Jack Hayward
OBE | |
---|---|
Born | Jack Arnold Hayward 14 June 1923 |
Died | 13 January 2015 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. | (aged 91)
Nationality | British |
Known for | Owner of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. (1990–2007) |
Predecessor | Gallagher Estates |
Successor | Steve Morgan |
Parent | (father) |
Sir Jack Arnold Hayward
Biography
Early life
The only son of Charles William Hayward, an industrialist,[1] and his wife, Hayward was born in the Whitmore Reans area of Wolverhampton. He was educated at Northaw Preparatory School and later Stowe School in Buckinghamshire.[2]
At the outbreak of the
He served first as a
Career
After demobilisation he began work in Rotary Hoes, part of the
In addition to his home in Freeport, in England he owned a farm in Sussex and in Scotland was Laird of Dunmaglass, a 14,000-acre estate near Inverness.[1] The Sunday Times Rich List placed him as 125th richest in Britain with an estimated £160 million fortune in 2009.
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Hayward became a supporter of Wolverhampton Wanderers as a young child in the late 1920s. He first had a serious opportunity to purchase the club in 1982, when Wolves were £2.5million in debt and relegated from the First Division. He was reportedly offered 400 shares for around £40,000 but declined to buy them. When Wolves went into receivership later that year, Hayward was reportedly behind one of the offers being tabled to save the club, but it was ultimately bought by the Bhatti brothers in an unsuccessful rescue attempt fronted by former Wolves player Derek Dougan.[3]
Hayward became the owner and chairman of Wolves, then in the Second Division following back-to-back promotions, after buying the club in May 1990 for £2.11 million.
By the time he retired as chairman at
).Charity
Hayward was
He funded three international racing yachts, Great Britain I,
Hayward appeared in the 1970 BBC
Political views
Hayward was a donor to the Liberal Party in the 1970s, having met its leader Jeremy Thorpe (one of the West Country MPs who campaigned to get Lundy Island purchased for the nation) in 1969. He backed the party in the October 1974 general election, enabling Thorpe to travel around the coast by hovercraft on speaking tours and the party to field a record number of parliamentary candidates, although only 13 were returned as MPs. Thorpe and his wife Marion were guests at Hayward's home in the Bahamas, and Thorpe offered unsuccessfully to find a buyer for Freeport in return for payment when Hayward and his colleagues were considering selling.
Hayward was awarded £50,000 in libel damages against the
In a 2003 interview with Sathnam Sanghera, Hayward said of his political views, "If I had my way, I'd form my own party far more right-wing than Margaret Thatcher. I'd bring back National Service, the Scaffold, the cat o' nine tails, the Empire—places like Sierra Leone and Nigeria were so much better off under British rule than they are now."[8] When Sanghera asked him why he had thus supported the Liberal Party, he replied, "Well, I used to say, 'I don't want anything to do with Europe.' And Jeremy [Thorpe] used to say, 'My dear fella, if we joined Europe, with our expertise on how to run an empire, we'll be in charge of Europe! We will be the master race!' And I would say, 'How much do you want?' Also, I felt sorry for them."[8]
Style
Hayward was nicknamed "Union Jack" in the Bahamas media for his British patriotism. He imported 10 red London buses to Freeport and was permitted by the General Post Office to install British-style red telephone and pillar boxes. Visiting seamen from the Royal Navy were always given dinner at a local restaurant “with the compliments of Sir Jack”. Back in Britain, Hayward drove a Range Rover bearing the bumper sticker: “Buy abroad — sack a Brit”.[1] In Who's Who, he declared his recreations as, mainly, "promoting British endeavours, mainly in sport...protecting the British landscape, keeping all things bright, beautiful and British".[9]
With his crumpled clothes and pockets stuffed with bits of paper, it was observed of Hayward that he looked “more like an absent-minded retired geography teacher than one of the richest men in the world”. He relaxed by watching
Family
Hayward married Jean Mary Forder in 1948 and had two sons, Rick and Jonathan, and a daughter Susan. Both his sons have also been involved with
Hayward was awarded the freedom of the City of Wolverhampton on 9 July 2003.
In January 2011 Hayward was in a court battle for over £100 million of his own personal fortune, after being sued by his daughter Susan Heath, then aged 62, elder son Rick, 59, and six of his grandchildren after they had been removed as beneficiaries from trusts set up by him. The fallout between Hayward and his family started over the £10 sale of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. to Steve Morgan.[10][11]
Hayward died on 13 January 2015 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, aged 91.[12]
Legacy
The Sir Jack Hayward High School in Freeport, Bahamas, was named after him in 1998.[13] Wolverhampton Wanderers' training complex at Compton is also named after him, as is Jack Hayward Way, a street beside the Molineux ground, previously Molineux Way, that was renamed in commemoration of his 80th birthday in 2003.
The Grand Bahama Highway Bridge is to be renamed the Sir Jack Hayward Bridge. Hayward had campaigned for its building for 10 years before it was launched with a contract signing ceremony in May 2014 at which he was present.[14] The bridge was commissioned in March 2016.[15]
The South Bank of Molineux, known as the Jack Harris Stand at the time, was renamed the Sir Jack Hayward Stand after his death.[16]
See also
- List of residents of Wolverhampton
- Dunmaglass Shooting Estate
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Obituary[dead link], Daily Telegraph, 13 January 2014.
- ^ Sir Jack Hayward at 90: I still adore Wolves, Express & Star, 14 June 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Colourful life of a British eccentric". Shropshire Star. 14 January 2015.
- ^ Ternstrom, Myrtle (2014). "Lundy Field Society Annual Report 2014". Lundy Field Society Annual Report: 11.
- ^ "England | Leicestershire | Club's owner was 'mystery' donor". BBC News. 2 September 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ "When the women set the agenda". Content-usa.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ Sir Jack Hayward, eccentric who loved his city Express & Star, 14 January 2014
- ^ a b Sir Jack Hayward, Sathnam Sanghera, Financial Times, 2003.
- ISBN 978-1-408-18119-5.
- ^ Peter Rhodes (16 November 2010). "Wolves saviour Sir Jack Hayward at war with family " Express & Star". Expressandstar.com. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ "Sir Jack Hayward: I've been demonised « Express & Star". Expressandstar.com. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ "Sir Jack Hayward OBE passes away". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 13 January 2015. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015.
- ^ "Sir Jack Hayward High School website". Jackhaywardhighschool.org. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ New bridge in Bahamas is to be named after Sir Jack Hayward, Wolverhampton Express and Star, 20 January 2015
- ^ Witcher, Debra (25 May 2017). "Images from 25 May 2017".
- ^ Molineux stand set to be renamed in honour of legendary Sir Jack, Birmingham Mail, 7 May 2015