Financial Times: At a stroke, Shell opens new chapter
“The oblique stroke will not disappear from Royal Dutch/Shell until next month, when the High Court is due to approve the scheme of arrangement that unifies the two groups.”
Wednesday 29 June 2005
By Clay Harris
Published: June 29 2005
Shareholders in Shell Transport and Trading and their counterparts at Royal Dutch yesterday voted to remove the slash their fathers wore. The oblique stroke will not disappear from Royal Dutch/Shell until next month, when the High Court is due to approve the scheme of arrangement that unifies the two groups. But the annual meeting at the ExCel centre in London’s Docklands marked the end of a very long era.
For one thing, unless the new company’s board decides otherwise, it will be the last annual meeting in the UK. Although a UK plc, Royal Dutch Shell will hold its annual meetings in the Netherlands, with a video link back to Britain.
This, along with the capital gains tax liability faced by UK holders of Royal Dutch shares, appeared to be the most perturbing aspect of the deal to private shareholders. Concern about dividends being declared in euros was voiced by, among others, a shareholder whose T-shirt proclaimed “Toulon”.
One investor offered, as a possible model, Eurotunnel’s former practice of alternating annual meetings between France and the UK and holding shareholder information sessions in the other country. Support for UK annual meetings did not reflect any love for ExCel, where the loud rumble of air conditioning was punctuated by aircraft noise from London City Airport.
Even Lord Kerr, senior independent director, called the venue “ghastly”.
After all the questions, and near the end of the 3½-hour session, one shareholder asked about the unification: “Why has it taken you so long?”
Lord Oxburgh, chairing his last meeting, replied: “I’m afraid the only answer to that is that it’s a very good question.”
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
