I am grateful to one of our Executive Committee members, Steve Faulkner, for alerting me to the passing of David Watts earlier this month, at the age of 74, after being unwell for a few years.
Many will remember him as the former Managing Director of Thames Valley Eggs. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues.
“David began his career with the company in 1961, moving up through the ranks of what was then, Europe’s largest egg production cooperative, before becoming Managing Director in 1992. He established Thames Valley Eggs as a major egg packer to the multiples, in an era dominated by the ‘Big Four’ – Deans, Daylay, Thames Valley and Stonegate, and oversaw many joint ventures: TVE (Production), TVE (Anglia), TVE (Manor), TVE (Western), TV Countryside and Thames Valley Distribution, along with the acquisition of Arnold Davies in the Midlands. He played a major part in instigating the change from a cooperative, to a private limited company in 1994, and always cared strongly for his employee’s welfare and well-being. He retired from the egg industry in 2001. Thames Valley Eggs and Stonegate Farmers merged some years later.”
