Sir David Lancaster Nicolson (20 September 1922 – 19 July 1996) was a British business executive and politician who played a key role in setting up
British Airways
British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
and served for five years in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
. He was also the chairman of British
conglomerate,
BTR plc
BTR plc was a British Multinational Corporation, multinational industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate company. It was headquartered in London, England.
The company was originally founded in 1924 as the British Goodrich Rubber Co. Ltd ...
.
Training
The son of a Canadian consulting engineer, Nicolson was born in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and educated at
Haileybury but was forced to leave it when his father went blind and lost his income. Instead he won a scholarship to
St Paul's School and went on from there to
Imperial College London
Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...
where he was elected a member of the
Links Club. He was trained in engineering and was a Constructor Lieutenant in the
Royal Corps of Naval Constructors during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
(he served in the North Atlantic and during the
invasion of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...
, where he was
mentioned in despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...
for his work repairing damaged ships while under fire). Sir David Nicolson was a member of the Links Club of the
City and Guilds College whilst at Imperial College.
Early career
In the early 1950s Nicolson went to the United States, working as a production manager for
Bucyrus-Erie Co. in
South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which had employed his father. He was appointed as a manager of Production-Engineering Ltd in 1953 and later became a director of the firm; from 1963 to 1968 he was chairman of the P-E Consulting Group, an associated company. In 1965 he was made deputy chairman of
BTR Industries, and became company chairman between 1969 and 1984.
British Airways
He was appointed chairman of the
British Airways
British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
Board in 1971 after being recruited by
John Davies, the
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in the government led by
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...
. Nicolson served for four years, during which he had the responsibility of uniting the two parts which had previously run as
British Overseas Airways Corporation
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned national airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II ...
and
British European Airways. Nicolson had no previous experience of the airline industry and also felt that the Aerospace Minister
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (; born 21 March 1933) is a British politician. Having begun his career as a property developer, he became one of the founders of the publishing house Haymarket Media Group in 1957. Heseltine se ...
interfered with his work. However, he succeeded in integrating the schedules and the newly merged airline launched publicly in 1974.
A member of the
Institute of Directors council from 1971 to 1976 and of the council of the
Confederation of British Industry
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the ''Financial Times'' as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by roy ...
from 1972, Nicolson was made chairman of
Rothmans International plc in 1975 after leaving British Airways. He chaired the CBI's Environment Committee in the late 1970s. He received a knighthood in 1975.
Politics
Nicolson strongly supported the development of the
European Communities
The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of Institutions of the European Union, institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Co ...
and was pleased to be selected as a
Conservative Party candidate for the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
. He was elected and served as
Member of the European Parliament
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
for London Central from the
1979 election. However, dealing directly with European Commission processes left him increasingly disillusioned by the bureaucracy involved and he did not seek re-election when the term ended in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
.
Approach to business
Never a strong believer in politics, Nicolson regretted excessive involvement by politicians in the management of nationalised industries, and also noted often that few managers of high technology companies in Britain had technical qualifications themselves. Unlike many company directors of the period, Nicolson was broadly supportive of
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s. He sometimes told audiences during lectures that his hero was
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
. He was Chairman of the
European Movement from 1985 to 1988 and Pro-Chancellor of the
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...
from 1987 to 1993.
Retirement
After further business posts, Nicolson largely retired in 1992 to Bale, near
Fakenham in
Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
. He led an appeal that year which led to the building of the Canadian War Memorial in
Green Park
The Green Park, one of the Royal Parks of London, is in the City of Westminster, Central London. Green Park is to the north of the gardens and semi-circular forecourt of Buckingham Palace, across Constitution Hill road. The park is in the m ...
, but he had few hobbies and did not enjoy the life of a retired businessman. In 1996 he died after suffering a
stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
while attending the funeral of an old friend.
Honours and awards
* 1975 –
Knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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.
The concept of a knighthood ...
hood by Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
References
Sources
*''Who Was Who''
*Obituary, ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 26 July 1996
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolson, David
1922 births
1996 deaths
20th-century British businesspeople
British Airways people
British industrialists
British people of Canadian descent
Conservative Party (UK) MEPs
MEPs for England 1979–1984
People associated with the University of Surrey
People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College
People educated at St Paul's School, London
People from South Milwaukee, Wisconsin
People from North Norfolk (district)
Royal Navy officers of World War II
Military personnel from London
Royal Navy officers