Sir Arthur Gordon Norman

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

DFC (18 February 1917 – 30 September 2011) was a leading British industrialist, President of the CBI and Chairman of the UK Centre for Economic and Environmental Development.

Biography

Arthur Gordon Norman was born on 18 February 1917 at

North Petherton North Petherton is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, and close to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The town has a population of 6,730 as of 2014. The parish includ ...

. Arthur Norman was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the t ...

and served with the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during WW II, reaching the rank of

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

. In 1943 Norman was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions on 18 September 1943 during Operation 'Elaborate' (the ferrying of Horsa gliders from Portreath to Rabat-Salé in Morocco). Norman joined De La Rue in 1934 and became managing director in 1953 and chairman from 1964 to 1987. His other appointments included: * Director and chairman of the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

* Director of the British Airways Board * Chairman of

Sun Life Insurance Sun Life Financial Inc. is a Canadian financial services company. It is primarily known as a life insurance company. Sun Life has a presence in investment management with over CAD$1.3 trillion in assets under management operating in a number o ...

* Director of S.K.F. (UK) Ltd * Chairman of

Tilling Group The Tilling Group was one of two conglomerates that controlled almost all of the major bus operators in the United Kingdom between World Wars I and II and until nationalisation in 1948. Tilling, together with the other conglomerate, British Ele ...

* Trustee and chairperson of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, Europe Chapter Arthur Norman was knighted in 1969.

Personal life

Norman had two daughters and three sons, one of whom is the novelist Roger Norman.

References

1917 births 2011 deaths People educated at Blundell's School English industrialists Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II 20th-century English businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1910s-stub