A Fish out of Water - hardcover

Born in London on Lord Mayor's Day, as it then was, on 9 November 1925, Robin Gillett was the only child of Captain Harold Gillett MC FCA who became Lord Mayor of London for the years 1958-59 and was created a Baronet. Robin Gillett was educated at the Nautical College, Pangbourne 1939-43 after which he went to sea as a cadet with Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd with which he served on North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Russian convoys. He remained with Canadian Pacific until after the war obtaining his Master Mariner's Certificate in 1951. In 1950 he joined the Royal Naval Reserve and got married, subsequently having two sons, the first born in 1955 and the second in 1958. From 1953 he served for a year in the Persian Gulf in the frigate HMS Flamingo doing RNR training and in 1957 became the youngest Staff Commander of the Canadian Pacific flagship the Empress of Scotland, a rank he held until he left the sea in August 1960 having been recruited while serving in the Empress of Britain. On leaving the sea he joined the Lloyd's broking firm of Bevington, Vaizey and Foster and after training commenced as Administration Manager there. In 1965 he was elected to the Common Council of the City of London and also as an underwriting member of Lloyd's. He was elected an Alderman in 1969 and Sheriff in 1973. On 29 September 1976 he was elected as Lord Mayor of London and on 12 November he entered the Mansion House. Unfortunately his father had died eight days before he was elected. Of the 648 Lord Mayors that preceded him, only 6 had actually succeeded their fathers in a direct line and not one had succeeded in becoming lord Mayor during his father's lifetime. There followed a very hectic year at the Mansion House, the crowning event of which was of course the Silver Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II. At the end of the mayoralty Gillett returned to his home in Knightsbridge and back to his firm after a suitable rest period...