Sir Robert Basil Reid (7 February 1921 – 17 December 1993) was chairman of the

British Railways Board The British Railways Board (BRB) was a State ownership, nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that operated from 1963 to 2001. Until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in History of rail transport in Great Britain 1995 to d ...

from 1983 until 1990. The son of Sir Robert Niel Reid,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

from 1937 to 1942, he was educated at Malvern and Brasenose. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was an

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the World War I, First World War. Today, it is an Armoured warfare, armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks ...

. When peace returned he joined the

LNER LNER or L.N.E.R. may refer to: *London and North Eastern Railway (1923–1947), a former railway company in the United Kingdom *London North Eastern Railway (2018–), a train operating company in the United Kingdom * Liquid neutral earthing resi ...

as a Traffic Apprentice. When the "Big Four" merged he rose steadily within

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

ways. By 1961 he was a District Passenger manager and by 1967 Planning Manager of the Scottish Region. He was General Manager of the Southern Region from 1974 to 1976; and the Executive Member for Marketing from 1977 to 1980. He became Chief Executive in 1980, and held that post until his appointment as

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

. He was a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

and Master of the Information Technologists' Company from 1988 to 1989.Obituary, Independent newspaper (UK)
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Notes

1921 births 1993 deaths British Rail people Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford People educated at Malvern College English knights Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Tank Regiment officers Masters of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists British Army personnel of World War II {{UK-rail-transport-stub