Sir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet CB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

GBE

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...

Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

Territorial Decoration

The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...

(27 January 1883 - 23 February 1952) was a Scottish industrialist who played a major role in restructuring the British shipbuilding

Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...

and steelmaking

Steelmaking

Steelmaking is the second step in producing steel from iron ore. In this stage, impurities such as sulfur, phosphorus, and excess carbon are removed from the raw iron, and alloying elements such as manganese, nickel, chromium and vanadium are added to produce the exact steel required.-Older...

industries in the 1930s in addition to playing an important role in formulating public policy

Public policy

Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...

and supervising wartime production.

Early life

James was born in Port Glasgow

Port Glasgow

Port Glasgow is the second largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16617 persons...

, Scotland, the son of William Todd Lithgow and in the same year his parents moved to Langbank

Langbank

Langbank is a village on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The name is thought to come from ‘long bank’ Langbank is a village on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The name is thought to come from ‘long bank’ Langbank is a village on the south...

. His father was a partner

Partnership

A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...

in the shipbuilding

Shipbuilding

firm of Russell & Co. and James was educated along with his brother Henry Lithgow, at first privately at home then at the Glasgow Academy before the two were apprenticed in the shipbuilding industry. William's health failed in 1907 and his two sons were made partners. William died the following year and the two brothers, who were very close, took control of the company.

Shipbuilding

The brothers developed the business with James taking on a wider industry role in the Clyde Shipbuilders' Association where he met Andrew Rae Duncan. The brothers agreed that in the event of war, James would take on military service while Henry would run the shipyard so James joined the Royal Garrison Artillery

Royal Garrison Artillery

The Royal Garrison Artillery was an arm of the Royal Artillery that was originally tasked with manning the guns of the British Empire's forts and fortresses, including coastal artillery batteries, the heavy gun batteries attached to each infantry division, and the guns of the siege...

, initially in the Volunteer Force

Volunteer Force (Great Britain)

The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, before forming part of the...

, and at the creation of the Territorial Force

Territorial Force

The Territorial Force was the volunteer reserve component of the British Army from 1908 to 1920, when it became the Territorial Army.-Origins:...

he was a lieutenant

First Lieutenant

First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...

. During World War I, James served in a howitzer

Howitzer

A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...

battery on the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

and was awarded the Military Cross

Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

, brevet

Brevet (military)

In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...

ed lieutenant-colonel and awarded the Territorial Decoration

Territorial Decoration

The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...

. However, James became resentful of his military service believing that he would contribute more to the war effort back at the shipbuilding yard. It was not until May 1917 that Sir Eric Campbell Geddes

Eric Campbell Geddes

Sir Eric Campbell-Geddes GCB, GBE, PC was a British businessman and Conservative politician. He served as First Lord of the Admiralty between 1917 and 1919 and as the first Minister of Transport between 1919 and 1921....

appointed him director of merchant shipbuilding with responsibility to ensure that production targets were achieved. This was James's first step into public life and policy, and introduced him to men such as Lords Pirrie

William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie

William James Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, KP, PC was a leading Irish shipbuilder and businessman. He was chairman of Harland and Wolff, shipbuilders, between 1895 and 1924, and also served as Lord Mayor of Belfast between 1896 and 1898...

and Weir. While carrying out this role he was given the acting rank of lieutenant-colonel, and attached to the Royal Engineers

Royal Engineers

The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

.

James rejoined Henry in the business in 1919 at which point they restructed the partnership of Russell & Co into a private limited company Lithgows Ltd

Lithgows

Lithgows Limited, was a British shipbuilding company based in Kingston, Port Glasgow, on the River Clyde in Scotland.-Founding:The Company was established by Joseph Russell and his partners Anderson Rodger and William Lithgow who leased the Bay Yard in Port Glasgow from Cunliffe & Dunlop and...

. They then embarked on a rapid process of acquisition and expansion, adopting vertical integration

Vertical integration

In microeconomics and management, the term vertical integration describes a style of management control. Vertically integrated companies in a supply chain are united through a common owner. Usually each member of the supply chain produces a different product or service, and the products combine to...

and taking the company into coal mining

Coal mining

The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...

and steelmaking

Steelmaking

. However, James was becoming increasingly involved in public affairs, being appointed a Deputy Lieutenant

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

of Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...

in 1919, and becoming president of the Shipbuilding Employers' Federation in 1920. James renewed his contacts with Lord Weir who was then president of the National Confederation of Employers' Organisations. James became vice-president of the National Confederation in 1922 and was the United Kingdom's representative at the International Labour Organization

International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...

in Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

between 1922 and 1927, making a connection with Horace Wilson. James was created a baronet

Baronet

A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...

by Stanley Baldwin

Stanley Baldwin

Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...

in the 1923 King's Birthday Honours for this work. The brothers purchased the engine works of Rankine and Blackmore in 1923. James had retained his Territorial commission, and was promoted to substantive lieutenant-colonel in 1924, and was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Clyde Heavy Brigade, Royal Artillery

Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

.

This was the era of Red Clydeside

Red Clydeside

Red Clydeside is a term used to describe the era of political radicalism that characterised the city of Glasgow in Scotland, and urban areas around the city on the banks of the River Clyde such as Clydebank, Greenock and Paisley...

and the brothers had strong views on shipbuilding and industry in general. James was the public spokesman of the two and was vocal in his criticism of organised labour. James believed in rigorous management control of costs and wages through the use of automation

Automation

Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...

and technology

Technology

Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...

, and efficient exploitation of manual labour

Manual labour

Manual labour , manual or manual work is physical work done by people, most especially in contrast to that done by machines, and also to that done by working animals...

. He further believed that there was overcapacity in the shipbuilding industry and that yard closures and job losses were inevitable. James saw organised labour as naturally opposed to his policies but claimed that a rationalised industry would provide sustainable jobs and provide a basis for growth.

Through Duncan, James approached governor of the Bank of England

Bank of England

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...

Montagu Norman

Montagu Collet Norman, 1st Baron Norman DSO PC was an English banker, best known for his role as the Governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944...

to underwrite a rationalisation scheme for the shipbuilding industry. In 1930 National Shipbuilders' Security Ltd (NSS) was created with James as chairman and architect of a scheme to reduce shipbuilding capacity. At the same time he became president of the Federation of British Industry and chairman of the Scottish National Development Council. In the decade to 1939, the NSS purchased and closed around a third of British shipbuilding capacity. William Beardmore and Company

William Beardmore and Company

William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people...

owed considerable debt

Debt

A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...

to the Bank of England and its Dalmuir

Dalmuir

Dalmuir is an area on the western side of Clydebank, in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland.-Location:It is neighboured by the village of Old Kilpatrick, the Mountblow and Parkhall areas of Clydebank, as well as the town centre...

yard was the first to close under the scheme, the proceeds of its liquidation paying off the debt. Lithgow was the architect of the liquidation and was rewarded in 1934 by being allowed to purchase Beardmore debenture

Debenture

A debenture is a document that either creates a debt or acknowledges it. In corporate finance, the term is used for a medium- to long-term debt instrument used by large companies to borrow money. In some countries the term is used interchangeably with bond, loan stock or note...

s from the Bank of England on favourable terms, taking control of their iron and steel assets. It was at Beardmores that James spotted young engineering manager Ian MacGregor

Ian MacGregor

Sir Ian Kinloch MacGregor, KBE was a Scottish-American metallurgist and industrialist, most famous in the UK for his controversial tenure at British Steel and his conduct during the 1984-1985 miner's strike while managing the National Coal Board.-Early life:Born in Kinlochleven, Scotland, his...

who broke a strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

by driving a crane

Crane (machine)

A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...

himself for two weeks. James accelerated his career and MacGregor went on himself to be a major industrial figure.

Steel

James now focussed his rationalising zeal on the steel industry. The Lithgows owned James Dunlop & Co. and they opened talks with John Craig to merge their business with his Colville Group. The merger was finalised in 1931. In 1934 the Bank of England helped the Lithgows to buy the Steel Company of Scotland for £672,975 (£30.46 million at 2003 prices)). In 1936 the brothers sold the company to Colville for £951,750 {42.54 million at 2003 prices), the profit

Profit (accounting)

In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...

being donated to the Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

.

Again, contacts with Norman and Duncan in 1935 allowed the Lithgows to purchase the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company

Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company

The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War and the...

which was entangled with the insolvency

Insolvency

Insolvency means the inability to pay one's debts as they fall due. Usually used to refer to a business, insolvency refers to the inability of a company to pay off its debts.Business insolvency is defined in two different ways:...

of the Anchor Line

Anchor Line

The Anchor Line was a steamboat company that operated a fleet of boats on the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri, and New Orleans, Louisiana, between 1859 and 1898, when it went out of business...

Public life

James and his brother believed in their responsibility to invest in Scotland and James was active in attracting industry and fostering development within the region. Henry's focus on the day-to-day business enabled James to take a more public role (he retained his TA commission until retirement in 1938). In 1940, just after the outbreak of World War II, Sir Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

called James to London, again as controller of merchant shipping and repairs and as a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty

Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty

The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised command over the Royal Navy.Officially known as the Commissioners for Exercising the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland &c. The Lords...

. He also had a brief responsibility for tank

Tank

A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

production and worked with Harold Macmillan

Harold Macmillan

Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....

on the industrial capacity committee of the production council. He served as President of The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland

Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland

The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland is a professional body for engineers and shipbuilders in Scotland.-Founding:The inaugural meeting of the Institution of Engineers in Scotland was held on 1 May 1857...

from 1929 to 1931. From 1943 to 1945 he was president of the Iron and Steel Federation

British Iron and Steel Federation

The British Iron and Steel Federation, formed in 1934, was an organization of British iron and steel producers responsible for the national planning of steel production. Its creation was imposed on the industry by Ramsay MacDonald's National Government as a precondition to the establishment of...

, while still remaining active in Beardmores and Fairfields. In 1943 he became Vice Lieutenant

Lord Lieutenant

The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...

of Renfrewshire. In the 1945 New Year Honours

New Year Honours

The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...

he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE), and in the 1947 King's Birthday Honours he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). He was also awarded the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

Order of Orange-Nassau

The Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...

Private life

James was very close to his brother Henry and they enjoyed shooting

Shooting

Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...

grouse

Grouse

Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...

and deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

together at the family estate at Ormsary

Ormsary

Ormsary is a hamlet in Knapdale, Argyll and Bute, Scotland....

, Argyll

Argyll

Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...

. The two were both raised as staunch Presbyterians and James was very devout. The two brothers both lived with their mother at Drums, Langbank until James married shipowner's daughter Gwendolyn Amy Harrison in 1924 when the couple bought a house nearby at Langbank and a further house for entertaining at Ormsary. The couple had two daughters and a son, William

Sir William Lithgow, 2nd Baronet

Sir William James Lithgow, 2nd Baronet is a Scottish industrialist and vice-chairman of Lithgow Group. In 1952 he inherited the Scottish shipbuilding company, Lithgows, which was established by his grandfather, William Lithgow. At the time, it was the largest private shipbuilding concern in the...

who subsequently inherited the baronetcy.

The blow of Henry's death in 1948 fell hard on James. Post-war reconstruction placed heavy demands on the business in replacing lost ships in a climate of scarce raw materials. Four months after Henry's death, James suffered a thrombosis

Thrombosis

Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss...

and stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

but never fully recovered. He died at Langbank and was buried at Ormsary. His wealth at death was £436,961 {£7.95 million at 2003 prices)

Early life

Shipbuilding

Steel

Public life

Private life

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