Sir Harold Winter Atcherley (30 August 1918 – 29 January 2017) was a businessman, public figure and arts administrator in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Early life

The son of L. W. Atcherley and his wife Maude Lester Nash, Atcherley was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

, Holt,

Geneva University The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology unti ...

, and

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

.ATCHERLEY, Sir Harold Winter
in

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

online at xreferplus.com (accessed 9 November 2007)

Career

Atcherley joined

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

in 1937. From 1939, he served through 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 ...

in the

Queen's Westminster Rifles The Queen's Westminsters were an infantry regiment of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army. Originally formed from Rifle Volunteer Corps, which were established after a French invasion scare of 1859. The unit became part of the newly ...

(1939–1940) and the Intelligence Corps, 1940, then in the 18th Infantry Division in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. After the

fall of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...

in 1942 he became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

of the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and worked on the

Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

until the war ended in 1945, then in 1946 he returned to Royal Dutch Shell. With that company he served in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

until 1959 and was the RDS Group's Personnel co-ordinator from 1964 until 1970.The Week That Shook The World: Letter: A lesson for the US
in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' dated 15 September 2001, online He was Recruitment Advisor to the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, 1970–1971, and Chairman of Tyzack & Partners, 1979–1985. He was also a director of

British Home Stores British Home Stores, commonly abbreviated to BHS and latterly legally styled BHS Ltd, is an online store and formerly a British department store chain, primarily selling clothing and household items. In its later years, the company began to exp ...

, 1973–1987. In retirement, as of 2008 he lived in London. Atcherley died on 29 January 2017, aged 98.

Appointments

*Chairman,

Armed Forces' Pay Review Body The Armed Forces' Pay Review Body is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body (and a Review Body) established to review and recommend the pay and terms and conditions of employment of the British armed forces. It is funded by the Ministry of ...

(1971–1982) *Chairman,

Police Negotiating Board The Police Negotiating Board (PNB) was a United Kingdom non-departmental public body established by Act of Parliament in 1980 to negotiate the pay and terms and conditions of employment of the British police. It was funded by the Home Office, and th ...

(1983–1986) *Member, Top Salaries Review Body, 1971–1987 *Chairman,

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk and is centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festi ...

, 1989–1994 *Chairman,

Toynbee Hall Toynbee Hall is a charitable institution that works to address the causes and impacts of poverty in the East End of London and elsewhere. Established in 1884, it is based in Commercial Street, Spitalfields, and was the first university-affili ...

, 1985–1990 (Member of Management Committee, 1979–1990) *Member, National Staff Committee for Nurses and Midwives, 1973–1977 *Member, Committee of Inquiry into Pay and Related Conditions of Service of Nurses, 1974 *Member, Committee of Inquiry into Remuneration of Members of Local Authorities, 1977 *Vice-Chairman, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, 1987–1990 *Member of Management Committee, Suffolk Rural Housing Association, 1984–1987 *Chairman, Suffolk and North Essex Branch,

European Movement The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. History Initially the Euro ...

, 1995–1998, and President since 1998

Honours

*Empress Leopoldina Medal (

), 1958 *

Knighthood 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 ...

1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours The 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours were announced on 11 June 1977 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee and Birthday in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Mauritius, Fiji, the Bahamas, Grenada, and ...

Family

Atcherley married first, in 1946, Anita Helen Leslie. They had one son and two daughters and divorced in 1990. He married secondly, in 1990, Elke Jessett, the daughter of

Carl Langbehn Carl Langbehn (6 December 1901 – 12 October 1944) was a German lawyer and member of the resistance to Nazism. He was born in Padang, Dutch East Indies. During the Weimar Republic, he was a member of the German People's Party. In 1933, he j ...

(she died in 2004). He married thirdly, in 2005, Sarah Mordant.

Publications

*
War Diary: Singapore, Siam & Burma, 1941-1945
', illustrated by

Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's School and f ...

(London, Harold Atcherley, 2004) *''Euro paean'': In 1998, Atcherley wrote in ''

'' in support of Britain joining the

European single currency The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

. *In the aftermath of the

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

attack on the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...

, Atcherley, writing in ''The Independent'', ascribed the fundamental causes of the disaster to the non-observation by the British government of the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British Government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

. He wrote to ''The Times'' on 3 August 2006: "How can the Israelis, Bush and Blair think they can ever achieve lasting peace in the Middle East by allowing Israel to continue its futile attempt to 'defeat'

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

? ...Unless military action is replaced by negotiation, I can only see disastrous consequences for our relations with the Muslim world." *On 6 September 2001, a letter from Atcherley was published 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 ...

's ''

'' newspaper, headed ''Reports of my death...'' and enquiring why for two years running the newspaper had failed to include his name in its ''Today's Birthdays'' column. He suggested: His birthday, however, has continued to be reported in ''

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 ...

''.Court and Social page
in ''

'' online for 30 August 2006

References