Victor Hugo Watson (26 September 1928 – 25 February 2015) was a British businessman and philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of

Waddingtons Waddingtons was a British manufacturer of card games, card and board games. The company was founded by John Waddington of Leeds, England and the manager, actor and playwright Wilson Barrett, under the name ''Waddingtons Limited''. The name was c ...

1977 to 1993. Waddingtons employed over 3,000 people, mainly in Leeds, and were involved in printing, packaging, games and playing cards. He was sometimes known as "Mr Monopoly".

Early life

Victor Hugo Watson was born on 26 September 1928 in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England.'Obituary: Master of Monopoly who twice trounced Maxwell', ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', 28 February/1 March 2015, p. 11Death of Mr Monopoly, Yorkshire businessman Victor Watson, at 86
''

The Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', 26 February 2015 He grew up in

Horsforth Horsforth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish within the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying about five miles north-west of Leeds city centre. Historically a village within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it had a p ...

near Leeds.Death of Mr Monopoly, Yorkshire businessman Victor Watson, at 86
''Halifax Courier'', 27 February 2015 His paternal grandfather, also named Victor Hugo Watson, acquired the rights to the board game

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

from

Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known by Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products wer ...

in 1934. His father, Norman Watson, popularised the board game

Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Wadding ...

. His mother was named Ruby Watson. He had two brothers, Beric born in 1932 and John born in 1943 He was educated at

Bootham School Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school, on Bootham in the city of York in England. It accepts boys and girls ages 3–19, and had an enrolment of 605 pupils in 2016. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school ...

, a private boarding school in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. He then graduated from

Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

, a constituent college of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He then served as 2nd Lieutenant 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 ...

Career

He started his career at Waddingtons in 1951. He then served as its Chairman from 1977 to 1993. He rejected attempts by

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from N ...

to acquire the company in 1980. He was known as "Mr Monopoly". He served on the Boards of Directors of

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

and the Leeds and Holbeck Building Society. He was the Chairman Emeritus of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce. He published a history of John Waddington Ltd 2008. He was a director of John Foster plc, Topps Tiles plc. and a President of the British Printing Industries Federation He was awarded 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 ...

in 1987. He was the 2007 recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to the Printing Industry award from the British Printing Industries’ Federation and the 2009 Individual Award for Excellence from the Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards. He was Chairman of Governors at

Gateways School Harewood ( ) is a village, civil parish, former manor and ecclesiastical parish, in West Yorkshire, England, today in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 3,734. Etymology The name ...

for 25 years and remained a governor until his death. He was High Sheriff of West Yorkshire during the year 1989 – 90 and he became a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire in 1991. He was awarded an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Laws, by the University of Leeds in July 1994 and an Honorary Degree, Doctor of the University by

Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...

(now

Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...

) in 2001. He was awarded the Leeds Award in 2013 in recognition of his enormous contribution to the city of Leeds throughout his life.

Philanthropy

He served on the Council of the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. Additionally, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the

in Harewood and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Martin House Hospice, a children's hospice in

Wetherby Wetherby () is a market town and civil parish in the City of Leeds district, West Yorkshire, England, close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire, and lies approximately from Leeds City Centre, from York and from Harrogat ...

. He was also the President Emeritus of the Northern Division of

Mencap The Royal Mencap Society is a charity based in the United Kingdom that works with people with a learning disability. Its Charity Number is 222377. History Established by Judy Fryd in 1946 as The National Association of Parents of Backwards Chi ...

. He was a co-founder of the

Leeds International Piano Competition The Leeds International Piano Competition, informally known as The Leeds and formerly the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, takes place every three years in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1961 by Marion, Countess ...

Personal life

He married Sheila May Bryan in 1952. They had two daughters, Amanda and Sally. At the time of his death he had five grandchildren. He was a collector of antique maps.

Death

He died on 25 February 2015, aged 86 after a lengthy illness of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

Bibliography

*Victor Watson. ''The Waddingtons Story: From the Early Days to Monopoly, the Maxwell Bids and into the Next Millennium'' (Jeremy Mills Publishing, 2008).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Victor 1928 births 2015 deaths People from Horsforth People educated at Bootham School Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Businesspeople from Leeds Officers of the Order of the British Empire Neurological disease deaths in England Deaths from Parkinson's disease 20th-century British philanthropists 20th-century English businesspeople