Sir James Hugh Neill, (29 March 1921 – 5 November 2017) was a British businessman, public servant, and British Army officer. Described as a "doyen of the Sheffield steel industry", he worked for his family's tool manufacturing firm, James Neill & Co, following leaving school, until retirement (1939 to 1989); he served as the firms chairman between 1963 and 1989, and then its honorary president. He served as Master Cutler for 1958. Neill's only break in his business career was for service in the British Army during the Second World War: he was an officer in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

and had reached the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

by end of the war. In addition to his business interests, he was a public servant. He served as High Sheriff of Hallamshire from 1972 to 1973, and as Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire from 1985 to 1996. In 1958, like his father and both his grandfathers, he was Master Cutler for the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire.

Early life and education

Neill was born on 29 March 1921 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. He was the eldest son of Colonel Sir Frederick Neill and his wife Winifred Margaret Neill (née Colver). He was educated at Rugby School, then an all-boys

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

in Rugby, Warwickshire. He was a member of the Junior Division of the Officers Training Corps at his school, and reached the rank of cadet serjeant. He had planned to attend the University of Cambridge, but did not matriculate due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Career

Military service

On 21 June 1939, Neill was commissioned into the

, Territorial Army (TA), as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. As a member of the TA, he was not a full-time soldier and was part of the

reserve forces A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve f ...

. With the outbreak of the Second World War, he was called up for full-time service. During the war, he served at home in the United Kingdom and abroad in Norway, India, Burma and Germany. Having held the

war substantive rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibi ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, he was promoted to lieutenant January 1946: this promotion was back dated to 11 April 1945. On 17 October 1988, Neill was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 4th Battalion Yorkshire Volunteers, Territorial Army. He stepped down from this post in October 1993, and was allowed to retain the honorary rank of colonel.

Public service

On 22 March 1972, Neill was appointed by the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

as High Sheriff of Hallamshire; this post is held for one year and is a ceremonial appointment linked to the judiciary. On 8 January 1974, he was commissioned as Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of the

Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire This is a list of those who have held the position of Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire from its creation in 1660 to its abolition on 31 March 1974. From 1699 until 1974, all Lords Lieutenant were also Custos Rotulorum of the West Rid ...

. On 7 May 1985,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

appointed him as Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire, the monarch's personal representative in county.

Honours

In 1946, Neill was

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

"in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Burma". In 1950, he was awarded the Efficiency Decoration (TD) in recognition of long service in the reserves. In the

1969 Queen's Birthday Honours The 1969 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplem ...

, Neill was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for services to export". In January 1986, he was appointed a Knight of the Venerable Order of St John (KStJ). In the

1996 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supple ...

, he was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(KCVO) in recognition of his service as Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire, and therefore granted the title '' sir''.

Personal life

Neill married his first wife, Jane Shuttleworth, a kennel huntswoman of the Poona and Kirkee Hounds, in 1943 and had two daughters, Jill and Sue, who survive him. He is also survived by his second wife, Anne (née O’Leary), whom he married in 1982, and their son, Michael. He has two grand-daughters, a grandson and three great-grandchildren. He was a keen golfer and was past captain and president of

Lindrick Golf Club Lindrick Golf Club is a golf course in South Yorkshire and is also a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). The SSSI covers and was designated for its biological interest. The site was notified in 1987. The course is situated on the ...

, between Sheffield and Worksop. He served on numerous committees of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the sport’s ruling body, and was its captain in 1981. He lived on the edge of

Lindrick {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Lindrick was an ancient district of England. The majority of the district appears to have lain in what is now South Yorkshire, but the village of Carlton-in-Lindrick is in Nottinghamshire. David Hey, ''Medieval Sou ...

for six decades. In the equestrian world, he was a member of the Council of the British Horse Society and received the society’s Award of Merit in 1988. He ra
four family-run grant-making charities
for over fifty years and supported numerous other charities across the county of South Yorkshire, including being a founding trustee of th
South Yorkshire Community Foundation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neill, Hugh 1921 births 2017 deaths 20th-century British businesspeople British Army personnel of World War II Master Cutlers Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Engineers officers People educated at Rugby School Lord-Lieutenants of South Yorkshire High Sheriffs in Yorkshire Deputy Lieutenants of the West Riding of Yorkshire Knights of the Order of St John 20th-century English businesspeople