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LNER management
Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:05 pm
by toufou
Greetings to everyone from France, home of the TGV. Please does anyone have any information concerning Eric Geddes (Deputy GM then GM of LNER) who went on to Dunlop Rubber and then Imperial Airways. Grateful for anything.
Kind regards, Clive
Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:35 pm
by richard
Clive,
Bonavia vols 1 &2 ("A History of the LNER") has some information.
A photo is captioned "The parent of the Four Great Railways: Sir Eric Geddes".
Started with the NER in the office of Claims Agent in 1904.
By 1911 was Deputy General Manager.
Entered Government Service at the outbreak of WW1. Had a similar meteoric career, ending up as First Lord of the Admiralty and Vise Admiral in 1917.
Co-ordinated post-war demob.
Became the first minister of the new "Ministry of Ways and Communications" (quickly renamed as the Ministry of Transport).
Oversaw Grouping.
He appears to have been considered as Chairman of the LNER - but Whitelaw was chosen. (most of the options from the constituent companies were in their 70s)
Wedgwood became the Chief Goods Manager, then Deputy GM then GM.
Richard
Eric Geddes
Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 8:41 pm
by toufou
Hello Richard
Very many thanks and my apologies for this late acknowledgement.
Sincerely,
Clive
Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 9:29 am
by Andrew Craig-Bennett
Just a thought, and silghtly off the point, but I suspect that the term "the Beeching Axe" as applied to Dr Beeching's reforms of the railways in the early 1960's, may have had its origin in, and ben a conscious echo of, the term "the Geddes Axe" which was coined to describe Sir Eric Geddes' reforms of the Royal Navy, which were indeed rather similar in scope and extent.
Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 8:43 pm
by toufou
Thanks most kindly for this interesting thought. In fact the 'Geddes Axe' was a programme of swingeing budget cuts on a national basis, not just the RN...Kind regards