Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Sir Neville Archibald Gass (14 June 1893 – 23 September 1965) was a British businessman. He was the third chairman of the board of BP from 1957 to 1960. Gass was born in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, to Horace Archibald Campbell Gass, who worked in the Forest Department, and Gertrude Louisa Martin.''India, Select Births and Baptisms, 1786-1947'' He was educated at

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

and at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in Montreal. In the First World War, he served in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

and later in the

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

, and for his services 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 ...

and the

Belgian Croix de Guerre The ( French) or ''Oorlogskruis'' ( Dutch) is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Belgium established by royal decree on 25 October 1915. It was primarily awarded for bravery or other military virtue on the battlefield. The award was reesta ...

. Shortly after the war, he joined BP, working first in London and then until 1934 in Persia. He was appointed managing director of BP in 1939, deputy chairman in 1956, and chairman in 1957. In 1960, he was succeeded by

Maurice Bridgeman Sir Maurice Richard Bridgeman (26 January 1904 – 18 June 1980) was an English oilman. Bridgeman was the fourth chairman of the board of BP, serving from 1960 to 1969. Biography Bridgeman was the third son of the William Bridgeman, 1st Visc ...

as chairman. He 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 1953, and in 1958 was knighted (KBE) in the same order. Gass died at the

King Edward VII's Hospital for Officers King Edward VII's Hospital (formal name: King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes) is a private hospital located on Beaumont Street in the Marylebone district of central London. Agnes Keyser, later known as Sister Agnes, established the hos ...

, London, on 23 September 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gass, Neville Archibald 1893 births 1965 deaths People educated at Tonbridge School McGill University alumni Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire British businesspeople in the oil industry British chairpersons of corporations Chairmen of BP Businesspeople from Chennai British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery officers Royal Horse Artillery officers Recipients of the Military Cross British recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) British people in colonial India Military personnel of British India