Sir Lancelot Carrington Royle, (31 May 1898 – 19 June 1978) was a British Olympian and businessman. Royle was an Olympic athlete (Paris 1924), chairman and CEO of Allied Suppliers Ltd.,

Home and Colonial Stores Home and Colonial Stores was once one of the United Kingdom's largest retail chains. Its formation of a vast chain of retail stores in the late 1920s is seen as the first step in the development of a UK food retail market dominated by a small num ...

Ltd.,

Lipton Lipton is a British brand of tea, owned by Ekaterra. Lipton was also a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, later sold to Argyll Foods, after which the company sold only tea. The company is named after its founder, Sir Thomas Lipton, who fo ...

Ltd.,

NAAFI 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 c ...

and one of Britain's leading 20th century retail businessmen.

Education

Lancelot Royle was the son of Rev.

Vernon Royle Vernon may refer to: Places Australia *Vernon County, New South Wales Canada *Vernon, British Columbia, a city *Vernon, Ontario France * Vernon, Ardèche * Vernon, Eure United States * Vernon, Alabama * Vernon, Arizona * Vernon, California ...

, the famous test cricketer, and grew up at

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, at high. The district, which ...

Park, north of London. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and RMA Woolwich.

Early career

Royle left Harrow in 1916 and was commissioned into the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

and shipped out to France to fight in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was to remain on European theatre until the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

in 1918. At the end of the war, Royle remained in the army, and was encouraged to develop his sporting prowess. He was a highly talented sprinter, competing regularly with the likes of

Harold Abrahams Harold Maurice Abrahams (15 December 1899 – 14 January 1978) was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film ''Chariots of Fire''. Biography Early life A ...

and

Eric Liddell Eric Henry Liddell (; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish sprinter, rugby player and Christian missionary. Born in Qing China to Scottish missionary parents, he attended boarding school near London, spending time when p ...

for honours. He was British Army sprint Champion in 1920 and 1921, but resigned his commission as a lieutenant later the same year. In 1924, he represented Great Britain as part of the "

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a de ...

" team in Paris. He won a silver medal in the 4 * 100 relay, in a team including Harold Abrahams. He was also a talented 200-meter sprinter, and it was he that gave up his spot to allow Eric Liddell to run the 200-meter race where Liddell won bronze.

Business career

Royle began his business career with Unilever, joining

in 1928. By the start of the Second World War, was regarded as one of the finest retail executives in the country. He rejoined the Royal Artillery, but was asked by the Prime Minister,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

to be co-chairman of the Macharg/Royle Treasury Committee and then to take on the Chairmanship of

. He was to hold the Chairmanship for 12 years, during which time NAAFI developed into a global operation, serving British forces around the Empire. As chairman & CEO, he transformed

into one of premier retail shopping destinations in the United Kingdom. He was invited to sit on the boards of British Match Corporation as deputy chairman,

Wilkinson Sword Wilkinson Sword is a formerly British brand for Safety razor, razors and other personal care products sold in Europe, owned by the US company Edgewell Personal Care. The company was founded as a manufacturer of guns made in Shotley Bridge in Co ...

Bryant and May Bryant & May was a British company created in the mid-19th century specifically to make matches. Their original Bryant & May Factory was located in Bow, London. They later opened other match factories in the United Kingdom and Australia, such ...

, Liebigs and Oxo among others. He was a Governor of

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

. He resigned his Royal Artillery commission as a

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 ...

in 1948. He was made a

Knight 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 ...

(KBE) in 1944.

Family

He married Barbara Haldin in 1922,Person Page – 23641
/ref> they had 2 sons (

Anthony Royle Anthony Henry Fanshawe Royle, Baron Fanshawe of Richmond, (27 March 1927 – 28 December 2001), was a British Conservative Party politician and businessman. A son of Sir Lancelot Royle, a wealthy businessman, he was educated at Harrow and RMA ...

, later Baron Fanshawe of Richmond and

Timothy Royle Timothy Lancelot Fanshawe Royle (born 1931) was founder and chairman of the Control Risks Group. He is the son of Sir Lancelot Royle KBE, educated at Harrow School and Mons Military Academy. He joined the British Army and served with the 15th ...

, founder of the

Control Risks Group Control Risks is a global risk and strategic consulting firm specializing in political, security and integrity risk. History Control Risks was formed in 1975, as a professional adviser to the insurance industry. A subsidiary of insurance broke ...

) and a daughter (Penelope Royle, now Oldham). He died in 1978 aged 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royle, Lancelot 1898 births 1978 deaths People educated at Harrow School English male sprinters Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich British chief executives Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) 20th-century English businesspeople