Barry Dodd

Barry John Dodd CBE (2 October 1947 – 30 May 2018[1][2]) was an entrepreneur who ran a graphics company, GSM Group. He was appointed as the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire in September 2014. Dodd was killed in a helicopter crash in North Yorkshire in May 2018.

Barry John Dodd CBE
Born	2 October 1947
Died	30 May 2018 (aged 70) Aldborough, North Yorkshire, England
Cause of death	Helicopter crash
Nationality	British
Known for	Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire
Spouse(s)	Frances

Life

Dodd was born in Salford, but raised in Canada and in Chicago where his mother worked as a court reporter and then in real estate.[3] Dodd returned to England to finish his schooling and to study engineering at Hatfield Polytechnic.[1] Dodd worked as a graduate trainee at the petrochemicals firm ICI where he took on management roles in Teesside, London and New York.[4]

He formed GSM with a colleague from his days at ICI in 1974. The company specialises in labels and barcoding equipment, sheet metal assemblies and automotive components.[5] Through many acquisitions, the company employed over 400 people at nine sites across the United Kingdom by the time of Dodd's death.[4][6]

He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours list of 2006.[7] He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2014 for services to the United Kingdom economy[8] and was made an Officer of the Order of St John in February 2018.[9]

David Cameron wrote to Dodd in 2014 asking if he would like to be nominated to be Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire. Dodd accepted and was elevated to the role in September of the same year[10] taking over from Lord Crathorne.[11]

He also served as chair of the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding local enterprise partnership;[12] as Pro-Chancellor of the University of Hull;[13] and chair of the joint Hull York Medical School.[13]

In November 2018, Dodd was posthumously awarded the Individual Award for Excellence in The Yorkshire Post business awards 2018. The award was collected on his behalf by his widow, Frances.[14]

Personal life

Dodd met his wife, Frances McTigue, at a party in 1970, but they did not marry until 1978.[3] Dodd and his wife, Frances, lived in Carlton-in-Cleveland a village in North Yorkshire[12] where he kept a selection of vintage vehicles.[3]

Death

Dodd died on 30 May 2018, aged 70, when the Bell 206B helicopter he was piloting crashed into a field at Aldborough near to Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire.[12] He had taken off from Husthwaite just a few minutes earlier;[15] Dodd was the only person on board.[8]

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) inquiry concluded that the helicopter had crashed in bad weather, probably due to the pilot becoming disorientated in the cloud. Dodd was taking the helicopter from Husthwaite to an airfield at Walton Wood for an annual service.[16]

References

1. Evans, Chris, ed. (4 June 2018). "Barry Dodd - Entrepreneur with a deep commitment to public service". The Telegraph. p. 27. ISSN 0307-1235.
2. "MR BARRY JOHN DODD director information. Free director information. Director id 900200886". Company Check. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
3. Witherow, John, ed. (8 June 2018). "Barry Dodd - Obituary". The Times (72556). p. 54. ISSN 0140-0460.
4. "Barry Dodd, businessman and Lord-Lieutenant for North Yorkshire". The Yorkshire Post. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
5. Beresford, Philip (26 October 2014). "Britain's Top 100 Entrepreneurs 2014: No. 75 - Barry & Frances Dodd, GSM Group". managementtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
6. "Showing the way to a true badge of success". The Northern Echo. 14 December 1999. ProQuest 328858124.
7. "Queen's Birthday Honours". The Yorkshire Post. 17 June 2006. ProQuest 335361199.
8. "Fatal crash pilot is Lord Lieutenant". BBC News. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
9. "No. 62228". The London Gazette. 21 February 2018. p. 4730.
10. Davies, Gareth (31 May 2018). "Pilot who died in helicopter crash is Lord-Lieutenant for North Yorkshire". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
11. Knowlson, Laura (25 November 2015). "A man of delivery - Barry Dodd wins Lifetime Achievement Award". York Press. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
12. Halliday, Josh (31 May 2018). "Pilot who died in North Yorkshire helicopter crash was Queen's envoy". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
13. Robinson, Hannah (31 May 2018). "Tributes pour in for Barry Dodd killed in helicopter crash". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
14. Casci, Mark (6 November 2018). "A Man Who Stood for Integrity, Decency". The Yorkshire Post. Business Awards 2018. p. 3. ISSN 0963-1496.CS1 maint: location (link)
15. Morris, Georgina (1 June 2018). "Inquiry as helicopter claims life of Queen's envoy". The Yorkshire Post. p. 8. ISSN 0963-1496.
16. "Pilot 'disorientated' before fatal crash". BBC News. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.

External links