From Humble Beginnings
SIR ROBERT OGDEN CBE Hon LLD
A man of courage and enterprise, constantly moving forward with his unswerving determination, who started his life from very humble beginnings. Robert Ogden was born the eldest of six children to Albert and Maria Ogden in Bradford in 1936 and left school at the age of fourteen. Soon afterwards he left home to start his working life on a small, remote farm in the Yorkshire Dales, milking by hand 20 cows, twice a day besides much other farm work.
Following National Service with the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, using money he had saved whilst in uniform, Robert embarked on his first business enterprise, buying an ancient tipper truck. He was helped by his mother who sold her own car, a Swallow Doretti, to enable Robert to make the deposit.
The First Business Venture
He used the truck to move crushed stone from Skipton Rock Quarry to Menwith Hill American base near Harrogate. He arrived early to ensure he was first in the queue every day to get as many loads in as possible, working seven days a week. Saving every penny, Robert bought a new truck, keeping the old one he invited one of his brothers to work with him. He continued saving to add to the fleet in order to increase capacity to haul stone and continued inviting his other brothers to work alongside him.
Building an Industrial Powerhouse
Robert saw in transport a huge opportunity to start many other businesses. These included demolition recovering York Stone and selling it into the south of England where there was a huge demand. All the material recovered from demolition projects was recycled for use in the construction industry. They continued to increase their fleet of tippers and construction equipment becoming one of the largest owners and operators of Caterpillar equipment in the UK.
A National Presence
His eye for a commercial opportunity was soon to manifest itself in a succession of deals as a result of which he rapidly expanded into building farm roads, erecting farm buildings salvaged from redundant military bases and then into major commercial and industrial demolition, dismantling and salvage work country wide. Throughout a business career that went on to embrace substantial interests in transport, heavy construction equipment, civil engineering, quarrying, coal preparation and real estate development, it was this eye for an opportunity, allied to an absolute and overriding determination to succeed, which led to him becoming one of the most successful businessmen of his generation.
At its peak in the 70’s and 80’s the Ogden name was to be seen in almost every town and city centre in the country. Also, many ports used Ogden supplied machines in their docks and the red Ogden of Otley sign could be widely seen from ships in many parts of the world including Singapore and Greece.
Awards, Honours, and Industry Leadership
The Ogden Group of Companies, which he founded in 1956, went on to win four Queen’s Awards for Export Achievement and one for Technical Achievement. Robert was appointed CBE in 1983 in recognition for his services to industry. The Group’s business was concerned mainly with Real Estate development, property investment, coal preparation and land reclamation of slagheaps, spoil heaps, coal mining waste and extraction of coal from these tips. The Group also washed and prepared almost half of the deep mined coal in the country, constantly improving the capabilities of the washing plants to operate more efficiently. In addition to washing deep mine coal a major activity was the extraction of coal from redundant colliery spoil heaps.
Environmental Reclamation and Regeneration
Ogden Group was the country’s leading specialist in colliery tip and environmental reclamation. Reclaiming and remediating land contaminated by industrial pollution back to the highest environmental standards and their subsequent reinstatement for commercial development and community benefit. As part of the environmental restoration process millions of trees were planted and many new jobs were created ameliorating the many problems caused to local communities arising from disused colliery coal tips and other industrial wastes. The sites of the former spoil heaps were completely restored and landscaped and then used as leisure amenities or developed for residential or employment uses, bringing much needed job opportunities and wealth to deprived areas that had been badly affected by the closure of pits, mines and steel plants; industries upon which these areas had been so reliant.
A Lifelong Commitment to Charity
Robert’s admirable concern for the environment and success at creating jobs was matched by his energetic charitable work. He was a generous and enthusiastic supporter of a wide range of charities and education community works, largely within his native Yorkshire concentrating on helping sick or disadvantaged people.
He was a member of Macmillan Cancer Relief from 1983 when he became deputy chairman of the committee for the first ever Yorkshire appeal chaired by Lord Halifax. In 1985 in recognition of his exceptional work for the charity he was appointed Vice-President of Macmillan Cancer Relief and a Member of the Advisory Board. He continued to support Macmillan in very practical ways.
Cancer Care and Medical Legacy
In 1993 he established and funded a Senior Lectureship in Palliative Medicine and Oncology at St. James’s University Hospital Leeds, and funded jointly with Macmillan a new Cancer Resource Centre at the same hospital. The Centre which was completed in February 2000 gives support and counselling to cancer sufferers as well as providing a training facility for Macmillan nurses. The Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre at St James’s hospital was followed by his funding and construction of cancer treatment centres, the second The Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre was completed in Harrogate in 2014 and the third in Northallerton in 2018, these two medical Centres deliver chemotherapy and blood transfusion alongside other supportive treatments to cancer patients.
Championing the Vulnerable and Disadvantaged
In 1985 Robert was asked to chair an appeal to raise money to build two residential care homes in Yorkshire for the Home Farm Trust which exists to provide residential homes for the mentally handicapped. The amount raised exceeded expectations and he was later presented with a special award by HRH The Princess Royal in recognition of this and other work on behalf of the Trust. Robert is a founder trustee of the Development Trust for the Mentally Handicapped set up with funds raised principally in the City of London to be used to prime regional projects in advance of local appeals. The Trust has raised in excess of £10 million since its inception in 1987 when its principal beneficiary was the Home Farm Trust. It provided funds for a wide range of charities concerned with the mentally handicapped.
In 1995 HRH The Princess Royal introduced him to the National Autistic Society (NAS) who were looking for help with a major project in Yorkshire. His subsequent efforts on behalf of autistic children led in 1999, to his personal purchase of a redundant 1100 pupil former high school near Rotherham which he gifted outright to the NAS to enable it to establish a new national and international centre of excellence for the education of autistic children. The school was formally opened by HRH The Princess Royal on 13 July 2000.
Supporting Local Communities
Robert’s extensive charity work in South Yorkshire encompassed such local and diverse projects as support for the Prince of Wales Hospice in Pontefract, and the Northern Racing College in Doncaster. In 1998 he provided professional advice on a building extension at the Hospice and made a large personal donation to assist the construction and equipping of the development. He also gave advice on the design and construction of an accommodation block at the Northern Racing College to house 150 students training for NVQs and careers in the racing industry.
Education, Opportunity, and Recognition
Robert’s conviction that education is the key to improving the lives of young people in deprived areas was the driving factor behind a scholarship scheme he established and personally funded to pay for over 400 young people over a period of 9 years, from needy families in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham to complete their sixth form education and go on to graduate courses at the University of Leeds. Sir Alan Wilson, the then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, which administered the scholarship scheme described it as a tremendous achievement, and that selecting the scholars with Sir Robert was heart warming and showed it was possible to make a difference for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Robert Ogden Scholarships were later adopted by the Secretary of State for Education as a model when the Government introduced Education Maintenance Awards (EMA) country-wide. Robert was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa in June 2000 by the University of Leeds in recognition of this and other philanthropic works, and knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in 2001 for services to charity.
Character, Values, and Philanthropic Drive
Although from a far from privileged background himself, Robert worked tirelessly on behalf of the less fortunate in society. He gave his time unstintingly, and freely used his knowledge, contacts and personal fortune to raise funds, inspire helpers and encourage donations from friends and business acquaintances. His devotion to the many causes he embraced, and the drive and energy with which he pursued their aims was remarkable.
The Sir Robert Ogden Charitable Foundation (registered number 1180422) was founded by Robert and his second wife Ana and his permanent legacy will be marked not only by the philanthropic works Robert had done during his lifetime, but also by the continuity of his charitable legacy which will be unswervingly carried on after his passing.
Racing, Travel, and Life Beyond Business
Sir Robert had an interest in bloodstock throughout most of his life. His racing interest began through his neighbour, the haulage tycoon, former trainer and best friend Jack Hanson. His first winner came in a five-furlong maiden on the Flat at Haydock in November 1975. He was very successful in National Hunt racing and was leading owner on three occasions (1996/97, 1999/00, 2000/01). In recent years he changed focus and instead concentrated on the Flat where he had big wins in the Irish St Leger, Hardwicke Stakes, Duke Of Cambridge Stakes, Falmouth Stakes, and Prix Rothschild.
In addition to his equine interests, he had a keen interest in travelling and seeing the natural beauty of the world and its different cultures. As a result of his success in business he was able to twice circumnavigate the globe on board his own motor yacht. A great achievement for a man who started with so little.
