James Benjamin Slade

Sir James Benjamin Slade (12 December 1861 - 15 April 1950) was an auctioneer, horticulturist and local politician.

Born in Hampstead, Slade was a senior partner in the firm of Protheroe and Morris, auctioneers and surveyors. He settled in Leyton in the [Essex suburbs of London, and entered local politics. For 48 years he was a member of Essex County Council representing Leyton and as an alderman.

When Leyton was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1926, Slade was chosen as charter mayor. He was knighted in the 1927 Birthday Honours during his mayoral term "for political and public services in Leyton". He was the first honorary freeman of the borough.

Slade was president of the Essex County Football Association. An enthusiastic gardener specialising in the cultivation of Dutch tulips and orchids, he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Victoria Medal in 1943.

He retired to Southborough near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, where he died aged 88.