- Sir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet
Sir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet CB GBE MC TD (
27 January 1883 -23 February 1952 ) was a Scottishindustrialist who played a major role in restructuring the Britishshipbuilding andsteelmaking industries in the 1930s in addition to playing an important role in formulatingpublic policy and supervising wartime production. [http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/people/famousfirst2252.html James Lithgow at geo.ed.uk] accessed18 February 2008 ]Early life
James was born in
Port Glasgow , Scotland, the son ofWilliam Todd Lithgow and in the same year his parents moved toLangbank . His father was a partner in theshipbuilding firm of Russell & Co. and James was educated along with his brotherHenry Lithgow , at first privately at home then at theGlasgow Academy before the two wereapprentice d 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.Slaven (2006)]hipbuilding
The brothers developed the business with James taking on a wider industry role in the
Clyde Shipbuilders' Association where he metAndrew 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 theRoyal Garrison Artillery , initially in the Volunteer Force, [LondonGazette|issue=27633|startpage=111|date=5 January 1904 |accessdate=2008-02-18] and at the creation of theTerritorial Force he was a lieutenant. [LondonGazette|issue=28186|startpage=7475|date=16 October 1908 |accessdate=2008-02-18] DuringWorld War I , James served in ahowitzer battery on the Western Front and was awarded theMilitary Cross , breveted lieutenant-colonel and awarded theTerritorial Decoration . [LondonGazette|issue=29886|supp=yes|startpage=2957|date=23 March 1917 |accessdate=2008-02-18] [LondonGazette|issue=29998|startpage=29|endpage=37|date=29 December 1916 |accessdate=2008-02-18] [LondonGazette|issue=30065|startpage=4623|date=11 May 1917 |accessdate=2008-02-18] [LondonGazette|issue=31097|startpage=88|date=31 December 1918 |accessdate=2008-02-18] [LondonGazette|issue=31226|supp=yes|startpage=3395|endpage=3396|date=11 March 1919 |accessdate=2008-02-18] 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 SirEric Campbell Geddes appointed him director ofmerchant ship building 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 and Weir. While carrying out this role he was given the acting rank of lieutenant-colonel, and attached to theRoyal Engineers . [LondonGazette|issue=30315|supp=yes|startpage=10135|date=28 September 1917 |accessdate=2008-02-18] [LondonGazette|issue=31397|supp=yes|startpage=7500|date=10 June 1919 |accessdate=2008-02-18] [LondonGazette|issue=31414|supp=yes|startpage=7913|date=20 June 1919 |accessdate=2008-02-18]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. They then embarked on a rapid process of acquisition and expansion, adoptingvertical integration and taking the company intocoal mining andsteelmaking . However, James was becoming increasingly involved in public affairs, being appointed aDeputy Lieutenant ofRenfrewshire in 1919, [LondonGazette|issue=31416|startpage=7943|date=24 June 1919 |accessdate=2008-02-18] and becoming president of theShipbuilding Employers' Federation in 1920. James renewed his contacts with Lord Weir who was then president of theNational Confederation of Employers' Organisations . James became vice-president of the National Confederation in 1922 and was the United Kingdom's representative at theInternational Labour Organization inGeneva between 1922 and 1927, making a connection with Horace Wilson. James was created abaronet byStanley Baldwin in the 1923 King's Birthday Honours for this work. [LondonGazette|issue=33053|supp=yes|startpage=3767|date=2 June 1925 |accessdate=2008-02-18] [LondonGazette|issue=33063|startpage=4449|date=3 July 1925 |accessdate=2008-02-18] The brothers purchased the engine works ofRankine and Blackmore in 1923. James had retained his Territorial commission, and was promoted to substantive lieutenant-colonel in 1924, [LondonGazette|issue=32936|startpage=3938|date=16 May 1924 |accessdate=2008-02-18] and was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Clyde Heavy Brigade,Royal Artillery . [LondonGazette|issue=32955|startpage=5323|date=11 July 1924 |accessdate=2008-02-18]This was the era of
Red Clydeside 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 oforganised labour . James believed in rigorousmanagement control ofcost s andwages through the use ofautomation andtechnology , and efficient exploitation ofmanual labour . 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 Montagu Norman to underwrite a rationalisation scheme for the shipbuilding industry. In 1930National 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 theFederation of British Industry and chairman of theScottish National Development Council . In the decade to 1939, the NSS purchased and closed around a third of British shipbuilding capacity.William Beardmore and Company owed considerabledebt to the Bank of England and itsDalmuir yard was the first to close under the scheme, the proceeds of its liquidation paying off the debt. Lithgow was the archtect of the liquidation and was rewarded in 1934 by being allowed to purchase Beardmoredebenture s from the Bank of England on favourable terms, taking control of their iron and steel assets. [LondonGazette|issue=34514|startpage=3471|endpage=3472|date=27 May 1938 |accessdate=2008-02-18] It was at Beardmores that James spotted young engineering managerIan MacGregor who broke astrike by driving a crane himself for two weeks. James accelerated his career and MacGregor went on himself to be a major industrial figure." [http://find.galegroup.com/itx/start.do?prodId=SPN.SP00 Sir Ian MacGregor; Obituary] " "The Times" (London, England) (April 14, 1998): 21.InfoTrac Full Text Newspaper Database. Gale. Cheshire Libraries. 16 September 2007]teel
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 hisColville Group . Themerger was finalised in 1931. In 1934 the Bank of England helped the Lithgows to buy theSteel Company of Scotland for £672,975 (£30.46 million at 2003 prices cite journal | title=Consumer Price Inflation since 1750 | author=O‘Donoghue, J. "et al." | journal=Economic Trends | volume=604 | year=2004 | pages=38–46, March | url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/article.asp?ID=726 ] )). In 1936 the brothers sold the company to Colville for £951,750 {42.54 million at 2003 prices), theprofit being donated to theChurch of Scotland .Again, contacts with Norman and Duncan in 1935 allowed the Lithgows to purchase the
Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company which was entangled with theinsolvency of theAnchor Line .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 commssion until retirement in 1938 [LondonGazette|issue=34479|startpage=738|date=
4 February 1938 |accessdate=2008-02-18] ). In 1940, just after the outbreak ofWorld War II , SirWinston Churchill called James to London, again as controller of merchant shipping and repairs and as aLord Commissioner of the Admiralty . [Each time the membership of the Admiralty Commission changed, newLetters Patent were issued:
*LondonGazette|issue=34788|startpage=784|date=9 February 1940 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=34829|startpage=2151|date=12 April 1940 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=34852|startpage=2963|date=17 May 1940 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=34862|startpage=3274|date=31 May 1940 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=34906|startpage=3600|date=26 July 1940 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35005|startpage=6859|date=3 December 1940 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35015|startpage=7055|date=17 December 1940 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35127|startpage=1955|date=4 April 1941 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35139|startpage=2205|date=18 April 1941 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35183|startpage=3222|date=6 June 1941 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35283|startpage=5515|date=23 September 1941 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35358|startpage=6775|date=25 November 1941 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35487|startpage=1167|date=13 March 1942 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35570|startpage=2241|date=22 May 1942 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35578|startpage=2335|date=29 May 1942 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35580|startpage=2373|date=2 June 1942 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35878|startpage=495|date=26 January 1943 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=35951|startpage=1373|date=23 March 1943 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=36012|startpage=2113|date=11 May 1943 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=36047|startpage=2633|date=8 June 1943 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=36208|startpage=4511|date=12 October 1943 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=36216|startpage=4629|date=19 October 1943 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=36420|startpage=1174|date=10 March 1944 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=36440|startpage=1393|date=24 March 1944 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=36842|startpage=5757|date=15 December 1944 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=36971|startpage=1269|date=6 March 1945 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=37071|startpage=2419|date=8 May 1945 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=37106|startpage=2795|date=1 June 1945 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=37222|startpage=4135|date=14 August 1945 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=37305|startpage=5025|date=12 October 1945 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=37375|startpage=5901|date=4 December 1945 |accessdate=2008-02-18
*LondonGazette|issue=37445|startpage=669|date=25 January 1946 |accessdate=2008-02-18] He also had a brief responsibility fortank production and worked withHarold Macmillan on the industrial capacity committee of the production council. From 1943 to 1945 he was president of the Iron and Steel Federation, while still remaining active in Beardmores and Fairfields. In 1943 he became Vice Lieutenant of Renfrewshire. [LondonGazette|issue=36064|startpage=2828|date=22 June 1943 |accessdate=2008-02-18] In the 1945New Year Honours he was appointed aKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE), [LondonGazette|issue=36866|supp=yes|startpage=26|date=29 December 1944 |accessdate=2008-02-18] and in the 1947King's Birthday Honours he was made aCompanion of the Order of the Bath (CB). [LondonGazette|issue=37977|supp=yes|startpage=2573|date=6 June 1947 |accessdate=2008-02-18] He was also awarded the DutchOrder of Orange-Nassau . [LondonGazette|issue=38192|startpage=741|date=30 January 1948 |accessdate=2008-02-18]Private life
James was very close to his brother Henry and they enjoyed
shooting grouse anddeer together at the family estate atOrmsary ,Argyll . The two were both raised as staunchPresbyterian s 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 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 athrombosis andstroke 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)Archives
Archive collections relating to Sir James Lithgow are held by the Archives of the University of Glasgow (GUAS) and the
National Library of Scotland . [NRA|ID=P17592|name=Lithgow, Sir James (1883-1952), 1st Baronet shipbuilder and industrialist ref GB/NNAF/P153081 (Former ISAAR ref: GB/NNAF/P17592) ]References
Bibliography
* cite book | title=James Lithgow - Master of Work | author=Reid, J. M. | year=1964 | location=London | publisher=Hutchinson
*Slaven, A. (2006) " [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/51878 Lithgow family (per. c.1870–1952)] ", "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ", Oxford University Press, online edn, accessed 16 February 2008 ODNBsub----
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