Sir Charles Hugh Willis Troughton (27 August 1916 – 13 May 1991) was a British businessman and barrister who was chairman of

W H Smith WH Smith plc, trading as WHSmith (also written WH Smith and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son), is a British retailer, with headquarters in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service st ...

, director of the

Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes 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 chairman of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

Early life and education

Troughton was born in

Chalfont St Giles Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont. It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, we ...

near

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There ar ...

, Buckinghamshire, the son of stockbroker Charles Vivian Troughton (1884–1955) and Constance Lilia "Scylla" Tate (1888–1973). Troughton was educated at Haileybury College (1930–35), followed by

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he earned a BA with honours in 1938. He served with the 4th Battalion of the

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

(1938–46). He was reported as missing in action in May 1940, while a 2nd Lt. He was captured at the Battle of Cassel on 30 May 1940. As a prisoner of war, No 662, he read for the Bar through the Red Cross from 1943 at OFLAG 7c and was awarded a first. He was liberated on 6 May 1945 . He was discharged from active duty in 1946.

Career

Troughton was director of the retailer W.H. Smith & Son from 1949–77 and chairman (1972–77). He was also director of the Equity & Law Life Assurance Society PLC (1965–77); Thomas Tilling Ltd (1973–79); Barclays Bank (UK) Management (1973–81) and Barclays Bank International (1977–82). He was chairman of the British Council (1977–84). He was also a director of Times Newspapers Holdings; Whitbread & Co.; and

William Collins, Sons William Collins, Sons & Co., often referred to as Collins, was a Scotland, Scottish printing and publishing company founded by a Presbyterianism, Presbyterian schoolmaster, William Collins (publisher), William Collins, in Glasgow in 1819, in par ...

Honours

Troughton was awarded the

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

in 1945. He received the Territorial Efficiency Decoration in 1959, while a captain with the Territorial Army. Troughton was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 1966 New Year Honours and knighted in the 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours.

Personal life

In 1947, he married Constance Gillean Mitford, DL, OStJ. They had three sons, Peter, James, and Simon, and one daughter, Katrina. Their eldest son, Peter, a member of the Diplomatic Service, married courtier Sarah Colman, daughter of Sir Timothy Colman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troughton, Charles Hugh Willis 1916 births 1991 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor British business executives Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers Recipients of the Military Cross People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People from Chalfont St Giles 20th-century British businesspeople People of the British Council Military personnel from Buckinghamshire British Army personnel of World War II British World War II prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Germany