Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2016 | Page 39

Interview
Photo: Neil
aged 3 pictured
with his brother
Ron aged 13
and sister Betty
aged 6 on
Brighton beach

still found time to pursue one of his other great passions,
cricket. He says the one regret he has now is that his late wife
Dorothy (who died in 2005) became something of a ‘cricket
widow’, as he played at one time for Newport Second Eleven
and for Ventnor, and then when he could no longer play, he
became an umpire
At his 98th birthday dinner at The Priory in July this
year, many of his old cricketing mates joined the family
celebration
His favourite all-time cricketer was Denis Compton – after
whom one of his daughters, Denise, is named (she would
have been Denis had she been a boy!)
Ever-versatile, Neil even turned author after his retirement,
and in collaboration with Val Palmer, wrote about his
favourite sport in “From Cradle to Crease; the memoirs of an
Island cricketer”. Proceeds from the book went to St Mary’s

Hospital, and in 1996 he brought out an updated second
edition.
When he retired from the bakery, it was taken on by son
Paul, who ran it until his own retirement, when it was taken
over as a Spar store.
The Shutler retail gene has come out in many of Neil’s
children, and at one time there were five of them with
businesses on the same street. Dianne still has Dragonfly, a
fair trade gift shop, whilst Elaine trades in health foods and
crockery and Marie and Avril have a clothing shop.
All of which is an ongoing and enduring legacy for one
man who simply loves living, loves people – and gets through
the tougher times of life with a joke and a smile.

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