Cliff Wilton

Clifford William Wilton (15 March 1916 - 16 July 1987) was a Scottish rugby union player and businessman. He was the 94th President of the Scottish Rugby Union.[1]

Cliff Wilton
Birth nameClifford William Wilton
SchoolFettes College
UniversityGonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker, Lock
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1935
1936-37
1937-38
1937-38
1937-38
1939
Fettesian-Lorettonians
Cambridge University
London Scottish
Territorial Army XV
Northern
Services XV
()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1937 Scotland Possibles ()
94th President of the Scottish Rugby Union
In office
1980–1981
Preceded byJimmy Ross
Succeeded byFraser MacAllister

Early life and education

Grandson of Sir Thomas Wilton, founder of Renwick Wilton & Co., coal merchants and travel agents, Clifford William Wilton was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne and educated at Fettes College, then Caius College, Cambridge (MA), and Gray's Inn, from where he was called to the Bar and thus qualified as a barrister.[2][3]

Business career

Wilton had a successful business career, becoming executive chairman of Renwick Wilton & Dobson (Holdings) Ltd and associated companies, and chairman of the Western Fuel Company.[4]

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Wilton played rugby for Fettes College,[5] After Fettes he played for Fettesian-Lorettonians in 1935.[6] then for Caius College at the University of Cambridge;[7] where he played for Cambridge University.[5][8][9][10] While at Cambridge he was fined £5 for driving a sports car without insurance in October 1936.[11] He scored a try against the University of Oxford in the 1936 match.[12]

In 1937 he played for London Scottish.[13][14] While based in Northumberland with the Territorial Army he also played for Northern.[15]

He played for a Territorial Army XV in 1937[16] and 1938[17][18] and a Services XV in 1939.[19]

Provincial career

He made the Scotland Possibles side in 1937.[20]

Administrative career

He was Honorary Secretary of the Four Nations tour committee. He had to make a statement confirming that the tour to South Africa would be going ahead despite condemnation of the apartheid regime in 1961: 'We have great respect for the opinions of these different bodies, but so far as we are concerned our plans, which were made some time ago, are going ahead.'[21]

Wilton was a member of the Scottish Rugby Union since 1964.[22]

He was on the board of the IRB from 1972 to 1980.[22]

Wilton became the 94th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He served the standard one year from 1980 to 1981.[1][23][24]

The Newcastle Journal had to apologise to Wilton on 12 June 1985 when they stated he had died. In fact, it was another past president of the Scottish Rugby Union Charlie Drummond who had died.[25]

Military career

He was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 72nd (Northumberland) Field Brigade of the Territorial Army in 1937.[5][26] He later served with the Royal Artillery.[17] In 1942-43 he was in an Italian Prisoner of War camp.[27][28]

Personal life

In 1939, Wilton married Alice Linda Travers, a tap dancer and former actress, sister to Bill Travers and Linden Travers.[29][30][31] They had three daughters, the second of whom being the actress Penelope Wilton. He lived at 86, Lexham Gardens, Kensington, London W8, and was a member of the Constitutional Club, the City Livery Club, and the British Sportsman's Club.[32] He died 16 July 1987.[33]

References

  1. "Scottish Rugby" (PDF). s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com. 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. County Cricket Club Heritage Archive: Players, Clifford Wilton, Association of Cricket Historians and Statisticians; URL= https://heritage.derbyshireccc.com/Archive/Players/1095/1095894/1095894.html
  3. Leviathan, the Business Who's who- A Biographical Dictionary of Chairmen, Chief Executives and Managing Directors of British-registered Companies, ed. Ruth Dinning, Leviathan House, 1972, p. 398
  4. Leviathan, the Business Who's who- A Biographical Dictionary of Chairmen, Chief Executives and Managing Directors of British-registered Companies, ed. Ruth Dinning, Leviathan House, 1972, p. 398
  5. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002692/19370319/108/0007 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000681/19351231/219/0014 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000513/19361130/112/0010 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000337/19361208/177/0010 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000681/19361130/399/0019 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19361211/129/0011 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000541/19361127/490/0021 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002784/19361210/129/0008 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19371129/357/0004 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19380228/428/0015 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002445/19371108/166/0009 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002445/19371211/270/0014 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001973/19381202/482/0022 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19381203/694/0023 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001547/19391219/246/0010 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002784/19370107/066/0006 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002134/19611223/146/0007 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19810330/366/0017 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000445/19800126/243/0022 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19800630/514/0025 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002240/19850612/162/0013 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19370306/448/0009 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000650/19421016/116/0004 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002312/19430427/023/0003 via British Newspaper Archive. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. Powell, Lucy (9 June 2008). "Penelope Wilton, the winner of discontent". The Times. London, UK. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  30. "Acting Alumni Win Big at Olivier Awards". Csm.arts.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  31. Billington, Michael (8 January 2015). "Massey, Daniel Raymond". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/69552. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  32. Leviathan, the Business Who's who- A Biographical Dictionary of Chairmen, Chief Executives and Managing Directors of British-registered Companies, ed. Ruth Dinning, Leviathan House, 1972, p. 398
  33. County Cricket Club Heritage Archive: Players, Clifford Wilton, Association of Cricket Historians and Statisticians; URL= https://heritage.derbyshireccc.com/Archive/Players/1095/1095894/1095894.html
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