William Miles Webster Thomas, Baron Thomas DFC (2 March 1897 – 8 February 1980),Peter G. Masefield: ''Thomas, (William) Miles Webster, Baron Thomas (1897–1980)''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press 2004, accessed 15 May 2012 [] known as Sir Miles Thomas from 1943–1971, was a Welsh businessman. He was Managing Director of the

Morris Motors Morris Motors Limited was a British privately owned motor vehicle manufacturing company formed in 1919 to take over the assets of William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, William Morris's WRM Motors Limited and continue production of the same ve ...

, 1940–1947, Chairman of the

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned national airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II ...

(BOAC, later to become

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

), 1949–1956, Chairman of the merger broker Chesham Amalgamations, and President and Chairman of the National Savings Committee.

Early life

He was born in 1897 in

Cefn Mawr Cefn Mawr (; ) is a village in the Community (Wales), community of Cefn (community), Cefn within Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Its name translates as "big ridge".Mills, D. ''A Dictionary of British Place Names'', OUP, p.104 The population in ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, the son of a property owner who died the following year. He went to

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational boarding and day school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmasters' Confer ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, England.

War service 1914-18

After school, during which time his major interests were engineering and transport, in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he joined an Armoured Car Squadron. After fighting through the German East African Campaign, he transferred to the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

qualifying for his wings in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. He subsequently served with an operational squadron in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and south

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for aerial combat and low ground strafing.

Post war

After the First World War, he became a journalist working initially at Hiffe and Temple Press, working on ''The Motor'' magazine. He was later promoted to editor of ''Light Car'' magazine. On one assignment, he conducted a press interview with

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

(later Lord Nuffield), and Morris was so impressed with his 'clarity of thought' that he offered Thomas employment. Soon, Thomas was in de facto charge of sales and purchasing at

, where he came up with the idea of producing a magazine for owners and dealers, in order to bring about brand loyalty. To achieve this, Morris created the Morris Oxford Press (later to become the

Nuffield Press Nuffield Press was a publisher and printer formed by William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, William Morris (later Lord Nuffield) as part of his Nuffield Organization in 1925. It was formed to primarily produce promotional literature for the motor ...

and placed Thomas in charge. The press produced a wide range of materials for the

Nuffield Organization Nuffield Organization was the unincorporated umbrella-name or promotional name used for the charitable and commercial interests of owner and donor, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield. The name was assumed following Nuffield's gift made to form ...

including promotional magazines, brochures, and paperwork. Thomas' success at the press led to promotion, including being involved in the formation of the Pressed Steel Company subsidiary of Morris, and then becoming General Manager of

Wolseley Motors Wolseley Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in early 1901 by the Vickers Armaments in conjunction with Herbert Austin. It initially made a full range, topped by large luxury cars, and dominated the market in the E ...

in 1933, taking charge of developing the

Wolseley Wasp The Wolseley Wasp was a light Sedan (automobile), saloon car produced by Wolseley Motors, Wolseley Motors Limited in 1935 and 1936. It was an updated version of the Wolseley Nine model with a larger engine and steel disc wheels. The overhead c ...

, Wolseley Hornet and

Morris Fourteen The Morris Fourteen is a series of two motor cars that were produced by Morris of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwes ...

, before becoming Managing Director in 1937. In 1940, he was promoted to Vice-Chairman of Morris Motors, and was instrumental in the

war contribution, including being Chairman of the Cruiser Tank Production Group, and a member of the Government's Advisory Committee. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1943. Thomas left Morris Motors in 1947 to take up a post as deputy Chairman at the

(BOAC), where he introduced the

de Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH.106 Comet is the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It features an aerodynamically clean design with four ...

, the world's first jet airliner. This made him the public face of BOAC during the high-profile losses of Comet aircraft between 1952 and 1954. In 1956 he resigned after a row with Harold Watkinson then Minister of Transport and Thomas was elected as chairman of the board of Monsanto Chemical Ltd. The company had just opened a new UK Head Office at Monsanto House (the name signs now covered over), 10-18 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0NB and had acquired a large chemical plant in Cefn Mawr, Thomas' birthplace. HRH

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

opened the building and a plaque still remains on the ground floor on what has been occupied by the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

partially since the late 1960s and wholly since Monsanto relocated its UK offices to

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

in the late 1970s. He later took other board appointments including

Britannia Airways Britannia Airways Limited was a charter airline based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1961 as Euravia (London) Limited and became the world's largest holiday airline. Britannia's main bases were at London Gatwick, London Stansted, Lo ...

. In 1962 he was invited to deliver the MacMillan Memorial Lecture to the

Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland The Institution of Engineers in Scotland (IES) is a multi-disciplinary professional body and learned society, founded in Scotland, for professional engineers in all disciplines and for those associated with or taking an interest in their work. I ...

. He chose the subject "Air and Sea Transport-Friends or Foes?". In 1960, he became President of the National Farmers' Union. His autobiography was published in 1964. On 29 January 1971, Thomas was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Thomas, of

Remenham Remenham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames opposite Henley-on-Thames in southern England. It is particularly well known for the steep approach, known as Remenham Hill or White Hill ...

, in the Royal County of Berkshire.

Personal life

On 2 June 1924 he married Hylda Church, who had been William Morris's secretary. They had a daughter, Sheila, (1925-2019), and a son, Michael (1926).

References

Publications

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Miles 1897 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Welsh businesspeople British airline chief executives Presidents of the National Farmers' Union of England and Wales British World War I pilots People from Denbighshire Life peers People educated at Bromsgrove School People from Remenham Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Flying Corps officers Knights Bachelor People of the British Overseas Airways Corporation Life peers created by Elizabeth II British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Wrexham County Borough