High Sheriff 2010/2010
‘Mrs Fiona Cannon JP. DL.’

Mrs Fiona Cannon JP. DL.
High Sheriff of Derbyshire 2010/2011

I am very pleased to support Crimebeat during my year of office.  The core role of the High Sheriff is the promotion of Law and Justice.  Crimebeat mirrors these objectives perfectly through supporting young people who are involved with crime reduction, thus creating safer communities.

In being appointed to the ancient office I shall be following in the footsteps of my father who was High Sheriff in 1971 and my mother who was High Sheriff in 1988.  I am very much looking forward to giving my support to all those who work towards the administration of Law and Justice in the county and I shall be taking a particular interest in the causes of the gang culture and anti-social behavior.

It will be a privilege to meet people from all over the county of Derbyshire and to applaud and promote the good work carried out in the county that I have been very lucky to live in for most of my life.

High Sheriff 2009 / 2010
Sir Henry Every Bt.

On 6 April 2009, I became Derbyshire’s High Sheriff for 2009/10. The office is something of a family tradition as I’m the seventh member of my family to be so honoured, the first being back in 1612.

The role of High Sheriff is an independent, non-political, unpaid office over 1,000 years old. It has its roots in Saxon times before the Norman Conquest, when we were known as ‘Shire Reeves’. It is the oldest continuous secular office under the Crown and the High Sheriff remains the Sovereign’s representative in the county for all matters relating to the judiciary and the maintenance of law and order.

Originally the office held many of the powers now vested in Lord Lieutenants, High Court Judges, Magistrates, Local Authorities, Coroners, Recruiting Sergeants and even the Inland Revenue.

Among the causes I am currently supporting is Derbyshire Crimebeat, a very worthwhile charity which encourages young people to come up with practical ideas and take part in activities to help reduce crime in their area and to create safer communities.

High Sheriff 2008 / 2009
Lord Ralph Kerr

As High Sheriff of Derbyshire between 2008 and 2009, Lord Ralph has discovered just how many people from all walks of life in the county work their socks off every day, often unpaid, just to help their fellow citizens.

"One of the things I've realised during the past year is that without all the voluntary work people do in this country, and especially in Derbyshire, society would actually fall apart."

Crimebeat is a charity he has supported, a local initiative which encourages young people to find ways of diverting other youngsters away from crime.

He said: "It's a charity which has gone nationwide after starting in Derbyshire. It provides funding to help youngsters initiate worthwhile projects to improve their own communities."

High Sheriff 2007 / 2008
Roger Bullin Wardle, DL

In March 2007 Roger Bullin Wardle was appointed  High Sheriff of Derbyshire by Her Majesty the Queen which was a great honour and gave both him and his wife Sue a wonderful opportunity to meet as many of the good people of Derbyshire as we could. "We learnt a huge amount about the workings of the court systems, the emergency services, schools and many other public services, and we met many, many wonderful people who give up their time freely and frequently as volunteers in all manner of charitable activities throughout the county. " 

During the year Roger supported three charities:  Crimebeat, Helen’s Trust and The Duke’s Barn, Beeley, all of which are Derbyshire based, helping local people, both young and old.

"The year was both a pleasure and a privelege for both of us."

High Sheriff 2006 / 2007
The Hon David Legh, DL

Information On David Legh Coming Soon...

High Sheriff 2005 / 2006
Mr Robert Shields

Information on Robert Shields Coming Soon...

High Sheriff 1996
Edward Wilkinson

Brigadier Edward Wilkinson was born in Nottinghamshire in 1932 and educated at Repton School and Manchester Business School. His National Service was spent with 1st Battalion The Sherwood Foresters in Germany and Colchester after which he joined the 8th (Territorial) Battalion of the Regiment in Newark.

He served in various TA posts ending in 1985 as Brigadier TA HQ UKLF. He was first awarded the TD in 1964, the T&AVR version in 1976 with a clasp in 1982.  He then became Chairman of East Midlands T&AVR Association and in 1992 Vice Chairman of the National Council of TAVRA's until 1994. He was awarded the OBE in 1977 and the CBE in 1982.

He became a Deputy Lieutenant for Derbyshire in 1986. In civilian life he worked for the National Coal Board and its subsidiaries from 1953 until 1978 when he joined Leigh Interests plc as a director until retirement in 1994.

He was High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1996 and Master of the Worshipful Company of Fuellers' in 1996/97 in addition to being a Freeman of the City of London and the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. He was a Governor of Repton School from 1993 to 2007. He became a member of the Court of Derby University in 1996.

Edward Wilkinson was Chairman of Derbyshire Crimebeat from 1998 until 2008. He was appointed a Lay Canon of Derby Cathedral in 2001, a member of the General Committee of Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1998 and a Trustee of the Derbyshire Community Foundation in 1997 until 2007. His charitable work mainly centred on the Army Benevolent Fund where he was Chairman of the Derbyshire County Appeal Committee for some thirty years.

Past High Sheriff
Jasper Olivier

Jasper Olivier was brought up in Derbyshire, in the house where he now lives. After Eton College he became, at the age of l8, one of the last intake of National Servicemen, being commissioned into the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry.

He went to work in the City of London in l958 and joined Hambros Bank in 1962, where he remained until thirty years later when he retired from full-time employment to return to his native Derbyshire. As a director of the bank, he specialised in investment management and was an expert in Far Eastern markets, spending three years in Hong Kong in the late nineteen-seventies and travelling extensively in Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Australia for nearly twenty years.

Following the death of his father in 1992, Jasper has taken over the running of the farm and estate at Ashford. There are two flocks of sheep, a herd of beef cattle, a small shoot and some excellent trout fishing on the River Wye.