Sir William Lithgow, 2nd Baronet

Sir William James Lithgow, 2nd Baronet (10 May 1934 – 28 February 2022) was a Scottish industrialist and vice-chairman of Lithgow Group. In 1952 he inherited the Scottish

In the 1960s British shipbuilding was facing serious competition from the Far East, as well as other challenges.[3] In the late 1960s a government enquiry into the UK shipbuilding industry led to a merger between Lithgows Ltd. and Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd. of Greenock. This became Scott Lithgow Ltd. in 1970, but in 1977 the government nationalised the company under the control of the British Shipbuilders Corporation by the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977.

Lithgow and others involved challenged the amount of compensation they were offered and ended up taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights. The press reported his views about the wider implications of his experience, which he related to the Thatcher government's privatisation policies,^[4] and the forthcoming expiry of the British lease on Hong Kong.^[5] When he finally lost his legal battle in 1986 he told The Times that his claim had started as a "squalid argument about money" but had come to be about "fundamental property rights which are part of the basis of the free world".^[6] On other occasions he has expressed strong views publicly on subjects ranging from the importance of wealth creation to weaknesses in ferry services to the Scottish islands.

After nationalisation

Meanwhile, Lithgows was diversifying. In 1980 they moved into

In 1999, Lithgow passed on the chairmanship to his son James, around the time of his 65th birthday. At the time, the press reported his belief that many of British shipbuilding's problems in the 1960s and 1970s could be attributed to government policies stemming from the Treasury. He had apparently "seriously considered relocating to Australia".^[7]

The Lithgow Group still have offices at Langbank, close to the house the first William Lithgow moved to in 1883.

Personal life

Lithgow listed his hobbies as including "rural life, invention and photography".^[1] In 2006, he held an address in Western Australia,^[1] but Ormsary remained his home, as well part of his title as 2nd Baronet of Ormsary.

Lithgow died on 28 February 2022, at the age of 87.^[8]

Arms

Coat of arms of Sir William Lithgow, 2nd Baronet

Crest An otter on a rock Proper. Escutcheon Parted per chevron Sable and Argent three estoiles in chief of the second and in base in a sea undy Azure and of the second a galley sails furled of the first flagged Gules. Motto Per Mare Per Terras [9]

References