Eric Geddes
The Viscount Peel | |
---|---|
Personal details | |
Born | British India | 26 September 1875
Died | 22 June 1937 | (aged 61)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse | Gwendolen Stokes |
Sir Eric Campbell Geddes
Background and education
Born in
Business career
Geddes then spent 2½ years drifting between jobs like lumberjack and steelworker in the
Political career
During the
The German
On 6 July 1917 Geddes, strongly recommended by Haig, returned to civilian life as First Lord of the Admiralty. To serve he had to be a member of the
Lloyd George's evaluation was that Geddes was "... one of the most remarkable men which the State called to its aid ..."[13] He left the Admiralty in January 1919 and was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. Lloyd George then asked him to organize a new Ministry of Transport. Until the bill setting up this new office was passed in May 1919, he remained in the cabinet as minister without portfolio. In May 1919 he was appointed the first Minister of Transport. The new ministry was given control over railways, roads, canals and docks but was criticized in both houses of parliament for giving in to nationalization and for its large size. In the autumn of 1921 the handing back of the railways from state control to the companies was being reviewed, which put the Ministry of Transport under further pressure. Geddes had neither taste nor aptitude for political infighting, he resigned in November 1921.[2]
Austerity programme
In 1921 Geddes chaired the Committee on National Expenditure which proposed heavy cuts in public expenditure to match falling national income, the austerity policy became known as the Geddes Axe. A notable feature of the recommendations involved army cuts: in personnel by 50,000 men from 210,000; and in funding by 20 million pounds from an existing army estimates of 75 million.[14]
When enacted, the public expenditure cuts depressed the economy further. Geddes resigned from the government and the Commons in 1922, becoming director of Dunlop Rubber. From 1924 until his death he was chairman of Imperial Airways.
Family
Geddes married Gwendolen, daughter of Reverend A. Stokes, in 1900. They had three sons, including Sir Reay Geddes, former chairman of the Dunlop Rubber Company. Eric Geddes died in June 1937, at the age of 61, after several years of declining health.[2]
References
- ^ 'Sir Eric Geddes: Business & Government in War & Peace', by Keith Grieves (Pub. Manchester University Press, 1989).
- ^ a b c d e f g Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "Geddes, Sir Eric Campbell". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 31 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. pp. 198–199.
- ^ a b Geddes, Baron, The forging of a family. London: Faber & Faber, 1952 p. 124, pp.201-205, pp.221-250.
- ISBN 1-85109-420-2
- ^ "25 years of the NER 1898–1922". R. Bell. Publisher: The Railway Gazette.
- ^ ISBN 0-7110-0495-1.
- ^ Bonavia, Michael R. (1985) [1982]. A History of the LNER: 1. The First Years, 1923-33. London: Guild Publishing/Book Club Associates. pp. 2, 5, 6. CN 4143.
- ^ Van der Kloot, W., Great Scientists wage the Great War, Stroud: Fonthill Media, 2014, Chapter. 5
- ^ "The city of Cambridge: Parliamentary representation Pages 68-76 A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3, the City and University of Cambridge". British History Online. Victoria County History, 1959. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
- ^ "No. 30192". The London Gazette. 20 July 1917. p. 7337.
- ^ Hurd, Sir Archibald (1942). Who Goes There?. London: Hutchinson & Co. [Publishers] Ltd. p. 139.
- ^ Hurd, Archibald, The Merchant Navy, London: John Murray, 1929
- ^ Lloyd George, David (1938). "The Ministry of Munitions: Establishment and Labour Problems". War Memoirs of David Lloyd George. Vol. 1 (New, in two volumes ed.). Odhams Press Ltd. p. 150.
- ISBN 978-0-19-923967-2.
- Grieves, Keith (1989). Sir Eric Geddes: Business and Government in War and Peace. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-2345-3.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Eric Geddes
- Newspaper clippings about Eric Geddes in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW