Christopher Michael Henry Shale (23 August 1954 – 25 June 2011) was a British businessman and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician. He was chairman of the

West Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based. Area The area is mainly rural downland ...

Conservative Association, and a close associate of Prime Minister and local MP David Cameron, who praised him for his "massive contribution to the Conservative Party, both locally and nationally".

Early life

Shale was educated at Great Houghton Preparatory School and

Oakham School (Like runners, they pass on the torch of life) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president ...

in Rutland, he was then commissioned as a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer in the

17th/21st Lancers The 17th/21st Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in England by the amalgamation of the 17th Lancers and the 21st Lancers in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it amalgamated with the 16th/5th The Quee ...

Career

After leaving the army he joined Durdon Smith Communications and then became the chief executive of SGL Communications. In 1990 he then became the founder and managing director of Oxford Resources, a business supply consultancy. Shale was also a director of the

Centre for Policy Studies The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is a think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independ ...

between 2001 and 2005 and a sponsor of the eurosceptic thinktank

Open Europe Open Europe was a British centre-right eurosceptic policy think tank with offices in London and Brussels, merging with the Policy Exchange think tank in 2020. Its stated mission was to "conduct rigorous analysis and produce recommendation ...

. In June 2011 he was critical of the British Conservative Party in a strategy document that was leaked to the ''

Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...

'' newspaper, saying that they came across as "graceless, voracious, crass, always on the take".

Personal life

Shale lived in Over Worton, a village near

Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as ...

in Oxfordshire with his wife, Nicola "Nikki" (née Burrows). The couple had a son, Alby Shale, and he was stepfather to Nicola's two children from her first marriage to Alex Mapelli-Mozzi, Natalia Yeomans and

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi Edoardo Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi (born 19 November 1983) is an English property developer. He is the founder and chief executive of Banda Property, a property development and interior design company. He is married to Princess Beatrice, a niece o ...

, who in 2020 married

Princess Beatrice Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of Charle ...

. Shale died of a heart attack whilst using a portable toilet cubicle at the Glastonbury Festival. Prior to the discovery of his body, he had been reported missing for 18 hours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shale, Christopher 17th/21st Lancers officers 1954 births 2011 deaths Conservative Party (UK) politicians People educated at Oakham School 20th-century British Army personnel

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References