Herbert Austin
Encyclopedia
Herbert 'Pa' Austin, 1st Baron Austin KBE
(8 November 1866 – 23 May 1941) was an English
automobile
designer and builder who founded the Austin Motor Company
.
, Buckinghamshire
in South East England
, but the family moved to Wentworth Woodhouse
, near Rotherham
, Yorkshire
in 1870 when his father was appointed farm bailiff
. Herbert Austin first went to the village school, later continuing his education at Rotherham
Grammar School.
In 1884 he emigrated to Australia
, with an uncle, on his mother's side, who lived in Melbourne
, Australia, but had recently returned to England on a family visit. They travelled to Australia by ship, via the Cape
.
engines
. He later worked for the Longlands Foundry Company in Melbourne which made locomotive
boilers, wheels and gold mining
equipment.
Herbert Austin attended Hotham Art School in Melbourne to develop his skills in drawing. During this time, he submitted a design for a swing bridge over the Yarra River
at Spencer Street, Melbourne, but did not win the competition organised by the Government of Victoria
.
He met and married his wife, Helen Dron, in Melbourne. She was born in Melbourne, the seventh daughter of Scottish
parents. Herbert and Helen were married on 26 December 1887 and bought a house in Melbourne. They had a son, Vernon James, who was killed on 26 January 1915, serving in World War I
, and two daughters, Irene (born in 1891) and Zoe (later to become Mrs Lambert).
Three days before his marriage, Austin left the Longlands Foundry Company to work as manager of an engineering workshop owned by Richard Pickup Parks, who had developed a new sheep-shearing machine for Frederick York Wolseley
.
After spending three months improving the sheep-shearing machine, Herbert Austin was asked to join the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company, founded in 1887 in Sydney
. Shortly after joining, he was sent to a sheep station at Avoca
to study the machines in use. Austin had patent
ed in his own name the improvements he had made to the sheep-shearing machines, but sold the patents to the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company on 10 March 1893 in exchange for shares
.
, docking at Tilbury
in November 1893.
Wolseley had closed down the Sydney-based company and transferred it to a company registered
in London
. Wolseley set up a factory in Broad Street
, Birmingham
, where Austin became manager. Fredrick Wolseley resigned from the company in 1894. The Broad Street factory was not large enough so Austin bought a bigger one in Aston
, Birmingham
. During slack periods in the year they built bicycle
s.
Becoming interested in motor cars, Austin built two different types in his own time. A version of one of these was taken up by the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company and listed for sale in 1900. In 1901 Vickers
bought out the car interests of Wolseley to form the Wolseley Tool & Motor Company
and Austin moved to the new company, in Adderley Park
, Birmingham, but was allowed to continue working part-time for the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company. He was chairman of the board of the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company from 1911 to 1933.
In 1905 Austin resigned from the Wolseley Tool & Motor Company, taking some of the senior staff with him. His brother Harry also joined him in this new venture, having worked with him at Wolseley in Birmingham. Austin raised capital of £37,000 and embarked on a search for a factory that could accommodate his idea for a new car manufacturer. He took over an old print works, still outside Birmingham, in Longbridge
, which was then in the County
of Worcestershire
; Longbridge did not become a suburb of Birmingham until 1911 when the city's boundaries were expanded. The Austin car works
at Longbridge was later to become one of the greatest car manufacturers in the world.
Austin was producing 17 different models by 1908. During the First World War Austin produced munitions and built Austin Village
in Turves Green for his workers. The car business was difficult after World War I
; the Austin company was threatened with bankruptcy in 1921 and a receiver was appointed. The "Baby Austin"
was launched in 1922 and offered for sale at £225, putting it within the budget of customers who had never previously owned a car. Its output reached 25,000 annually by 1925; the price was reduced each year. In 1931, the Austin 12/6
was introduced, followed by the Austin 12/4
in 1933.
of Leopold II
, for the employment of 3,000 Belgian
refugees at Longbridge.
During World War II
, the company specialised in making aircraft; Horsa glider fuselages; specialist army vehicles; hydraulic motors for gun turrets; ammunition boxes, magazines for machine gun
s, tommy gun
s, Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns
; marine engines for ships lifeboats
; and pressings for jerrycan
s.
had been headed by Lord Swinton
, who at that point had been forced to resign his position by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
due to a lack of progress in re-arming the Royal Air Force
. New minister Sir Kingsley Wood
implemented a new plan to treble British aircraft production in the run up to WW2 in two parts:
Underneath the plan, there was government funding for the building of these new production facilities, in the form of grants and loans. Key to the plan were the products and plans of Rolls-Royce Limited
, whose Merlin engine
powered many of the key aircraft being developed by the Air Ministry. Austin was placed in charge of implementing the scheme on the producers side, who were mainly motor vehicle manufacturers; while technical liaison with the aircraft industry was placed with Charles Bruce-Gardner
.
Member of Parliament
(MP) for Birmingham King's Norton
but never made a speech in the House of Commons. In 1936 he was created Baron Austin, of Longbridge in the City of Birmingham. In 1937 he received a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from the University of Birmingham
.
Lord Austin died from a heart attack
and a bout of pneumonia
. The peerage became extinct on his death.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(8 November 1866 – 23 May 1941) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
designer and builder who founded the Austin Motor Company
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
.
Background and early life
The son of a farmer, he was born in Little MissendenLittle Missenden
Little Missenden is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about three miles south east of Great Missenden, three miles west of Amersham.The toponym "Missenden" is derived from the Old English for "valley where marsh plants grow"...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
in South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, but the family moved to Wentworth Woodhouse
Wentworth Woodhouse
Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house near the village of Wentworth, in the vicinity of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. "One of the great Whig political palaces", its East Front, long, is the longest country house façade in Europe. The house includes 365 rooms and covers an...
, near Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
in 1870 when his father was appointed farm bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
. Herbert Austin first went to the village school, later continuing his education at Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
Grammar School.
In 1884 he emigrated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, with an uncle, on his mother's side, who lived in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia, but had recently returned to England on a family visit. They travelled to Australia by ship, via the Cape
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...
.
Life in Melbourne, Australia
He initially started work with his uncle who was the works manager at a general engineering firm, Mephan Ferguson, in North Melbourne. However, after two years, he left to join a company called Cowen, which was an agent for printing equipment and CrossleyCrossley
Crossley, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was a pioneering company in the production of internal combustion engines. Since 1988 it has been part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering group.More than 100,000 Crossley oil and gas engines have been built....
engines
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
. He later worked for the Longlands Foundry Company in Melbourne which made locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
boilers, wheels and gold mining
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
equipment.
Herbert Austin attended Hotham Art School in Melbourne to develop his skills in drawing. During this time, he submitted a design for a swing bridge over the Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
at Spencer Street, Melbourne, but did not win the competition organised by the Government of Victoria
Government of Victoria
The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...
.
He met and married his wife, Helen Dron, in Melbourne. She was born in Melbourne, the seventh daughter of Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
parents. Herbert and Helen were married on 26 December 1887 and bought a house in Melbourne. They had a son, Vernon James, who was killed on 26 January 1915, serving in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and two daughters, Irene (born in 1891) and Zoe (later to become Mrs Lambert).
Three days before his marriage, Austin left the Longlands Foundry Company to work as manager of an engineering workshop owned by Richard Pickup Parks, who had developed a new sheep-shearing machine for Frederick York Wolseley
Frederick Wolseley
Frederick York Wolseley was the founder of Wolseley, one of the United Kingdom's largest builders' merchant businesses.-Career:...
.
After spending three months improving the sheep-shearing machine, Herbert Austin was asked to join the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company, founded in 1887 in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Shortly after joining, he was sent to a sheep station at Avoca
Avoca, Victoria
Avoca is a town in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north west of Ballarat. It is one of two main towns in the Pyrenees Shire, the other being Beaufort to the south. At the 2006 census, Avoca had a population of 951.-Geography:...
to study the machines in use. Austin had patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed in his own name the improvements he had made to the sheep-shearing machines, but sold the patents to the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company on 10 March 1893 in exchange for shares
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
.
Motor cars
He returned to England by ship with Frederick WolseleyFrederick Wolseley
Frederick York Wolseley was the founder of Wolseley, one of the United Kingdom's largest builders' merchant businesses.-Career:...
, docking at Tilbury
Port of Tilbury
The Port of Tilbury is located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London; as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for containers, grain, and other bulk cargoes. There are also...
in November 1893.
Wolseley had closed down the Sydney-based company and transferred it to a company registered
Registered office
Registered office is a term used to describe the address which is registered with the government registrar as the official address of a company, an association or any other legal entity. Generally it will form part of the public record...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Wolseley set up a factory in Broad Street
Broad Street, Birmingham
Broad Street is a major thoroughfare and popular nightspot in Birmingham City Centre, United Kingdom. Traditionally, Broad Street was considered to be outside Birmingham City Centre, but as the city centre expanded with the removal of the Inner Ring Road, Broad Street has been incorporated into...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, where Austin became manager. Fredrick Wolseley resigned from the company in 1894. The Broad Street factory was not large enough so Austin bought a bigger one in Aston
Aston
Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. During slack periods in the year they built bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s.
Becoming interested in motor cars, Austin built two different types in his own time. A version of one of these was taken up by the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company and listed for sale in 1900. In 1901 Vickers
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
bought out the car interests of Wolseley to form the Wolseley Tool & Motor Company
Wolseley Motor Company
The Wolseley Motor Company was a British automobile manufacturer founded in 1901. After 1935 it was incorporated into larger companies but the Wolseley name remained as an upmarket marque until 1975.-History:...
and Austin moved to the new company, in Adderley Park
Adderley Park
Adderley Park is an area in the east of Birmingham, England. Charles Adderley MP donated of land to create the park, which he managed privately from 1855 to 1864.It is served by Adderley Park railway station....
, Birmingham, but was allowed to continue working part-time for the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company. He was chairman of the board of the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company from 1911 to 1933.
In 1905 Austin resigned from the Wolseley Tool & Motor Company, taking some of the senior staff with him. His brother Harry also joined him in this new venture, having worked with him at Wolseley in Birmingham. Austin raised capital of £37,000 and embarked on a search for a factory that could accommodate his idea for a new car manufacturer. He took over an old print works, still outside Birmingham, in Longbridge
Longbridge
Longbridge is an area of Birmingham, England. For local government purposes it is a ward within the district of Northfield.Since 1905, the area has been dominated by the Longbridge plant, which produced Austin, Nash Metropolitan, Morris, British Leyland, and most recently MG Rover cars...
, which was then in the County
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
; Longbridge did not become a suburb of Birmingham until 1911 when the city's boundaries were expanded. The Austin car works
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
at Longbridge was later to become one of the greatest car manufacturers in the world.
Austin was producing 17 different models by 1908. During the First World War Austin produced munitions and built Austin Village
Austin Village
Austin Village is a World War I housing estate of prefabs between Longbridge and Northfield, Birmingham, England.Herbert Austin, who created the Austin Motor Company at Longbridge in 1905, had to take on more workers during the First World War when his factory became involved in making tanks and...
in Turves Green for his workers. The car business was difficult after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
; the Austin company was threatened with bankruptcy in 1921 and a receiver was appointed. The "Baby Austin"
Austin 7
The Austin 7 was a car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, and sold well abroad...
was launched in 1922 and offered for sale at £225, putting it within the budget of customers who had never previously owned a car. Its output reached 25,000 annually by 1925; the price was reduced each year. In 1931, the Austin 12/6
Austin 12/6
The Austin 12/6 was introduced by the Austin Motor Company in 1931 continuing in production until 1937. To separate it from the earlier, four-cylinder, Austin 12, it has become known as the Austin Light 12/6....
was introduced, followed by the Austin 12/4
Austin 12/4
The Austin 12/4 was a car produced by the Austin Motor Company from 1933 until 1939. To distinguish it from the earlier four-cylinder Austin 12 it has become known as the Austin Light 12/4. It was replaced in 1939 by a new model also called the Austin 12 keeping the same engine...
in 1933.
Military production
The company turned its resources to the war effort in 1914 and, in 1917, Austin was knighted for his services and also received the Belgium Order of the CrownOrder of the Crown (Belgium)
The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was created on 15 October 1897 by King Leopold II in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State. The order was first intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts...
of Leopold II
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
, for the employment of 3,000 Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
refugees at Longbridge.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the company specialised in making aircraft; Horsa glider fuselages; specialist army vehicles; hydraulic motors for gun turrets; ammunition boxes, magazines for machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s, tommy gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
s, Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
; marine engines for ships lifeboats
Lifeboat (shipboard)
A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...
; and pressings for jerrycan
Jerrycan
A jerrycan is a robust fuel container originally made from pressed steel. It was designed in Germany in the 1930s for military use to hold 20 litres of fuel. The development of the Jerrycan was a huge improvement on earlier designs, which required tools and funnels to use.-Uses:Today similar...
s.
British shadow factories
Up until 1938, the Air MinistryAir Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
had been headed by Lord Swinton
Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Earl of Swinton
Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Earl of Swinton GBE, CH, MC, PC , known as Philip Lloyd-Greame until 1924 and as The Viscount Swinton from 1935 until 1955, was a prominent British Conservative politician from the 1920s until the 1950s.-Background and early life:Born as Philip Lloyd-Graeme, he was the...
, who at that point had been forced to resign his position by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
due to a lack of progress in re-arming the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. New minister Sir Kingsley Wood
Kingsley Wood
Sir Howard Kingsley Wood was an English Conservative politician. The son of a Wesleyan Methodist minister, he qualified as a solicitor, and successfully specialised in industrial insurance...
implemented a new plan to treble British aircraft production in the run up to WW2 in two parts:
- Development of nine new factories
- Extension and extensions to existing factory complexes to allow either easier switching to aircraft industry capability, or production capacity expansion
Underneath the plan, there was government funding for the building of these new production facilities, in the form of grants and loans. Key to the plan were the products and plans of Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
, whose Merlin engine
Rolls-Royce Merlin
The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled, V-12, piston aero engine, of 27-litre capacity. Rolls-Royce Limited designed and built the engine which was initially known as the PV-12: the PV-12 became known as the Merlin following the company convention of naming its piston aero engines after...
powered many of the key aircraft being developed by the Air Ministry. Austin was placed in charge of implementing the scheme on the producers side, who were mainly motor vehicle manufacturers; while technical liaison with the aircraft industry was placed with Charles Bruce-Gardner
Charles Bruce-Gardner
Sir Charles Bruce-Gardner 1st Baronet Bruce-Gardner , was an English industrialist, specialising in mechanical and aircraft production....
.
Parliamentary career
From 1918 to 1924, Austin served as ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Birmingham King's Norton
Birmingham King's Norton (UK Parliament constituency)
Birmingham King's Norton was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1955. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.- Boundaries :...
but never made a speech in the House of Commons. In 1936 he was created Baron Austin, of Longbridge in the City of Birmingham. In 1937 he received a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
.
Lord Austin died from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
and a bout of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. The peerage became extinct on his death.
Sources
- Lambert, Z.E. & Wyatt, R.J. (1968). Lord Austin - the Man, Altrincham: Sidgewick and Jackson Limited.
Further reading
- Sharratt, Barney (2000) Men and Motors of the Austin: The inside story of a century of car making at Longbridge. Sparkford: Haynes Publishing.