wheel is still to be seen in Castle Buildings yard.

The fine carved wood fittings, alas, are no more but the building itself, nearly ninety years later is as impressive as ever. It is doubtful if ever again will be seen such quality of workmanship in a commercial building or the erection of a similar building in such startlingly short time, about twelve months.
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Boyd's - a Limited Company

Although the Musgrave property was acquired by the partnership its initial ten year term was nearing an end and steps were being taken to form the business into a limited company. This had a number of advantages, made possible by the Companies Acts of 1862 and 1867. In a partnership a partner commits to risk all he has but in a limited company a member's liability is limited to his stake in that company. With such a large undertaking as Castle Buildings on their hands this protection was of prime importance to the partners. In addition in a limited company it is possible to give a minority share in the business to other people and advantage was to be taken of this provision in the formation of the new company. In any event in order to obtain the protection afforded by limited liability it was necessary to have at least seven members.

So, on 30th August, 1890 Alexander Boyd and Company, Limited was born. There were eight members. The Reverend Samuel Rea McNeilly, Minister of Bailiesmills Reformed Presbyterian Church, was the first chairman and the other members were James Alister and his wife, Jane, James Andrew Hanna and his wife, Isabella, John Kain and William Blakely, both employees, and James Robinson, employed as the Pharmaceutical chemist.

The first general meeting of the company was held in Castle Buildings on 30th January, 1891 when the transfer of the partnership property was effected and the allocation of 1000 shares to the members confirmed. Of the shares, 448 went to James Alister, 546 to James A. Hanna and one to each of the other six members. These were £10 shares of which £7 was called up, making the capital of the company £7,000 and leaving a liability of £3 on each of the shares in the event of a future call for more capital.

It is interesting to note how during the ten years of the partnership James A. Hanna's share of the business gradually increased. His original capital was £54.10.0. As the partners shared the profits equally and as James Hanna's drawings were, apart from the year in which he bought Castleview, consistently lower than James Alister's, by 1890 James Hanna had the larger share. The final capital accounts in the partnership were:- James Alister £3,790.16.71/2 and James A. Hanna £4,037.8.1 1/2 All this in spite of the fact that James Alister commenced in 1880 with Alexander Boyd's capital of almost £1,000.

The shares were allocated to the partners in proportion to their respective capital accounts but there was an error in the distribution, James Alister receiving 448 shares instead of 479. In due course this error came to light and occasioned the following rather stiff note from James Alister:

Thornhill,
          Lisburn
              March 3 1892

  Dear Mr. Hanna,

Regarding the £217 which has been found by Mr. Martin Shaw, C.A. to be due to me by you of the time of the sale of the Estate of Alexander Boyd & Co. to the company and which was wrongly credited to you’re a/c I hereby request you to transfer 31 shares of the nos. now standing in your name to my wife, Jane  Alister, which will be in full satisfaction of all claim in respect of said sum.

Yours truly,
         James Alister

Martin Shaw was the Company's auditor and this association was to continue until 1976 when the firm of Martin Shaw, Leslie and Shaw was merged with Price, Waterhouse & Co., the present auditors.
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On 10th March 1892 at the third general meeting of the Company James Hanna referred to this mistake and undertook to transfer the shares as requested. Obviously relations between the two men could hardly be termed over-friendly. Possibly the reason may have been that through the formation of the Company James Hanna had obtained overall control in place of the half share in the partnership. It was prudent to have the Rev. S. R. McNeilly as chairman and the two Jameses were both appointed managing directors. James Alister was manager of the outside department at £50 per annum and James Hanna manager of the inside department at £100 per annum. Was there any significance in the fact that James Alister's appointment was proposed by himself and seconded by James Hanna; James Hanna's appointment in turn being proposed by himself and seconded by James Alister? At that meeting a dividend of 8% was declared for the year ended 12th August, 1891.

James A. Hanna now decided that there was not room for himself and James Alister in the company. So he made arrangements to take over premises on the other side of Railway Street, if required, and presented James Alister with an ultimatum:- either Alister bought Hanna's shares in the company or vice versa at the same price - and taking himself off with his family to Donaghadee for a holiday, he left James Alister to wrestle with the problem.

To James Alister there appeared to be only one answer as he had not the expertise to run the business on his own and, in any event, had other business interests. At the next general meeting of the Company held on 9th December, 1892, the bulk of the Alister holding was transferred to James A. Hanna.

This left the proprietors of the Company holding the following shares:

   
The purchase price was probably £7 per share payable over a number of years. Three cancelled promissory notes exist payable to James Alister and falling due on 1st November in each of the three years 1893, 4 and 5.

James Boyd Alister was a son of James Alister. He was a Pharmaceutical Chemist, probably with the prospect of a career in Boyd's in mind. Indeed he served his apprenticeship in Boyd's but was employed in Hamilton Longs of Dublin. The sudden end of the Alister connection with the business must have been a blow and, putting it mildly, something of a surprise. Certainly it had not been forgotten by at least one of the descendants in the 1970's. The eldest of the Hanna children, Hector Boyd Hanna also marked in the same way the connection with the founder of the firm.

James Alister's changed circumstances are indicated by the share certificate counterfoils; his occupation being given as `merchant' on the original allocation and ‘gentleman' on the transfer. The last two Alister shares were transferred on 1st March, 1899 to Robert Andrews and his wife. Alfred C. Scott's share was transferred to him after the death of John Kain. He was a chemist and druggist in Portrush and was married to Isabella Hanna's sister.
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One other matter of contention arose between James Hanna and James Alister. This concerned the ownership of the three houses in Castle Street, included in the original purchase from Dr. Musgrave. Joseph Allen, a solicitor of Bow Street, Lisburn was a partner in the firm that had been involved in the setting up of the limited company. On 8th July, 1901 he wrote to James Alister suggesting that the three houses were not transferred with the rest of the property to the Company in 1890 when the Company was being formed. He understood, he wrote, that James Alister had for some time received the rent of these houses and furthermore he was of the opinion that the three houses still remained vested in James Alister and Hanna. The letter was obviously prompted by James Alister who considered it for some time and on 29th July wrote to James Hanna ostensibly reminding him that the matter of the houses had been overlooked and proposing to call in Castle Buildings that evening. However James A. Hanna would have none of it. He took Joseph Allen's letter and in terse unequivocal terms and red ink wrote across the letter disposing of the various suggestions, "not so, even in thought", "Most certainly not", "A pure invention" and so on. In a statement to James Alister that day he said that they had both been satisfied with the settlement until Mr. Alister expressed a desire to open up the question about two months previously. If Mr. Alister was not satisfied then he was prepared to re-instate him or, alternatively, put the whole thing as it was in 1892 on the market and take his share. Nothing of course came of this and so ended on a sad and somewhat acrimonious note, the Alister connection with Boyd's. James Alister died on 18th April, 1904.

  One consequence of the shift of ownership is shown in the Minute Book of the Company. As James Hanna owned the bulk of the shares he considered that there was no point in holding general meetings. The fourth ordinary general meeting was held on 8th December, 1892 but the fifth was not held until 1 st March 1899 when the Profit and Loss account for five years and 57 days to 11th October, 1898 was submitted showing a profit of £1,765.18.11. At this meeting a dividend of 30% was declared.

  However, to conclude this chapter, it should be said that, as far as can be ascertained, James Hanna acted firmly but fairly in all his relations with James Alister. After all the ownership of the capital assumes less importance when one considers that it was less than the annual profits. Also, James Alister has ample opportunities to gain or retain control of the company but did not take them and, therefore, one is forced to the conclusion that the continued success of the business depended on the involvement of James A. Hanna, which goes a long way towards explaining his actions.
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The Pharmaceutical Society's Law Case

  However, in the meantime, an event was to occur which threatened the very existence of the Medical Hall, as the Pharmacy was called. On 16th April, 1895 Andrew Downey of Sandy Row, Belfast presented a prescription over the counter in the Medical Hall to be dispensed. The prescription, written by Dr. O'Connell of College Square, East, Belfast, appeared to be in order and was duly dispensed. Whereupon Andrew Downey revealed himself to he an inspector of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and disputed the right of the firm as a limited company to dispense or compound medical prescriptions.

  The situation was that from 1791 to 1875 no person, as the act of 1791 put it, "shall act in the art and mystery of an apothecary within the Kingdom of Ireland unless such person has been examined as to his qualifications", meaning, in effect, licentiates of the Apothecaries Hall. However, in 1875, the Pharmacy Act was passed. Under this act the Irish Pharmaceutical Society was established and it became unlawful for any person to keep open shop for compounding medical prescriptions unless being duly qualified to do so by being registered as a Pharmaceutical Chemist under the Act.

  It is a bit difficult to understand why the Irish Pharmaceutical Society acted as it did but act it did and on 12th September, 1895 in the Lisburn Petty Sessions the Society brought proceedings against Boyd's.

  It was an important case, not only for Boyd's, but also for other bigger companies engaged in retail pharmacy, Grattan & Co., Ltd., of Belfast, Hamilton & Long Ltd., of Dublin, the Army and Navy Stores also in Dublin and a number of others scattered over the country. The Society was jealous of the monopoly created in favour of its members by the 1875 Act and felt that Company Chemists as they came to be called were a threat to the profession even though dispensing by the company chemists had to be carried out by properly qualified pharmaceutical chemists. The Society waited twenty years before bringing this prosecution for two reasons. First, the Courts in England had upheld the right of companies to keep open shop and, in consequence, there were many company chemists in England. Indeed, as a judge was later to remark, it would be as easy to get an Act passed disestablishing the Church of England as to get an Act to prevent the company chemists carrying on their business.

  However an Interpretation Act passed in 1889 strengthened the Society's case, its officers believed, and the Society commenced a somewhat surreptitious campaign, picking off the smaller companies first. They brought one case to court and advised the defendant to plead guilty and the threat of proceedings appears to have been enough to deter other companies. Boyd's was made of sterner stuff.

  The case was heard by the Resident Magistrate, Mr. T. D. Gibson accompanied on the Bench by a number of the local gentry; Edward J. Charley, Dr. Rowantree, George H. Clarke, J. Theodore Richardson and N. W. Grimshaw. The Case for the Society was presented by Mr. Harrison, barrister at-law, and Mr. Charley of Charley & Allen, Solicitors, Lisburn appeared for the defence. The intricacies of the various arguments put forward are of little interest to the layman. Suffice it to say that the Magistrates unanimously dismissed the case and Mr. Harrison indicated that the Pharmaceutical Society were prepared to go to a higher court.

  This they did and the appeal was heard in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, Dublin in February, 1896, when substantially the same arguments were advanced and countered as in the previous hearing but this time before four judges:- Mr. Justice O'Brien, Mr. Justice Johnson, Mr. Justice Holmes and Mr. Justice Gibson. The Society's case was received with little sympathy by the Court. When Mr. Gibson, Q.C. sought to establish that, in one Act, it was laid down that 'person' should include corporations in all criminal matters Mr. Justice O'Brien retorted, "Not in all cases, for a corporation could not commit bigamy". The upshot of the hearing was that the decision of the Magistrates was confirmed and Boyd's could breathe again.
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  The action of the Society in bringing this case was the subject of some criticism. 'The British and Colonial Druggist', a trade journal, commenting on the case had this to say: "The only result of this abortive proceeding will be to call into existence in opposition to the legitimate pharmacist a further number of limited companies and so we are afraid that the licentiates of the Society will have very little to thank their Council for in this matter . . . . . We have always deprecated holding out to the chemists of England the prospect of putting an immediate end to company trading".

  There is no evidence that Boyd's received any financial backing in fighting this case but, in July, 1898, the Drug Companies Association Ltd. was formed to protect the interests of companies carrying on the business of Chemists and Druggists. Jesse Boots, founder of the famous Boots Company, was chairman and Boyd's were allotted ten £1 shares (2/- per share paid). However the assistance of the Association was never called on by Boyd's nor did Boyd's play any part in its affairs. Indeed the next mention of it was almost seventy years later, in November, 1966, when the Association now called the Company Chemists Association Ltd., wrote proposing to make a call of 2/- per share and pointing out that for many years there had only been three active members:- Boots, Timothy Whites & Taylors, Ltd. and Hodders, Ltd. Subsequently the Association discovered, in January, 1967, that Boyd's had not responded to a previous call of 2/- per share made in May, 1904. There seemed no point in continued membership so a chapter begun in 1895 was finally closed in January, 1967.

  There is no indication from either hearing as to who the pharmaceutical chemist in Boyd's was at the time. However, James Robinson, a pharmaceutical chemist, held one share in the company from its formation until his death. This share was transferred by his representative on 8th October, 1907 to Hector B. Hanna. He may well have been the person concerned. The date of the share transfer is irrelevant as it was part of a tidying-up process.

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