High Sheriffs are appointed by His Majesty the King to represent him in each county in matters relating to the judiciary and the maintenance of law and order.
High Sheriff Ian Morgan OBE
Ian was immensely proud and deeply honoured to have been invited to accept the nomination to be High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 2024/5. Derbyshire has been his adopted county for nearly forty years having moved to the county with his job in 1985. Prior to that he had rather a nomadic life from growing up as the son of a serving RAF officer and moving every two or three years, to joining the bus industry after graduating from University, and working at bus companies in Essex and Lancashire.
“I never really considered any part of the country to be my home until I came to Derbyshire” he says, “but both our sons were born and raised here, so I am now proud to say ‘Derbyshire’ when people ask me where I’m from”
Shortly after relocating, Ian joined the senior management team at Trent Buses which led the buyout of the business from the state-owned National Bus Company in 1986. Thirty-eight years on, the holding company, Wellglade, which includes trentbarton as its largest subsidiary is still owned by the senior managers of the business. It is the largest, independently owned bus company in England with a fleet in excess of 400 buses operating through four subsidiaries in addition to trentbarton. Wellglade is also part of the Tramlink Nottingham consortium which runs the tram network in Nottingham. It owns a cleaning business as well.
Ian stepped down from his executive position with Wellglade in 2009 and became its non-executive Deputy Chair, a position he still holds. He took up the role of Chair of the bus industry’s trade association, the Confederation of Passenger Transport in 2010 a post he occupied for nearly nine years and which involved representing the industry and working with ministers, politicians and civil servants as well as local authorities, pressure groups, suppliers and other organisations. In 2019 he became Chair of the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce, the largest Chamber in the UK and served in the post for four years. Supporting local businesses was he says a rewarding and enjoyable experience.
He has always loved playing, coaching and watching cricket and was delighted to be elected as Chair of Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 2017, a post he still holds. Derbyshire is one of the smallest of the eighteen professional cricket clubs in England but it has strong ambitions to get to the top of the first class game and produce England players on a regular basis.
Over the years Ian has played football, hockey, tennis, squash and golf, and so sport has played an important part in his life. He particularly wants to spend much of his year as High Sheriff encouraging young people to get involved in sport. “Sport has a huge part to play in teaching young people important life skills” he says, “and participating in sport can shape their characters and prepare them for the challenges they will experience as they go through life.” He will be engaging with sports clubs around the county and offer as much help as he can to attract young people to take up one or more sports.
He is looking forward to visiting and meeting as many community organisations as he can during his year. He takes the view that as a nation we rely heavily on volunteers and people who give up huge amounts of their time for others. He wants to spend time with them, acknowledging what they do, supporting their work, raising their profile and thanking them on behalf of everyone.
Ian is also keen to support crime prevention projects led by young people. He is a supporter of the National Crimebeat Awards and like his predecessor Theresa Peltier wants to see a Derbyshire project achieve success and recognition.
Ian has been married for forty years to Sylvia and they have two sons, one of whom has followed him into the bus industry. The other works for Punch Taverns and is a skilled wine taster and tutor. They have four grandchildren.