Sir John Norman Toothill
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 ...
(11 November 1908 – 5 July 1986) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
electrical engineer who rose to be Managing Director of
Ferranti
Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
The firm was known ...
.
He was the author of the ground-breaking Toothill Report of 1961 and was one of the creators of the modern Scottish electronics industry.
Life
He was born on 11 November 1908 at 13 Trafford Road in
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, the only son of John Harold Toothill, an engineer's fitter, and his wife, Helena Gibbins.
Educated at
Beaminster Grammar School in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, Toothill left school at the age of seventeen to be
apprentice
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
d to
Tilling Stevens Ltd, a company in
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...
which made buses. From there he moved on to
Hoffman Manufacturing and then to
Harris Lebus, a furniture manufacturer.
[TOOTHILL, Sir John (Norman)]
in ''Who Was Who
''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...
'' (A. & C. Black), online edition by Oxford University Press, December 2012, accessed 18 Feb 2014 (subscription site) In 1935 he was appointed as chief cost accountant to Ferranti, which was then a company making electrical instruments, and in 1942 became manager of its new works in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. He remained as general manager of Ferranti Scotland until 1968, promoting the company's development into
precision engineering
Precision engineering is a subdiscipline of electrical engineering, software engineering, electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, and optical engineering concerned with designing machines, fixtures, and other structures that have excepti ...
and playing a large part in the creation of a Scottish electronics industry. He remained a director of Ferranti until 1975 and in the 1970s and 1980s was also a director of R. W. Toothill Limited,
W. A. Baxter & Sons Limited, Fochabers, Moray. He was chairman of AI Welders of Inverness and of Highland Hydrocarbons from 1979 until his death.
['Sir John Toothill' (obituary) in '']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', issue 62504 dated 9 July 1986, p. 18[
In 1947 Toothill was chosen as chairman of the Research Committee of the ]Scottish Council for Development and Industry
The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI), founded in 1931, is a non-governmental, membership organisation which aims to strengthen Scotland's economic competitiveness through influencing government and key stakeholders to creat ...
, and later chaired its Finance Committee. In 1956 he became a director of Ferranti. He was appointed to an Inquiry into the Scottish Economy, and in 1961 his Toothill Report on the Scottish Economy was published, recommending new investment in the country's less prosperous areas. In the 1964 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1964 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1964 to celebrat ...
he was knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
.[
]
Honours
*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 o ...
, 1955[
*Companion, ]Institution of Electrical Engineers
The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Te ...
[
*Honorary Companion, ]Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows ...
[
*]Knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
, 1964[
*Honorary ]LLD
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...
, University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...
, 1966[
*Honorary ]DSc DSC may refer to:
Academia
* Doctor of Science (D.Sc.)
* District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India
* Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
Educational institutions
* Dalton State Col ...
, Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
, 1968Cranfield Institute of Technology
, mottoeng = After clouds light
, established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name)
, type = Public research uni ...
, 1970[
]
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toothill, John Norman
1908 births
1986 deaths
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
English knights
People educated at Beaminster Grammar School
20th-century English businesspeople