Blue Plaque: David Gwyn Justham

David Justham was a prominent British businessman and a dedicated patron of the arts, particularly known for his instrumental role in securing the future of the Birmingham Hippodrome.

War hero to business leader
Born in 1923, David Justham’s early life saw him join the RAF at the outbreak of World War II. He trained as a Liberator pilot in Canada and went on to captain a crew in the Far East. After the war, he began his career as a bank teller before becoming an articled clerk with a local firm of solicitors.  A few years later, Justham joined the giant ICI in the company secretary’s department. He moved between various parts of the UK before finally settling in Birmingham at the Metals Division, which later floated on the London Stock Exchange as IMI and he was appointed to the board.

The “incomer” who became Birmingham’s champion
As an “incomer” to Birmingham, David Justham quickly became involved in the city’s civic life, joining the Birmingham Civic Society. In 1974, he was elected President of what was then called the Birmingham Chamber of Industry and Commerce and in 1981-82 he was the eighth person to hold the ancient office of High Sheriff in the new county of the West Midlands.

A portfolio career that shaped Birmingham
Justham developed a “portfolio career,” becoming Chairman of Central Television and Chairman of the NEC Group at the time the International Convention Centre (ICC) was being built. His influence also extended to education, serving as a member of the University of Birmingham’s Court of Governors and on the Council of Aston University, until he stood down when Birmingham appointed him as their Deputy Pro Chancellor.

Saving the Hippodrome: a cultural rescue mission
In the arts world, he served on the Council of Management at Welsh National Opera for five years and then as a director of Birmingham’s City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO).   It was during this period that he became concerned for the future of the Birmingham Hippodrome, which was then the city’s largest entertainment venue and was under threat of closure by its owners.  In 1979 The Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre Trust was created to develop and manage the theatre in the interests of the people of the city, with David Justham serving as its Founder Chairman for ten busy years. During his chairmanship, the building was progressively transformed thanks to ambitious fundraising. One of his proudest achievements was, together with his colleagues, attracting the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet company to relocate from London to the Birmingham Hippodrome, where they changed their name to Birmingham Royal Ballet and remain one of the greatest cultural coups in the city’s history.

A life of service
David Gwyn Justham died in September 1991 at the age of 67 but his legacy lives on every time audiences fill the Hippodrome, every time Birmingham Royal Ballet takes the stage, and in the countless cultural experiences his vision made possible for future generations.