Sir Nigel Edward Strutt DL TD (18 January 1916 – 28 January 2004) was the chairman of the

Strutt & Parker Strutt & Parker is one of the largest property consultancies in the UK with a network of 60 offices, 10 in prime central London. It was founded in 1885, by the partnership of two friends, Hon. Edward Gerald Strutt and Charles Alfred Parker. In 2 ...

(Farms) Ltd firm of

agricultural property consultant Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food ...

land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the nobility or landed gentry, supervising the farming ...

s and farm managers. He farmed in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. He was a Deputy Lieutenant for Essex from 1954, and

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of th ...

in 1966. He was offered of a peerage but declined it, as had his great-great-grandfather, Joseph Holden Strutt.

Early life

Strutt was the youngest son of Captain Edward Jolliffe Strutt and his wife Amelie (née Devas). His grandfather, Hon.

Edward Gerald Strutt Edward Gerald Strutt CH (10 April 1854 in Witham, Essex – 8 March 1930 in Hatfield Peverel, Essex) was a British agriculturist who played an important role in British food and agricultural planning during World War I, for which he was appointed ...

, was the fifth son of

John James Strutt, 2nd Baron Rayleigh John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

, and younger brother of

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

-winning physicist,

John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh ( ; 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919), was an English physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904 "for his investigations of the densities of the most important gases and for his discovery ...

. His great-uncle was a founder member of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

; his grandfather was an early

Companion of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire. The ord ...

. The Strutts can trace their ancestry to a miller from Essex who died in 1694. They became stalwart members of the shire gentry, and several members of the family sat in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

from the 18th century. Nigel's great-great-grandfather, Joseph Strutt, was an MP for 40 years and colonel of several regiments of Essex militia. He was offered a peerage, but suggested that the title be conferred on his wife instead, so Lady Charlotte Strutt became Baroness Rayleigh. Strutt was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He showed interest in farming, and attended

Wye College The College of St Gregory and St Martin at Wye, commonly known as Wye College, was an education and research institution in the village of Wye, Kent. In 1447, Cardinal (Catholic Church), Cardinal John Kempe founded his chantry there which also ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Career

Strutt joined the

Essex Yeomanry The Essex Yeomanry was a Reserve unit of the British Army that originated in 1797 as local Yeomanry Cavalry Troops in Essex. Reformed after the experience gained in the Second Boer War, it saw active service as cavalry in World War I and as a ...

in 1937, and moved to Africa to become an honorary aide-de-camp to the governor of

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

. He joined the Essex Yeomanry

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 ...

on the outbreak of 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 as a

forward observation officer An artillery observer, artillery spotter, or forward observer (FO) is a soldier responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire support onto a target. An artillery observer usually accompanies a tank or infantry unit. Spotters ensure that ...

in North Africa and was severely wounded in 1941 near

Bardia Bardia, also El Burdi or Bardiyah ( or ) is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya, located near the border with Egypt. It is also occasionally called ''Bórdi Slemán''. The name Bardia is deeply rooted in the ancient ...

, in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, losing his right eye. After recovering from his injuries, he was offered a staff position as an ADC in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, but asked to be returned to his regiment instead. However, before he could rejoin his comrades, he was captured by a German patrol and sent to a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

in northern Italy. In Camp 41, near

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, he shared a room with Edward Tomkins and Pat Gibson, all three becoming firm friends. He was

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...

at Tomkins's wedding in 1955. Strutt was repatriated in 1943 on medical grounds and in exchange for a German prisoner. He kept his

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

, rejoining the Essex Yeomanry after the war and was later awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

. After the war, Strutt became a farmer, living for the remainder of his life in a farmhouse in

Terling Terling (pronounced Ter-ling) is a village and civil parish in the county of Essex, England, between Braintree to the north, Chelmsford to the south-west and Witham to the east. History A settlement at Terling dates back to Roman times. Acc ...

. He farmed in

and

, through two family firms, Lord Rayleigh's Farms and Strutt & Parker Farms. The farms produced wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, peas and sugar beet, with herds of

Friesian cattle Frisian(s) most often refers to: *Frisia, a cross-border coastal region in Germany and the Netherlands **Frisians, the medieval and modern ethnic group inhabiting Frisia ***Frisii, the ancient inhabitants of Frisia prior to 600 AD **Frisian langua ...

and

Lavenham Lavenham is a village, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in the Babergh District, Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is noted for its Lavenham Guildhall, Guildhall, Little ...

producing two million gallons of

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

per annum.

Later life

Strutt was a member of the National Economic Development Council for Agriculture, and chairman of the Advisory Council for Agriculture and Horticulture from 1973-80. He was president of the

Country Landowners' Association The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) is a membership organisation representing landowners, property owners and businesses owners in England and Wales. Until 2000, the organisation was known as the Country Landowners Association. The ...

from 1967-9, president of the British Friesian Cattle Society in 1974-5, and president of the

Royal Agricultural Society of England The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) promotes the scientific development of English agriculture. It was established in 1838 with the motto "Practice with Science" and was known as the English Agricultural Society until it received i ...

in 1982-3. He became a fellow at Wye College in 1970, and was Master of the

Worshipful Company of Farmers The Worshipful Company of Farmers is one of the Livery Company, Livery Companies of the City of London. The company became a Livery Company in 1952, with the support of HM King George VI, and was granted a royal charter three years later by H ...

in 1976-7. He received the Massey Ferguson Award in 1976, and received honorary degrees from

Cranfield University Cranfield University is a postgraduate-only public research university in the United Kingdom that specialises in science, engineering, design, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) in 1946. Throug ...

and

Essex University The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass universities. The university comprises three campuses in the county, in Southend-on-Sea and ...

. Strutt became a Deputy Lieutenant for Essex in 1954 and in 1966 he was

. He was knighted in 1972. Like his ancestor, Joseph Strutt, he was offered of a peerage, but declined. Strutt had an apartment in The Albany, and was a member of

Brooks's Brooks's is a gentlemen's club in St James's Street, London. It is one of the oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the world. History In January 1762, a private society was established at 50 Pall Mall by Messrs. Boothby and James ...

. He enjoyed outdoor activities, such as walking, game shooting, and skiing. He never married.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strutt, Nigel 1916 births 2004 deaths People from Terling Alumni of Wye College Royal Horse Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II British World War II prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Italy Deputy lieutenants of Essex High sheriffs of Essex

Nigel Nigel ( ) is an English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walter Scott published '' The F ...

Essex Yeomanry officers Military personnel from Essex