£7m legacy of PM’s maverick war hero uncle
... but what did he leave Dave? Nothing except an enduring love of Aston Villa
DAVID CAMERON was left nothing in the will of his colourful uncle Sir William Dugdale, who was worth more than £7 million, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Former Aston Villa chairman and Military Cross winner Sir Bill (as he liked to be known) left the bulk of his estate in trust for his second wife Cylla, his six children and their descendants.
The Prime Minister and his brother Alexander were close to their uncle as boys, and spent weekends shooting rabbits on his estate and attending Aston Villa matches with him.
Sir Bill died aged 92 in November last year. Probate records released last week show that he left a gross estate in the UK of £8,625,533, reduced to a net figure of £7,861,448 after his affairs were settled.
His will reveals that he set up a trust in the Bahamas in 1982 which could have saved him thousands of pounds in capital gains tax. The amount held in the trust is not disclosed.
Sir Bill, who was known as a bon viveur, was related to Mr Cameron through marriage. His widow Cylla is the sister of Mr Cameron’s mother Mary. Sir Bill had four children from his first marriage to Lady Belinda Pleydell-Bouverie, who died of cancer in 1961, and a further two with Cylla.
Eton-educated Sir Bill spent a night in the cells after throwing soot and water over a policeman while he and members of the notorious Bullingdon Club were targeting demonstrators while at Oxford University.
He joined the Grenadier Guards and won his MC in 1943 for leading his platoon up a hill in Tunisia, under intense fire, to take out a German machinegun post. He went on to serve with distinction at Monte Cassino and Anzio. Sir Bill trained as a solicitor after the war and rode the steeplechaser Cloncarrig as an amateur jockey in the 1952 Grand National.
His dreams of a political career were shattered when his first wife died, leaving him with four young children.
He was best known as chairman of Aston Villa between 1975 and 1982 when the club were English and European champions. He also chaired Severn Trent Water Authority and General Utilities and was both High Sheriff and Deputy Lieutenant of Warwickshire. He was awarded the CBE in 1982.
Sir Bill was praised by Mr Cameron after his death, who ended questions abruptly after a major immigration speech to make sure he would not be late for his uncle’s funeral. He said at the time: ‘I’ve got to go to the funeral of a much-loved relative, a man who fought at Monte Cassino, landed on the beaches of Anzio, rode a horse in the Grand National and was chairman of the world’s greatest football club, Aston Villa. So I don’t want to dishonour him
by being late.’