# Tony Garrett

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"Anthony Garrett" redirects here. For other uses, see [Anthony Garrett (disambiguation)](/source/Anthony_Garrett_(disambiguation)).

**Richard Anthony Garrett** (4 July 1918 – 24 October 2017) was a British business executive, chairman of [Imperial Tobacco](/source/Imperial_Brands) (1973–1979).

He was born near [Cardiff](/source/Cardiff), grew up near [Bristol](/source/Bristol), and educated at the [King's School, Worcester](/source/King's_School,_Worcester).[1]

He joined Imperial Tobacco in 1936, initially working as a junior at the Wills plant ([W.D. & H.O. Wills](/source/W.D._%26_H.O._Wills) being a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco) in Bristol.[2]

Already a [territorial soldier](/source/Army_Reserve_(United_Kingdom)), Garrett was called up at the start of [World War II](/source/World_War_II), and commissioned into the 2nd [Royal Gloucestershire Hussars](/source/Royal_Gloucestershire_Hussars) in January 1941. As a captain with the [22nd Dragoons](/source/22nd_Dragoons), he participated in the [Normandy landings](/source/Normandy_landings), landing on [D+2](/source/D-Day_(military_term)) and fighting across the Low Countries into Germany with his tank squadron.[1][3]

He was chairman of [John Player & Sons](/source/John_Player_%26_Sons) (also a subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco) from 1968, and chairman of Imperial Tobacco from 1973 to 1979.[4]

Cigarette advertising on television had been banned in the UK in 1965.[2] Himself a keen sportsman, Garrett instead promoted tobacco products through sports sponsorship deals, attaching the John Player brand name to the [John Player League](/source/Pro40) in cricket and to rugby league and golf tournaments, and sponsoring the [Lotus F1](/source/Lotus_F1) racing team.[4] Garrett also led Imperial Tobacco to sponsor classical music extensively,[2] and collaborated in the founding of the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts (later [Arts & Business](/source/Arts_%26_Business)).[1]

In June 1977, Garrett invited executives of the world's leading tobacco companies to a secret meeting at [Shockerwick House](/source/Shockerwick_House) to formulate a defensive strategy against anti-smoking health campaigns, a programme known as [Operation Berkshire](/source/Operation_Berkshire).[2]

He was later chairman of the diary publisher Dataday, the [Bath International Music Festival](/source/Bath_International_Music_Festival), and the [National Association of Boys' Clubs](/source/Ambition_(charity)) (1980–1987). He was a trustee of the [Royal Opera House](/source/Royal_Opera_House) and [Glyndebourne](/source/Glyndebourne_Festival_Opera).[1][3]

He was appointed [CBE](/source/Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire) in 1987.[1][3]

## References

1. ["Tony Garrett, chairman of Imperial Tobacco – obituary"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2017/11/16/tony-garrett-chairman-imperial-tobacco-obituary/). *The Telegraph*. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.

1. ["Tony Garrett, tobacco industry leader, 1918-2017"](https://www.ft.com/content/973b663c-dbf2-11e7-a039-c64b1c09b482). *Financial Times*. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2019.

1. ["Tony Garrett"](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/tony-garrett-obituary-0pxgnzcqt). *The Times*. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.

1. ["Tony Garrett, chairman of Imperial Tobacco – obituary"](https://trading.co.uk/story/cdc9fcc7-fe5b-4213-83a8-39b403c0b07b/). *trading.co.uk*. Retrieved 21 August 2019.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tony Garrett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Garrett) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Garrett?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.