Daniel Pettit
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Eric Arthur Pettit | ||
| Date of birth | 19 February 1915 | ||
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | ||
| Date of death | 28 July 2010 (aged 95) | ||
| Place of death | Worcester, England[1] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Cambridge University | |||
| International career | |||
| 1936 | Great Britain | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Sir Daniel Eric Arthur Pettit (19 February 1915 – 28 July 2010) was an English footballer, soldier, and industrialist.[2]
Early life
Daniel Pettit was born in Liverpool[3] in 1915, the son of Thomas Edgar Pettit, a book keeper and fruit merchant who lived in Peter Road, Walton, at the time of Daniel's birth.[4][5] Thomas Pettit and his wife Pauline (née Kerr) later moved with their family to an address in Mossley Hill.[5]
Education and football career
After leaving Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool in 1934, Pettit studied history at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge (then known as Fitzwilliam House), where he won the Clothworkers' Exhibition in his second year and graduated with an upper-second class degree in 1937.[6][7] Having played for the youth teams of both Everton and Liverpool, Pettit also played amateur football for Cambridge University, captaining the side during the 1937–38 season.[5]
Whilst still at university Pettit represented Great Britain in Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[3] After arriving in Berlin he was obliged to attend a reception at the British Embassy, where the guest of honour was Adolf Hitler. With no option but to shake the Führer's hand, Pettit was often heard to say in subsequent years that he had been washing his own hand ever since. The British team lost 5–4 in the quarter-finals to the eventual winners Poland.[5]
Later life
After graduation Pettit was a history master at Highgate School. He served in the Second World War from 1940 with the Royal Artillery in Africa, India and Burma, learning Swahili and demobilising with the rank of Major in 1946.[3][5] He returned briefly to Highgate before joining Unilever in late 1947 to work in corporate management, during which time he advised a young trainee named Paul McCartney to "spend less time messing about with music and concentrate on his career."[5] From 1958 to 1970 he was Associate Company Director and then Chairman of Unilever.[8]
Thereafter, in his final working years, Pettit was a distinguished industrialist of national renown, serving as Chairman of the National Freight Corporation from 1971 to 1978, and Director of Lloyds Bank from 1977 to 1985. During this latter period he was also Chairman of the Post and Telecommunications (PosTel) Investment Management Fund. He was made a Freeman of the City of London in 1971 and knighted for his services to industry in 1974.[8]
He married in 1940 Winifred, daughter of William Bibby, by whom he had two sons.[4] Pettit lived latterly at Bransford Court near Worcester.[4]
References
- ^ "Deaths". The Times. 7 August 2010. p. 80.
- ^ "Daniel Pettit". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ a b c "Daniel Pettit". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
- ^ a b c Mosley, Charles (ed.). Debrett's Handbook 1982, Distinguished People in British Life. Debrett's Peerage Limited. p. 1237. ISBN 0-905649-38-9.
- ^ a b c d e f "PETTIT, Daniel Eric Arthur [1915-2010]". www.liverpoolfootprint.co.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ Fitzwilliam Journal. March 2011. p. 68. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
- ^ "University News". The Times. 21 June 1937. p. 20.
- ^ a b "PETTIT, Sir Daniel (Eric Arthur)". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 2025 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)