A genial force of nature who shaped today’s city
TRIBUTES TO SIR DAVID WHITE, WHO HAS DIED AT 91
NOTTINGHAM businessman Sir David White, who has died aged 91, played an influential role in local affairs for more than 20 years.
His remarkable career took him from the youngest-ever Master Mariner at the time in the British Merchant Navy, to a key role in the employee buyout of the National Freight Consortium where he was deputy chairman.
At the time, it was the largest employee buyout in Europe bringing him into contact with Kenneth Clarke, then a junior transport minister and the Rushcliffe MP who became a future neighbour.
Sir David was brought up in Nottingham, the son of a chartered accountant, and attended Nottingham High School, leaving at 14 to train for the Merchant Navy aboard HMS Conway, a Victorian battleship moored in the Menai Straights.
Conditions were tough and he would recall how snow blew through portholes on to the hammocks of cadets.
It took him around the world and he never tired of the sea, taking regular cruises in later life.
His love of travel saw him in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989, when the Communist regime ruthlessly and fatally put down a demonstration, events which kept Sir David and Lady White marooned in their hotel for a few days.
Despite his wanderlust, Sir David always regarded Nottingham as his home and he returned to work in the city in 1987, quickly becoming chairman of Nottingham Health Authority.
Major changes were under way, as departments moved from the General Hospital site to the Queen’s Medical Centre. He oversaw the disposal of the General Hospital and its sale for development, retaining the former A&E area and some wards for offices for the health authority freeing up Forest House, the former Children’s Hospital, for sale.
As a deputy lieutenant of Notts, he welcomed Prince Charles to the QMC in 2001 for specialist treatment for an arm injury.
A skilled negotiator, his experience which was useful as Nottingham began to reshape itself with the decline of traditional industries.
In 1987, he was asked to chair Nottingham Development Enterprise (NDE), a public-private sector partnership created to persuade the Thatcher government not to impose an Urban Development quango on the city. By the end of 1988, NDE proposed the creation of a tram network, which today has three lines. Line One, through Hyson Green and Basford to Hucknall, was selected to encourage investment and new jobs in areas of inner-city decline.
With sheer force of personality, he was comfortable seeking support for the project from the boards of major employers such as Boots, which joined NDE.
Former city council leader John Taylor said: “Sir David was a commanding figure on the Notts stage, making massive contributions to the city, the health authority, Nottingham Trent and NDE, the first nonstatutory body bringing together the public and private sectors.
“He was instrumental in getting the private sector such as Boots to put their hands in their pockets to pay for the tram feasibility study. The tram, though, will be his enduring legacy.”
Former city council chief executive Ted Cantle said: “He was the ‘go to’ person for people like me, seeking a view on any new development or idea. And I knew he would come knocking on my door if he felt that chances were being missed.”
Appointed chairman of Nottingham Polytechnic board of governors, Sir David was closely involved with the transition to Nottingham Trent University, overseen by vicechancellor Prof Ray Cowell.
Sir David set about raising horizons with energy and determination, introducing fresh ambitions and laying the seeds for the transformation into a highly successful university.
He retained his links with NTU, which awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1999. He was immensely proud to watch its growth, as it became The Guardian’s University of the Year in 2019.
Professor Cowell said they developed a close working relationship: “Sir David introduced his contacts to the business school which was invaluable. He had clarity of purpose, energy, commitment and ambition for the university to be among the best. He worked hard to achieve that.”
Sir David, who was knighted for services to Nottingham in the Queen’s birthday honours in 1992, was known as a stickler for corporate governance with a reputation for removing those he regarded as ineffective.
The privatisation of British Coal, formerly the National Coal Board, led to the creation in 1994 of the Coal Authority based in Mansfield, with Sir David as its first chairman. Meanwhile, he moved on to the high street, buying two established Nottingham shops specialising in high-end fashion: James Bell on Pelham Street, selling menswear, and Hilda Hanson in Carrington, selling womenswear. His contribution to Nottingham was recognised by the award of an honorary doctorate by the University of Nottingham in 2011.
From 2003 to 2010, he was a member of the editorial board of the Nottingham Evening Post.
Sir David’s Merchant Navy career gave him a rigour and determination which he brought to the bodies with which he was involved. They may not have been ready for what friends called his “nautical language used expressively and to good effect”.
Although his pet parrot, George, never mastered the vocabulary, he did learn to say “How do you do?”. On one occasion, this scared off a burglar.
Friends recall Sir David as a genial man with a sharp sense of humour. The then plain Mr White was at his Sutton-on-sea holiday home when his knighthood was announced, declining to pose with his parrot for the photo opportunity.
A life-long Nottingham Forest fan, he joined the board as a director from 1999 to 2004. He attended every home match in his 90th year. He swam regularly until last year and was a member of Queen Anne’s Bowling Club in The Park.
He died on April 5, his golden wedding anniversary, at Church Farm at Skylarks in Nottingham. He leaves a wife, Valerie, a daughter, Deborah, and Philippa who predeceased him, three stepchildren Fiona, Michele and Simon, 19 grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren.
He had clarity of purpose, energy, commitment and ambition
Professor Ray Cowell