Sir William Stratford Dugdale, 2nd Baronet, (29 March 1922 – 13 November 2014) was the chairman of

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

from 1975 to 1978. Dugdale arrived at Aston Villa as a director when they were in the third division, having been relegated due to poor performances on and off the pitch. He left the club in 1982, the year they won the European Cup. Following several successful years as a director in the early-1970s, he was elected chairman in 1975, taking over the position from

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, the package holiday businessman, before being replaced by

Harry Kartz John Harry Kartz (23 October 1913 – 12 March 2016) was a British businessman best known for his longtime association with Aston Villa, having held various roles at the club, including as chairman from 1978 to 1980. Kartz also fought in the Se ...

Biography

Dugdale was born on 29 March 1922, the son of Sir William Francis Stratford Dugdale, 1st Bt of the Noble House of Stratford, and Margaret Gilmour. Educated at Eton College and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, he succeeded to the title of 2nd Baronet Dugdale, of Merevale and Blyth, co. Warwick K, 1936on 18 April 1965. He fought in the Second World War, where he was mentioned in despatches, gaining the rank of captain in the service of the Grenadier Guards, having been commissioned into that regiment on 27 September 1941 and after serving in the ranks in the Royal Berkshire Regiment. His service number was 207638. He was decorated with the award of the Military Cross (M.C.) in 1943 for outstanding bravery whilst under fire. He fought at Anzio, and ended the war guarding the German generals at Nuremberg. He was a practising solicitor in 1949. He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Warwickshire in 1951 and office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) of Warwickshire in 1955. He held the office of High Sheriff of Warwickshire for 1971. He held the office of Sheriff of Stratford-upon-Avon in 1976. He was invested as a Commander, Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) in 1985. He also enjoyed success in racing, riding in the Grand National in 1953 and then becoming the Chief Disciplinary steward in the Jockey Club, the organisation that ran the Racing industry. He was chairman of General Utilities plc between 1988 and 1999 and was made head of the National Water Council in 1983, helping then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with the unions in the water industry. He lived in 2003 at Merevale Hall, Atherstone, Warwickshire and at 24 Bryanston Mews West, London.

Family

He married, firstly, Lady Belinda Pleydell-Bouverie, daughter of William Pleydell-Bouverie, 7th Earl of Radnor and Helena Olivia Adeane, on 13 December 1952. Lady Belinda died of cancer in 1961. He married, secondly, Cecilia (Cylla) Mary Mount, daughter of Sir William Mount, 2nd Baronet and Elizabeth Nance Llewellyn, on 17 October 1967. Children of Sir William Dugdale, Bt and Lady Belinda Pleydell-Bouverie: * Laura Dugdale b. 20 September 1953 * Matilda Dugdale b. 15 May 1955 * Charlotte Dugdale b. 15 May 1955 * William Matthew Stratford Dugdale, 3rd Baronet b. 22 February 1959 Children of Sir William Dugdale, Bt and Cecilia Mary Mount: * Adelaide Margaret Victoria Jane Dugdale b. 9 July 1970 * Thomas Joshua Stratford Dugdale b. 20 September 1974 Dugdale's niece, Elizabeth Dugdale, daughter of his brother Sir John Dugdale, is a god-daughter of Queen Elizabeth II. The former Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

, is the nephew by marriage of Sir William Dugdale.

References

Citations

* 8Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, page 888. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition. *

300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 (Roman numerals, CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, ...

Michael Rhodes, "re: Ernest Fawbert Collection," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 8 February. Hereinafter cited as "re: Ernest Fawbert Collection." * 37Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, USA: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003). Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition. * 37Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition, volume 1, page 1198. * 8Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, volume 1, page 889.

External links

British Army Officers 1939−1945
unithistories.com. Accessed 10 January 2023. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dugdale, Sir William Dugdale, 2nd Baronet 1922 births 2014 deaths Military personnel from Warwickshire Grenadier Guards officers Royal Berkshire Regiment soldiers Stratford family Aston Villa F.C. directors and chairmen English football chairmen and investors High Sheriffs of Warwickshire People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Recipients of the Military Cross English justices of the peace Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Deputy Lieutenants of Warwickshire British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century English businesspeople