Sir Jack Petchey dead at 98: Former owner of Watford Football Club and charity founder, passed away at home

Sir Jack Petchey passed away at the age of 98 at his home in East London. His foundation, The Jack Petchey foundation, which was set up to ‘inspire and motivate young people across London and Essex.’ posted a tribute to him on their website which read: “Sir Jack Petchey CBE was one of the UK’s most successful businessmen, with entrepreneurial ventures spanning travel, property and investments. He founded companies such as Petchey Holdings Plc and Petchey Leisure which turned into a multi-million-pound empire. But he is perhaps best known by many for his commitment to supporting youth projects, predominantly across London and Essex, through the trust that bears his name, the Jack Petchey Foundation.”

Jack Petchey was born in Plaistow, East London in 1925 and left school with no qualifications at the age of 13. However, it wasn’t long before his entrepreneurial skills became evident as he started working for his local greengrocer and delivered fruit and vegetables to local people. 

Unfortunately for Jack, one day when he was delivering fruit and vegetables, he was spotted by a member of the school board. Sir Jack’s parents were taken to a police court to charge them with underage working, but the case was dismissed. The reason why the case was dismissed was because the evidence used for the court case was that Sir Jack was carrying vegetables when he was actually carrying fruit, tomatoes. 

What happened to him at this early age is what led Sir Jack to always ‘think outside the box!’ After the Second World War broke out, Sir Jack Petchey became a motorcycle messenger after first enlisting as a Police messenger before joining the Auxiliary Fire Station. He later volunteered for service in the Royal Navy

Sir Jack  Petchey’s first property ‘deal’ came about in 1948 when after buying his mother’s house from her landlord for £800, he immediately sold it for £1200. As a lifelong Watford fan, I am very familiar with Sir Jack Petchey as he bought Watford Football club from Sir Elton John in 1990 and stayed there for around seven years. Sir Elton John, with a consortium of investors, returned as chairman in April 1997.

Sir Jack Petchey was awarded an OBE in 2004 for services to young people and was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2011. Sir Jack Petchey played squash until his mid-80s and is survived by his wife Lady Frances Petchey, his daughters Jackie, Susan and Amanda and his grandchildren and great grandchildren.