Sir Charles Hugh Willis Troughton (27 August 1916 – 13 May 1991) was a British businessman and barrister who was chairman of

W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...

, director of the

Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs ...

, and chairman of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Early life and education

Troughton was born in

Chalfont St Giles Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont. It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, ...

near

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. ...

, Buckinghamshire, the son of stockbroker Charles Vivian Troughton (1884–1955) and Constance Lilia "Scylla" Tate (1888–1973). Troughton was educated at

Haileybury College Haileybury may refer to: Australia * Haileybury (Melbourne), a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia **Haileybury Rendall School, an offshoot in Berrimah, North Territory, Australia China * Haileybury International School, an international ...

(1930–35), followed by

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he earned a BA with honours in 1938. He served with the 4th Battalion of the

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

(1938–46). He was reported as missing in action in May 1940, while a 2nd Lt.He was captured at the Battle of Cassel on 30 May 1940. As a prisoner of war, No 662, he read for the Bar through the Red Cross from 1943 at OFLAG 7c and was awarded a first. He was liberated on 6th May 1945 . He was discharged from active duty in 1946.

Career

Troughton was director of the retailer W.H. Smith & Son from 1949–77 and chairman (1972–77). He was also director of the Equity & Law Life Assurance Society PLC (1965–77); Thomas Tilling Ltd (1973–79);

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

(UK) Management (1973–81) and Barclays Bank International (1977–82). He was also chairman of the British Council (1977–84). He was also a director of Times Newspapers Holdings; Whitbread & Co.; and

William Collins, Sons William Collins, Sons (often referred to as Collins) was a Scottish printing and publishing company founded by a Presbyterian schoolmaster, William Collins, in Glasgow in 1819, in partnership with Charles Chalmers, the younger brother of Thomas ...

Honours

Troughton was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

in 1945. He received the

Territorial Efficiency Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

in 1959, while a captain with the Territorial Army. Troughton was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(CBE) in the 1966 New Year Honours and knighted in the 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours.

Personal life

In 1947, he married Constance Gillean Mitford, DL, OStJ. They had three sons, Peter, James, and Simon, and one daughter, Catrina. Their eldest son, Peter, a member of the Diplomatic Service, married courtier Sarah Colman, daughter of Sir

Timothy Colman Sir Timothy James Alan Colman (19 September 1929 – 9 September 2021) was a British businessman and a Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk. Biography Colman was from the Colman's mustard family, and was the son of Lettice Elizabeth Evelyn Adeane and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troughton, Charles Hugh Willis 1916 births 1991 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor British business executives Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers Recipients of the Military Cross People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People from Chalfont St Giles 20th-century British businesspeople People of the British Council Military personnel from Buckinghamshire British Army personnel of World War II