Hugh Try CBE, the construction leader who served as Chair of Council between 1985 and 1991, has died, aged 87.
Born in Uxbridge in 1937, Mr Try joined WS Try Ltd as a trainee surveyor in 1955 and rose through the ranks before becoming chairman in 1985. Among the company’s many projects was the rebuilding of the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon.
Mr Try was appointed Chair of Council at Brunel University in 1985, having been Chair of the Finance Committee at a difficult time for the higher education sector.
David Neave, the Secretary General and Registrar of Brunel from 1980 to 1998, recalled: “In 1981, the then government made a severe cut in the annual grant to universities on which many depended. As Chair of the Finance Committee, Hugh occupied a central role in planning our future. His calmness under pressure, his understanding of the financial management of a large institution and his skill in bringing together apparently irreconcilable points of view were invaluable.”
Having weathered that storm, Mr Try might reasonably have expected his transition to chairmanship of the Council to be rather more tranquil. But, Mr Neave explained, it was not to be. “The University Grants Committee, which held the purse strings of government funding, started to exert pressure on relatively small institutions such as Brunel to seek a partner for merger. Eventually Brunel’s solution came through the absorption of the West London Institute of Higher Education.
“Throughout most of what had been a turbulent decade, Hugh was at the centre of events. He gave generously of his time and his considerable talents. For him, the best interests of Brunel came first. We owe him a great debt.”
Following Mr Try’s 6-year tenure as Chair of Council, the University was delighted to award him an honorary doctorate in 1993. He went on to be awarded a CBE for services to construction in the 1997 New Year Honours.
Try Group plc would later, in 2000, merge with Galliford plc to create Galliford Try plc, headquartered in Uxbridge’s Cowley Business Park. Prior to the sale of its housing arm in 2019, Galliford Try had the fifth largest turnover among all UK construction companies.
Mr Try was described by Building Magazine as having “had as many chairmanships as Pete Sampras has had singles titles”; the Building Centre Trust, the Foundation for the Built Environment and the Construction Industry Training Board were just a few leading examples. He maintained his interest and expertise in education leadership through roles such as the Learning and Skills Council’s Adult Committee.
Mr Try is survived by his wife Joy, their son Nicholas (a Brunel graduate), their daughter Jacqui, and four grandchildren.
Reported by:
Joe Buchanunn,
Media Relations
+44 (0)1895 268821
joe.buchanunn@brunel.ac.uk