Denis John Charles Hill Hill-Wood (25 June 1906 – 5 May 1982) was the chairman of

Arsenal Football Club Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (incl ...

from 1962 until 1982. He was also an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who played First Class cricket for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

and

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) in 1928 and

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

in 1928 and 1929. Hill-Wood was the third son of

Sir Samuel Hill-Wood, 1st Baronet Sir Samuel Hill Hill-Wood, 1st Baronet (21 March 1872 – 4 January 1949) was a British businessman, Conservative politician, cricketer and football club chairman. Early life Wood was born in Glossop, Derbyshire, the son of Samuel Wood, a co ...

, who was chairman of Arsenal for twenty years, as well as a first-class cricketer for Derbyshire. Hill-Wood went to Oxford University and played seven matches for the university in the 1928 season. He then played for MCC in Ireland and made his first-class debut for Derbyshire at the end of the 1928 season when he played three matches. He played one match in the 1929 season. Similarly to his father, Denis became chairman of Arsenal football club in 1962, a job which he held until his death in 1982. A bust of Hill-Wood was commissioned and used to stand inside the Directors' Landing of the East Stand of Arsenal's

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

stadium, and now stands in the Directors' Entrance of Emirates Stadium after Arsenal's move there. Denis had three brothers who also took part in first-class cricket for Derbyshire, the others being Basil Hill-Wood, Wilfred and Charles. Denis's son,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, played one first-class match in 1960. Hill-Wood was educated at

Ludgrove School Ludgrove School is an English independent boys preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed as a master at Elstree School, which sent b ...

followed by

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and Christ Church, Oxford. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he served with the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

and was wounded in Libya. With other officers he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

in 1943 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East".

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill-Wood, Denis 1906 births 1982 deaths English cricketers Derbyshire cricketers Arsenal F.C. directors and chairmen People from Hoxne Oxford University cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II Royal Armoured Corps officers Recipients of the Military Cross Younger sons of baronets 20th-century British businesspeople People educated at Ludgrove School Cricketers from Suffolk