Four new Deputy Lieutenants appointed to the Gloucestershire Lieutenancy
Their role will be to assist the Lord-Lieutenant in upholding the dignity of the Crown. Deputy Lieutenants assist with Royal Visits, promote Voluntary Service and Personal Honours, celebrate Civic and social activities and take an interest in Business and the Armed Forces. The Lieutenancy is represented at all Citizenship Ceremonies in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire.
The four new Deputy Lieutenants are Mark Crutchley, Caroline Norbury OBE, Andrew Tabor JP and Nicholas Wills.
Announcing the appointments, Lord-Lieutenant Edward Gillespie OBE said: "I am most grateful to Mark, Caroline, Andrew and Nicholas for their commitment to serve His Majesty The King and the community in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire through the activities of the Lieutenancy. I am delighted to welcome them to our team and wish them a most fulfilling experience."
The role of Deputy Lieutenants is entirely honorary and continues until the DL’s 75th birthday. Following recent retirements, the new appointments bring the total number of Deputy Lieutenants to 33.
Mark Crutchley DL has lived in Gloucestershire for 20 years and currently serves as Chief Executive at Circadian Trust, the charity responsible for managing 5 large leisure centres in South Gloucestershire in partnership with South Gloucestershire Council. The company employs over 600 local people and welcomes over 3 million customer visits each year.
Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in Recreational Management Studies and a postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies (DMS). He lives near Wotton under Edge with wife Jo, and has two grown-up children, both of whom were educated locally.
Throughout his time in the county, Mark has remained deeply committed to the local community. He has served as a school governor, Chair of the South West Skills Academy for Sport and Leisure and is currently a serving Trustee at the Council for Voluntary Services (CVS) South Gloucestershire. Mark has dedicated over 30 years to supporting the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sectors.
Caroline Norbury OBE DL was born in Malaysia, where her father was stationed as a member of the British Army. She attended several schools in both the UK and abroad and was awarded a degree in Government from the University of Essex in 1988.
Carolines first “proper” job was running a film workshop, after which she subsequently went on to produce, direct and executive produce a raft of documentaries and dramas before moving into more strategic leadership roles in the creative industries.
She is currently the founding CEO of Creative UK, the UK’s national network and membership body for the Creative Industries. The organisation supports hundreds of creative entrepreneurs and acts as an advocate and convenor for the sector. Through its investment arm, Creative UK is also one of the country’s leading specialist investors in early-stage high growth creative companies.
Caroline is a board member of Aardman Animation, home to Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. She was previously Chairwoman of The Music Works in Gloucester, a charity working to improve access to music for young people and has been a board member of the Performing Rights Society (PRS) Foundation for several years. She sits on the Creative Industries Council and was awarded an MBE and subsequently an OBE for her service to the Creative Industries.
Caroline has lived in Dursley with husband Ed for twenty years. They have two adult children who both attended Rednock School and Cirencester College.
Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Tabor JP DL served in the Army for 20 years, initially in the 15th/19th The King’s Royal Hussars and, following amalgamation, in The Light Dragoons. Since 2002, Andrew has managed a predominantly arable farm in the North Cotswolds.
A serving magistrate for over 20 years, Andrew was High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 2017/18 and has been actively involved in a range of voluntary and charitable organisations across the County. He was Warden of the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire between 2022 and 2024 and currently chairs the Honourable Company’s Charitable Trust.
Andrew also chairs the Gloucester Cathedral Development Board, is a trustee of the Gloucestershire Society and the Friends of the Cotswolds, and serves as a Gloucestershire Ambassador for Alabaré, a charity supporting the vulnerable, marginalised and homeless, particularly veterans.
Nicholas Wills DL has managed the Miserden Estate since 2017. Under his stewardship, the estate has adopted a regenerative approach to land management, leading a significant increase in sheep numbers. These are now fully integrated with the arable enterprise, creating a more substantial and resilient farming system.
Prior to this, Nicholas served 10 years in the British Army. He attended RMA Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards. His service included a tour in Afghanistan, as well as exercises in the Falkland Islands, Belize, Kenya, Spain and parachute training with the French Foreign Legion in Corsica.
His personal interests include hill walking, fishing, dinghy sailing, and the occasional ultra marathon. He also manages a small herd of Belted Galloway Cattle used for conservation grazing.