Obituary: David Shalit

“In the 1960s he was awarded the Freedom of the City of London and admitted to The Worshipful Company of Coachmakers & Coach Harness Makers as a Liveryman. He later went on to become ‘Master’ of that historic guild which remains a part of the fabric of the City of London.”

That image of David Shalit in his “smart bowler hat”, revealed the versatility of his talents. He was noted for his Barbican and Spitalfields achievements, but he was also a successful banker. A chartered accountant by profession, he directed several financial companies, starting in 1967, with the merchant bank Charterhouse Japhet, where his speciality was innovative lending and export finance. Michael Heseltine’s Haymarket Publishing group was among his clients. Other financial directorships followed. But his Barbican success led to his becoming a trustee of Chichester Festival Theatre from 1997 to 2005, which he saved from financial collapse by securing Arts Council funding.

Born in London in 1930, David Manuel Shalit was the son of Bessie née Greenhill, whose family had been in jewellery in Calcutta, and Leon Shalit whose background was in the Baltic states where his family had been timber merchants. Despite evacuation during the Blitz, David managed to finish his education at St Paul’s. He took accountancy articles in the late 1950s followed by his entry into the world of banking, where he became a member of the audit team for the Bank of England’s bullion vault. He also played a role in updating the accounting and warehousing systems of Oxford University Press.

But before that, after leaving school at 17, Shalit was attracted to fencing and joined the London Fencing Club in 1947. The fencing events were held in the Palace Of Engineering in Wembley, a 1920s exhibition venue which survived until the 1970s. The 1948 Olympics, held just after the end of the Second World War were known as the ‘Austerity Games’ Olympics. He did not expect to judge. He had been appointed as Assistant Director of Equipment for the Games. “But the whole thing was riddled with pre-war politics,” he recalled. “There immediately became a shortage of qualified judges.”

He judged alongside a variety of ex-military men as well as Bobby Winton, another well-known figure in British amateur fencing and brother of the well-known Sir Nicholas Winton.

Shalit had overcome childhood eyesight problems and became a successful sabre fencer as a young man. He was in the British team that came first overall at the World Maccabiah Games in Israel, winning the foil and epée team events and coming second at sabre, before injury curtailed his career. Sabre was a tougher, more bruising event in those days, and Shalit would have been likely to be included on the British team for the 1952 Olympics. “My first Junior was in 1947. And I was black and blue by the time we came to the semifinal. I wore a sweater under my jacket to absorb the slashes.”

He told an interviewer in 2024: “Fencing was the first thing I was good at. It gave me confidence.” But his sporting interests extended beyond fencing. He undertook offshore racing with the Royal Ocean Racing Club at Cowes, while it was carriage-driving with his pony, William Rufus or “Red” which had brought him into contact with the Royal Family. He once won a dressage competition at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

In 1960 Shalit married Sophie Gestetner, the granddaughter of Hungarian-born David Gestetner, inventor of the groundbreaking stencil duplicator which bears his name.

In recent years David Shalit served as a Trustee of Age UK London, and was a non-executive director of Chichester Priority Care NHS trust. His son describes his work on positive ageing.

“His incredible service in “giving back” has also included holding trusteeships of the local Mental Health Authority, managing three Sussex cottage hospitals and Chichester Festival Theatre. In 2016 he was recognized for his work for the City of London and the London elderly by being awarded an MBE."

David Manuel Shalit is survived by Sophie, his wife of 64 years, his son Jonathan and daughter Belinda and grandson Zack.

David Shalit: born September 5, 1930. Died July 9, 2025