Clifford William Wilton (15 March 1916 – 16 July 1987) was a Scottishrugby union player and businessman. He was the 94th President of the Scottish Rugby Union.[1]
Wilton had a successful business career, becoming executive chairman of Renwick Wilton & Dobson (Holdings) Ltd and associated companies, and chairman of the Western Fuel Company.[3]
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
Wilton played rugby for Fettes College,[4] After Fettes he played for Fettesian-Lorettonians in 1935.[5]
then for Caius College at the University of Cambridge;[6] where he played for Cambridge University.[4][7][8][9] While at Cambridge he was fined £5 for driving a sports car without insurance in October 1936.[10] He scored a try against the University of Oxford in the 1936 match.[11]
He was Honorary Secretary of the Four Nations tour committee. He had to make a statement confirming that the tour to South Africa would be going ahead despite condemnation of the apartheid regime in 1961: 'We have great respect for the opinions of these different bodies, but so far as we are concerned our plans, which were made some time ago, are going ahead.'[20]
He was on the board of the IRB from 1972 to 1980.[21]
Wilton became the 94th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He served the standard one year from 1980 to 1981.[1][22][23]
The Newcastle Journal had to apologise to Wilton on 12 June 1985 when they stated he had died. In fact, it was another past president of the Scottish Rugby Union Charlie Drummond who had died.[24]
Military career
He was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 72nd (Northumberland) Field Brigade of the Territorial Army in 1937.[4][25] He later served with the Royal Artillery.[16] In 1942-43 he was in an Italian Prisoner of War camp.[26][27]
^ abcLeviathan, the Business Who's who- A Biographical Dictionary of Chairmen, Chief Executives and Managing Directors of British-registered Companies, ed. Ruth Dinning, Leviathan House, 1972, p. 398
