Warm tributes after death of Bettys family stalwart who did so much to shape Harrogate business

Victor Wild, former Chairman of Bettys & Taylors Group, passed away on April 11, after a short illness. He was just short of his 97th birthday.

As the nephew of Frederick Belmont, Bettys founder, Victor joined the family business in 1943, becoming Managing Director in 1952 and Chairman in 1972.

During his five decades of service, Victor supported the business through the difficult war years and post-war period and, in 1962, set the foundations for the future of the business by purchasing C E Taylor & Co, a tea and coffee importer with a number of tea shops.

Chair of Bettys & Taylors Group, Clare Morrow, stated: ‘Victor was known by his colleagues and those who worked with him for his warmth, charm, creativity and entrepreneurialism.

"Victor truly shaped the business Bettys & Taylors is today and his contribution can’t be overstated. He was one of the best and will be much missed.

"Our thoughts are with Victor’s family, including his children, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren."

£300,000 to create Harrogate's first community-owned woodland

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you