291:. YTV's difficulties stemmed from overselling air-time to advertisers in 1992-3, this had to be honoured in the following year forcing the company to make provisions of £20.2m to cover the debt. When these resulted in pre-tax losses for the year of £7.9m, Ward Thomas was recalled from retirement to steer the company out of its predicament. Upon his return to Yorkshire Ward Thomas demanded Clive Leach's resignation, proposed that the board waive all management bonuses and embarked on a programme of cost-cutting which returned the broadcaster to profit by the end of 1994. In 1995, Ward Thomas appointed
206:. Ward Thomas was initially appointed as Sales Director, but took over from Edward O'Donnell as CEO Shortly after the company opened After 6 months of operation Ward Thomas fought a successful battle against the unions who had demanded major changes to the company's structure. In a bold move, Ward Thomas threatened to close the station down if staff backed the union proposal, at which point it was overruled.
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and the broadcasting franchise was sold. Ward Thomas had always advocated merging the ITV regional franchises into a single entity for efficiency reasons and with the sale of YTV to
Granada this was brought one step closer to reality. Having initially been offered the Chairmanship of Granada's Media
214:
Ward Thomas successfully led the bid for the
Yorkshire Television (YTV) franchise in 1967. YTV went on the air in 1968 with Ward Thomas as Managing Director. After only a year of being on air, Ward Thomas had to steer the company through the potentially disastrous collapse of its only broadcasting
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was also supposed to form part of the group (making up the third spur of the trident) but its inclusion was blocked by the
Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). During this period, Yorkshire produced some of the UK's most successful TV programmes under the stewardship of Head of Programmes
271:, the Clermont Club and the Victoria Sporting Club in London as well as the chain of Playboy betting shops (these were later sold off for £6.2m). The Village Club and the Connoisseur Casinos were added to the group in 1982 for £2.6M. In addition to its Casinos, Trident also owned
219:. This left the company facing potential losses of £500,000 per month, but a temporary mast was installed after only four days and a mast bought from Sweden became operational just four weeks later. This swift action limited total losses to only £250,000.
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Ward Thomas retired from
Trident Casinos in 1984 after the company made its highest ever pre-tax profits of £10.3m in 1983. He retired from Trident in 1984, stating that he did not wish to spend the rest of his career in the gaming business.
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Ward Thomas was married twice. First to
Patricia Cornelius with whom he had one daughter Christina Thomas (b. 19 July 1951). His second marriage was to Janice Patricia Topp with whom he had one son, Guy Alexander Ward (b. 10 October 1988).
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At the 1980 round of television franchise renewals, the
Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) forced Trident to devolve its television companies; with the proceeds of the sale of YTV and TTTV, Trident purchased Playboy Casinos from
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as managing director. Having been brought in initially as a temporary measure to stabilise the company, Ward Thomas announced in March 1996 that the board had asked him to continue his time at the helm.
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in June 1944. He also received the DFC "for utmost fortitude, courage and devotion to duty in air operations" during the War. By the time he left the RAF Ward Thomas had achieved the rank of
44:(1 August 1923 – 4 February 2019) was a British television executive, who was at the forefront of independent television in the UK from the 1960s through to the mid-1990s. He was
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Ward Thomas came out of retirement and returned to the
Chairmanship of YTV in November 1993 after the company ran into difficulties under the stewardship of
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was formed in 1971 as holding company of YTV and Tyne Tees TV (TTTV) with Ward Thomas as managing director and deputy chairman (becoming chairman in 1976).
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In June 1997, after a long period of corporate courtship, Ward Thomas convinced shareholders to accept a bid of £711m for YTV from
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as an air-time salesman, Ward Thomas was part of the consortium bidding for the
Grampian Television franchise in North East
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On his return to the UK in 1951, Ward Thomas was actively involved in motor racing in the UK and Europe. He won the
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Judi Bevan. The Sunday
Telegraph. "Yorkshire's Father Flies to the Rescue". 5 December 1993. p. 24
80:, the only child of Constance Thomas (née Daborn; 1900–97) and William Thomas. He was educated at
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Jeremy Potter. Independent
Television in Britain Vol 4 - Companies and Programmes 1968-80. p87
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Old hand reinstated in the hour of need - Ward Thomas at YTTV. Media Week. 19 November 1993.
546:"UK Company News: Casinos hoist Trident TV to £10.3m". Financial Times. 18 January 1984. p14
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He also became non-executive chairman at Irving International, a media consultancy company.
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Cathy Newman. "GRANADA SET TO BUY YORKSHIRE FOR £652M". The Independent. 10 June 1997. p29
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Susan Gilchrist. "YORKSHIRE TV PLUNGES TO LOSS OF £7.9M". The Times. 29 January 1994. P21
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604:"Yorkshire snaps up former TV-AM boss Bruce Gyngell". The Independent. 2 May 1995. p. 28
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Lisa Buckingham. "THE BOSS IS BACK - YORKSHIRE TV". The Guardian. 17 October 1994. p. 26
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in July of the same year. As a result of his performances he won membership of the
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537:"Trident TV to sell Windsor Safari Park". Financial Times. 12 November 1983. p. 17
513:"THREE DECADES OF YTV - YORKSHIRE TV - 1968-98 - Yorkshire's rollercoaster ride".
644:"Thomas bows out at Yorkshire Tyne-Tees". The Independent. 24 October 1997. p. 17
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Andrew Culf. "Merge or decline, says ITV chief". The Guardian. 2 July 1997. p. 32
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during which Bomber Command suffered its heaviest loses. He was awarded the
528:"How Trident's Shares Became a Gamble". Financial Times. 15 May 1982. p. 10
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https://500race.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Naumur2020075220Report-1.jpg
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https://500race.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Brands2018055220Report-1.jpg
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for his involvement in bombing raids on the German Panzer training camp at
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481:"THE BOSS IS BACK - YORKSHIRE TV". The Guardian. 17 October 1994. p. 26
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555:"Trident TV safari park sale". The Financial Times. 8 December 1983.
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division, Ward Thomas instead decided to retire at the age of 74.
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championship in May 1952 and the Prix de la Province de Namur (
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Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
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for £14.6m and formed Trident Casinos. The deal included the
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over the course of the war, including taking part in the
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Matt Baker. "Ward Thomas stays on for licence fight".
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in May 1940, when he had to escape on the ferry from
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Military personnel from the London Borough of Merton
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Return to Yorkshire/Tyne Tees Television (1993—1997)
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88:(1935-9). He spent a year abroad at the Lycée in
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107:in 1941 and trained as a navigator and pilot in
158:Ward Thomas left the RAF in 1946 and moved to
698:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
223:Trident Television & Casinos (1971—1984)
566:"Thomas takes over at Yorkshire-Tyne Tees"
198:After beginning his television career at
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16:British television executive (1923–2019)
361:The Bloxhamist, Vol LXII. No. 448, p. 7
333:"John Hanson to step down at Trident".
713:Royal Air Force pilots of World War II
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371:The Bloxhamist, Vol LXII. No. 452, p13
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453:British Racing Drivers Club - Members
568:. The Independent. 9 November 1993.
383:"100 Squadron Association Main Page"
64:(1967–76, 1993–97), and chairman of
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718:British World War II bomber pilots
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72:Early life, WWII and Motor Racing
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339:. 17 February 1976. p. 21.
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137:Nuremberg raid of March 1944
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655:"Irving International Ltd"
217:transmitter on Emley Moor
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94:German invasion of France
30:Gwyn Edward "Ward" Thomas
708:Royal Air Force officers
417:"Relishing the Battle".
127:. He flew 36 trips over
76:Ward Thomas was born in
25:Ward Thomas, circa 1980s
464:BRDC GE THOMAS OBITUARY
421:. 13 December 1996. p15
405:"Ward Thomas obituary"
243:(1973–86). Among them
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393:on 2 September 2011.
239:(1967–73) and later
177:) competing against
62:Yorkshire Television
617:. 15 March 1996. p3
273:Windsor Safari Park
265:Playboy Enterprises
162:in 1947 to fly for
103:Ward Thomas joined
50:Grampian Television
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200:Granada Television
147:in advance of the
105:RAF Bomber Command
66:Trident Television
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352:Who's Who , p2225
237:Donald Baverstock
232:Anglia Television
153:flight lieutenant
149:Normandy landings
78:Wimbledon, London
54:managing director
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121:550 Squadron
113:100 Squadron
111:. He joined
109:South Africa
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688:2019 deaths
683:1923 births
301:Granada plc
289:Clive Leach
261:Hugh Hefner
249:Rising Damp
160:Switzerland
86:Oxfordshire
68:(1976–84).
677:Categories
419:Media Week
320:References
92:until the
615:Broadcast
516:Broadcast
117:Lancaster
241:Paul Fox
204:Scotland
164:SwissAir
58:chairman
175:Belgium
133:Germany
125:Grimsby
98:St Malo
189:Career
129:France
115:as a
90:Rouen
251:and
131:and
56:and
42:CdeG
263:'s
60:of
48:of
46:CEO
38:DFC
34:CBE
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