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Hertfordshire
County News
2011/2012
 Charles and his wife, Virginia, live in Hatfield Park. His family have lived in Hertfordshire for over 400 years. His wife Virginia, who is half Italian and half Alexandrian Greek, is an acupuncturist with particular experience in treating addictions. They will be focussing especially on organisations and initiatives for the prevention of offending and the rehabilitation and aftercare of offenders.
“It is a great honour to serve as High Sheriff of Hertfordshire. It is an important and historic county of great variety and many needs. I hope to be able to contribute something to the organisations—statutory and voluntary—and the many individuals who do so much for the community” says Charles.
Main events include the Justice Service, at 11.15am on Sunday 20th November 2011, in St. Albans Abbey and a military band concert by the Band of the Grenadier Guards at the Watford Colosseum on the evening of Saturday, 25th February 2012 in aid of the High Sheriff’s Fund and military charities. (To book for the Grenadiers Concert, details will be posted nearer the time under “Events” on this web-site).
In Hertfordshire, Charles was for many years President of the Hertfordshire Association of Youth Clubs which, after a merger with the Hertfordshire Association of Boys Clubs, became the Hertfordshire Association of Young People, one of the largest youth organisations in the county. He is Patron of Pro Action which succeeded HAYP. He will become Patron of the St. Albans Diocesan Penal Affairs Group.
Charles has been in business in the financial world for 38 years. He was originally with the London merchant bank, J. Henry Schroder Wagg, for 17 years where he initially specialised in Latin America. He then co-founded a highly successful private equity fund placement business, Helix Associates, operating world-wide, retiring from this in 2008. He is also a co-founder, director of and consultant to one of the world’s largest private equity fund investment advisory and management firms, Altius Associates. Charles is also director of Lord North Street, a
 private investment office for major private investors. He advises or is Trustee to a number of major British private groups. Previous posts included being a non-executive director of Loot, the free ad paper group, and an international mutual fund company.
Apart from business, Charles is involved with a think tank (Politeia) and a literary society (the R.S.Surtees Society) amongst other activities. He was in the past a member of the council of The Children’s Society, a major U.K. charity linked to the Church of England, and was Vice Chairman of the Rambert Dance Company, the U.K.’s premier contemporary dance company.
Charles’s interests include travel, country sports, meeting people, cards (including bridge), the arts, reading, good food and wine.
Charles was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford where he obtained an M.A. in Modern History. He speaks French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and, (though his wife disputes this), a little Italian.
2010/2011
Everybody does it differently is the mantra, and we only do it for a year. This keeps the Office refreshed and vibrant. With 6,000 small charities in Hertfordshire, law courts, Citizens Advice Bureaux, schools, old people’s homes, police, museums, all the public services, armed forces, hospices, it is impossible to do everything. You have to focus, and we did.
Still chairing three public companies, my concern was combining a relatively busy business life with being High Sheriff and the other day-to-day stuff of life. To try to make a difference, we concentrated on fundraising, where I felt my business network was an asset, and on the small charities working closely with our excellent Community Foundation.
We had a very successful concert in our Cathedral, hosted a clay pigeon day, and a golf day. Our High Sheriff’s fund has leapt forward with over 1,400 individuals and organisations contributing in some way or another. We visited over 100 small charities during the year, which culminated with an awards ceremony at County Hall where over twenty individuals and organisations received awards (monetary as well as certificates). This was more community and less law and order orientated than hitherto in Hertfordshire and I think reflects the way the Shrievalty is evolving into a broad community role.
A pregnancy advice service in Watford, an addiction counselling centre in Welwyn, a gardening project with links to the prison near Stevenage, a Muslim community centre, the Rickmansworth Museum, two boxing clubs, a youth club in Hatfield, a Broxbourne charity counselling parents with difficult children, the Borehamwood community transport centre – we went far and wide during the year.
And we did all the stuff every High Sheriff does. Garden party, justice service, court lunches, judges’ dinners, charity AGMs, cadets, police, court and probation awards, civic services and dinners and so on. We hosted a drinks party for all the County’s JPs, an initiative begun by my predecessor. All were enjoyable and all an opportunity to lend support and praise.
And this is I believe is the heart of it. High Sheriffs, in my opinion, who only do the things they enjoy doing miss the point. It is a year one spends supporting others, hopefully making them feel recognised, encouraged and thanked. It is an ancient Office, and that one is appointed by the Queen is powerful. We are an old and traditional country. The pride and pleasure in the face of the volunteer when the High Sheriff visits their charity; the delight the 80-year-old Town Mayor gets when the High Sheriff and his wife come to his Civic Dinner: the High Sheriff has the opportunity in his or her Year to make other people feel good about themselves and what they do.
By focusing on fundraising and the smaller charities, and going for it in the evenings and the weekends, we gave it a good crack. I continued working, and we fitted in everyday life. Others do it differently, which is great. It is a busy year, but it is only a year, and it is a wonderful year, where you make many new friends and savour the tapestry of goodness and human endeavour that goes on under our noses.
Gerald Corbett presenting awards and grants to community groups from across the County at the annual awards ceremony on 16th March at County Hall, Hertford.
Launching forth on the great Shrieval adventure, my wife Virginia and I decided on three primary objectives. Firstly – do the basics. Garden party, court lunches, judges’ dinners, justice service, civic events, police awards, charity AGMs and so on. These have almost been universally a delight, especially St Alban’s day around our Cathedral, the village of Redbourn 900 anniversary celebrations, the Magna Carta anniversary and Her Majesty The Queen’s visit to the Ministry of Defence in Northwood.
 Our second objective was to use our network. Still chairing three public companies, I was concerned we might not have the time to do some of the things that a High Sheriff should. But the other side of that coin was that we brought to the party an active business network. In practice, most events are in the evenings and at weekends. And judicious diary planning by my brilliant PA has meant we have missed little.
My network is getting fed up with me. We had a Three Choirs Concert in St Albans Abbey (our two choirs supported by Christ Church Oxford) where over 50 adverts were taken by corporate Britain in the programme. We have had a clay pigeon day, and a golf day, planned appropriately for April 1st, is still to come. Our High Sheriffs fund has been mega-enhanced, and is now at over £200,000. In theory, future High Sheriffs should be able to host an awards ceremony without having to fundraise themselves.
Our third objective was to focus on the smaller charities. Working closely with our excellent Hertfordshire Community
 Foundation, I have visited some fantastic work in our community including a visit to all 9 CVS’s in the county. All – and their projects – will be candidates for awards and grants from our fund. Visiting the Travellers Site at Potters Bar with the Playbus, the Hailey Day Centre in Sawbridgeworth, Tilehouse Counselling (for abused women) in Hitchin, Worldshapers in Hemel Hempstead which focuses on special needs kids and the ‘Living Room’, a counselling service to assist rehabilitating addicts have been highlights. The smaller charities all need support and recognition especially in the environment of spending cuts around us today.
It is an amazing year, an eye opener. We both felt that enjoying it was not an objective. That we are is a nice by-product of the roller coaster of being High Sheriff.
Gerald Corbett
Council Member and High Sheriff of Hertfordshire 2010/2011
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