Sir Neville Guthrie Trotter , FCIT (born 27 January 1932) is a retired

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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.

Early life and career

Trotter was the son of Captain Alexander Trotter and Elizabeth Winifred Trotter (née Guthrie). He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

and King's College, Durham (

BCom A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa ...

). Prior to becoming an MP, Trotter served as a Conservative councillor for Dene ward in Newcastle upon Tyne, which covered the northern areas of Heaton, parts of Benton and the well-known

Freeman Hospital The Freeman Hospital is an 800-bed tertiary referral centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The hospital is managed by the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is a teaching hospital for Newcastle University. History The Fre ...

. Trotter was a member of

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...

from 1963 to 1974, and

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newc ...

Metropolitan Council from 1973 to 1974. In 1973, he was a Justice of the Peace in Newcastle.

Parliamentary career

Trotter fought the safe Labour seat of Consett in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

, but came a distant second to the incumbent, David Watkins. Trotter was elected as MP for Tynemouth at the February 1974 general election until he retired at the 1997 election. As an MP, he served on the Transport Committee from 9 June 1983 until his retirement in March 1997. He was also a member of the Expenditure Committee (1978-1979) and the Defence Committee (1992-1997). Although his majorities were not huge, he successfully held on to Tynemouth, never being defeated at the polls. In 1992, the year after the Meadow Well Riots in the constituency, his majority was just under six hundred votes. After his retirement, Tynemouth was won by Labour's Alan Campbell.

Outside Parliament

Trotter was a consultant at Thornton Baker from 1974 to 1983, and at

Grant Thornton Grant Thornton is the world's seventh-largest by revenue and sixth-largest by number of employees professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms which provide assurance, tax and advisory services to private ...

, Chartered Accountants from 1983 to 2005.

Honours

Trotter was made a

knight 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 ...

1997, the same year he became a deputy lieutenant. He became a Fellow of the

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, ...

in 1998. Trotter is also a Fellow of the

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of July 2022, it has over 198,000 members ...

and the

Chartered Institute of Transport The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) is a professional body representing the transport and logistics industries worldwide. It is a membership-based organisation with over 30,000 members in over 30 countries. This i ...

. He was made a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

in 1978. In April 2004, Trotter was appointed

High Sheriff of Tyne and Wear Below is a complete list of High Sheriffs of Tyne and Wear since the creation of that county in 1974. 1974–2000 *1974–1975: Fuller Mansfield Osborn, , of 9 Furzefield Road, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne *1975–1976: John Macaulay Hamilton ...

Personal life

In 1983, he married Caroline, daughter of the late Captain John Farrow, OBE, RN and Oona Farrow (née Hall). Trotter and his wife had a daughter. Trotter's recreations are aviation, gardening,

fell-walking Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultiv ...

, the study of foreign affairs, defence and industry. He is a member of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

and Northern Counties (Newcastle upon Tyne) clubs.

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', Times Newspapers Limited, 1992 and 1997 editions.

External links

* 1932 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Bachelor UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Deputy Lieutenants of Tyne and Wear High Sheriffs of Tyne and Wear {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1930s-stub