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The Story of Chesham Amalgamations
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2007-06-20
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Shields was born in
London and served as a major in the
Royal Artillery in
World War II , during which time he was awarded the
Military Cross . In 1949 he unsuccessfully stood as the
Conservative Party parliamentary candidate for
St Pancras North . Shields served on
Hampstead borough council between 1947 and 1965, serving as deputy leader, and as Chairman of the finance and works committees.
Shields later became an adviser in merger broking, especially in the role of director of
Chesham Amalgamations And Investments (1964–1984). He was Chairman of the London area of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations (1961–1963), and was thrice a member of the Conservative Party National Executive.
He was knighted in 1964 for political and public services in London and Hampstead.
During his time as the Chairman of the
Commission For New Towns (1982–1995) Shields oversaw the doubling in the number of new towns in the UK under
Margaret Thatcher . The Commission, under his chairmanship, was converted from a holding body to a disposal agency, selling off billions of pounds of assets. At the same time Shields also served on the board of
London Transport (1986–1993), six months doing so as interim Chairman (1988-89) after the Fennell report into the
King's Cross Fire , and afterwards as Deputy Chairman.
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