The Railway Executive Committee (REC) was a government body which controlled the operation of Britain's railways during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It should not be confused with the Railway Executive which was a division of the British Transport Commission. In both cases, this period of government control was followed by a major re-organisation of the railways.

World War I

The Railway Executive Committee (REC) was formed in 1912 to act as an intermediary between the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

and the various British railway companies. It was formed in response to the Agadir Crisis for a contingency in which it would have to defend its

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...

partners

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

against a Triple Alliance offensive. The companies were already involved in the transport of many thousands of troops during annual manoeuvres and it was realised that better coordination and planning would be required if the United Kingdom were to enter into a future European war. In 1911, the companies began to plan for the movement of troops, horses and equipment to the embarkation ports, chiefly

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, in case of mobilisation; the main role of the REC was to oversee this work. When completed, the orders for this complicated plan that were issued to the various railways were known as the "War Book". Using powers granted to the government by the Regulation of the Forces Act 1871, the REC took control of the national rail network on 4 August 1914, the day that war was declared and mobilisation began. Alexander Kaye Butterworth was appointed chairman. REC control lasted from 1914 to 1921. It was followed by the

Railways Act 1921 The Railways Act 1921 (c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an Act of Parliament enacted by the British government and intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grouping" them into four la ...

which led to the creation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1923.

Herbert Ashcombe Walker Sir Herbert Ashcombe Walker (16 May 1868 – 29 September 1949) was a British railway manager. Early life Walker was born in Paddington, London, in 1868, the son of a doctor. He was educated at the North London Collegiate School and studied m ...

was acting chairman of the REC in January 1917.

World War II

Preparation

The REC was re-formed on 24 September 1938 with a remit to run the British railways if war broke out. The railways would later be brought under government control through the REC under the direction of the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ...

. The Big Four railway companies, comprising the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

(GWR), the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...

(LMS), the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

(LNER), and the Southern Railway (SR), along with the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) were initially represented by

Sir Ralph Wedgwood Sir Ralph Lewis Wedgwood, 1st Baronet, (; 2 March 1874 – 5 September 1956) was the Chief Officer of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) for 16 years from its inauguration in 1923. He was chairman of the wartime Railway Executive Committ ...

(chairman) for LNER, Sir James Milne (deputy chairman) for GWR, Sir William Wood for LMS,

Gilbert Szlumper Major General Gilbert Savil Szlumper, (18 April 1884 – 19 July 1969) was a British railwayman, and the penultimate general manager of the Southern Railway. He left the Southern Railway for war service in 1939, becoming director-general of tra ...

for SR, and Frank Pick for LTPB. The secretary of the committee was G. Cole Deacon from the

Railway Companies' Association The Railway Companies' Association was a co-ordinating body for British railway companies from 1867 until nationalisation in 1948. Its purpose was to protect the interests of the companies and their shareholders, chiefly against parliamentary inte ...

. Initially, the role of the REC was advisory and coordinated the existing emergency plans and preparations of the railway companies and the Railway Technical Committee for such matters as civilian evacuation and air raid precautions. At first, the offices of the REC were at Fielden House in Westminster. Unlike the railway companies, which were planning to move their headquarters out of London, the REC remained in London to stay in close contact with the government. The basement in Fielden House was unsuitable, so the unused

Down Street tube station Down Street, also known as Down Street (Mayfair), is a disused station on the London Underground, located in Mayfair, west London. The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opened it in 1907. It was latterly served by the Piccadilly ...

was converted into bomb-proof underground offices to become the headquarters of REC. The only available space was on the platforms, but Piccadilly Line trains still passed through the station. Under great secrecy, new walls were built at night when the trains had stopped running. The doors to the new headquarters were fitted with gas locks, and short, secret, platforms were added, where REC members and senior staff could stop a train and travel in the cab to the next station. The new headquarters included offices, dormitories (with space for 12 senior officials and 22 members of staff), kitchens, and mess rooms.

Outbreak of war

The Minister of Transport, Euan Wallace, took control of the railways on 1 September 1939 (two days before Britain declared war on Germany). Control was taken using the Railway Control Order 1939 under the powers granted by Defence Regulation 69 created under the

Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 The Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 was emergency legislation passed just prior to the outbreak of World War II by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to enable the British Government to take up emergency powers to prosecute the war effectiv ...

. The companies affected included the Big Four (and any joint companies operated by them), LPTB, East Kent Railway,

Kent and East Sussex Railway The Kent and East Sussex Railway (K&ESR) refers to both a historical private railway company in Kent and East Sussex in England, as well as a heritage railway currently running on part of the route of the historical company. Historical compan ...

, King's Lynn Docks and Railway Company,

Mersey Railway The Mersey Railway was the first part of the passenger railway connecting the communities of Liverpool, Birkenhead, and now the rest of the Wirral Peninsula in England, which lie on opposite banks of the River Mersey, via the Mersey Railway T ...

, and Shropshire and Montgomery Railway. To save money on fuel and reduce the demands on the railways the REC ordered various restrictions on passenger services which came into effect on 11 September 1939: passenger train services were reduced in number and speeds were restricted; various reduced fares were discontinued; reservations of seats, compartments, and saloons were discontinued; restaurant car services were withdrawn; and the number of sleeping car services was reduced. REC control lasted from 1939 until the railways were

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

in 1948.

Publicity

Some of the

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

s of

Carl Giles Ronald "Carl" Giles OBE (29 September 1916 – 27 August 1995), often referred to simply as Giles, was a cartoonist who worked for the British newspaper the '' Daily Express''. His cartoon style was a single topical highly detailed panel, usu ...

were reprinted in

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text ...

form for World War II Railway Executive Committee.

References

Sources

* * * * *{{cite book , title = Wartime on the Railways , last1 = Wragg , first1 = David , date = 2006 , publisher =

Sutton Publishing The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, location = Stroud, Gloucestershire , edition = 1 , isbn = 978-0750-94246-1 , oclc = 70230104 Big four British railway companies World War I United Kingdom home front during World War II