Neville Vincent

Neville Vincent was a most unusual and generous person, a successful businessman with humanitarian concerns.

He was Director, then Chairman and finally President of Bovis, the international construction company. He was also a founder-member of Amnesty International, where he served as Secretary and Treasurer. His experience as a barrister, who practised at the criminal bar for more than ten years, inspired him to set up the Apex Trust, an employment agency for ex-prisoners. He assisted Women's Aid, for which Bovis built the first shelter in Chiswick in the 1970s. He was appointed to the Board of the New Statesman and was a staunch supporter of South Africa's anti-Apartheid movement.

In 1984 he joined the Board of Trustees of the Anna Freud Centre. According to David Astor, who introduced him to the Centre, ‘the Clinic was at a rather low ebb, following the death of Anna Freud. Neville's contribution was a human one. He put people at ease, cheered them up and altered the character of the Board Meetings, which used to be very formal. He gave everyone hope and confidence.’

Neville was instrumental in appointing George Moran as Director of the Centre. Over a relatively short period of time, they became great friends. They spent hours on the phone discussing potential fund-raising schemes as well as the major refurbishment of the Centre's three buildings which Neville used his expertise and influence, as Chairman of Bovis, to help bring about. On a social level, they enjoyed meeting to watch the odd football game or boxing match on television, as Neville was a keen fan of both sports.

Though Neville was committed to very serious issues, he never lost the ability to laugh at himself and the world around him. He was iconoclastic and irreverent, but his realistic view of human nature made him compassionate rather than bitter.

While Neville gave money, time and energy to support causes and defend minorities, he was also generous on a personal level. At home, we called him ‘the lo