Sir William Dugdale, 2nd Baronet

Sir William Stratford Dugdale, 2nd Baronet, (29 March 1922 – 13 November 2014 ) was the chairman of Aston Villa from 1975 to 1978. Dugdale arrived at Aston Villa as a director when they were in the third division, having been relegated due to poor performances on and off the pitch. He left the club in 1982, the year they won the European Cup. Following several successful years as a director in the early-1970s, he was elected chairman in 1975, taking over the position from Doug Ellis, the package holiday businessman, before being replaced by Harry Kartz.

Biography

Dugdale was born on 29 March 1922, the son of Sir William Francis Stratford Dugdale, 1st Bt of the Noble House of Stratford, and Margaret Gilmour. Educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford, he succeeded to the title of 2nd Baronet Dugdale, of Merevale and Blyth, co. Warwick [UK, 1936] on 18 April 1965.

He fought in the Second World War, where he was mentioned in despatches, gaining the rank of captain in the service of the Grenadier Guards, having been commissioned into that regiment on 27 September 1941 and after serving in the ranks in the Royal Berkshire Regiment. His service number was 207638. He was decorated with the award of the Military Cross (M.C.) in 1943 for outstanding bravery whilst under fire. He fought at Anzio, and ended the war guarding the German generals at Nuremberg. He married, secondly, Cecilia (Cylla) Mary Mount, daughter of Sir William Mount, 2nd Baronet and Elizabeth Nance Llewellyn, on 17 October 1967.

Children of Sir William Dugdale, Bt and Lady Belinda Pleydell-Bouverie: Laura Dugdale b. 20 September 1953 Matilda Dugdale b. 15 May 1955 Charlotte Dugdale b. 15 May 1955 William Matthew Stratford Dugdale, 3rd Baronet b. 22 February 1959

Children of Sir William Dugdale, Bt and Cecilia Mary Mount: Adelaide Margaret Victoria Jane Dugdale b. 9 July 1970 Thomas Joshua Stratford Dugdale b. 20 September 1974

Dugdale's niece, Elizabeth Dugdale, daughter of his brother Sir John Dugdale, is a god-daughter of Queen Elizabeth II.

The former Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, is the nephew by marriage of Sir William Dugdale.