Sir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet, 16 July 1943 A18155 (cropped)

Sir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet, (27 January 1883 – 23 February 1952) was a Scottish industrialist who played a major role in restructuring the British

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other 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 befo ...

and

steelmaking Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and carbon/or scrap. In steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon (the most important impurity) are removed from the sourced iron, and alloy ...

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

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

and supervising wartime production.James Lithgow at geo.ed.uk
Retrieved 18 February 2008

Early life

James was born in Port Glasgow, Scotland, the son of William Todd Lithgow; in the same year his parents moved to

Langbank Langbank is a village on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is 9.3 miles/15 km northwest from Paisley (Renfrewshire) and 3.4 miles/5.5 km east from Port Glasgow (Inverclyde) on the A8. History Langbank ev ...

. His father was a partner in the

firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

of Russell & Co. and James was educated along with his brother Henry Lithgow, at first privately at home then at the

Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent ...

before the two were

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

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)

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 Sir Andrew Rae Duncan, GBE (3 June 1884 – 30 March 1952) was a British businessman who was brought into government during World War II, serving twice as both President of the Board of Trade and Minister of Supply. Duncan was a Director of th ...

. 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 The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

, initially in the

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

, and at the creation of the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

he was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the Clyde Royal Garrison Artillery. During World War I, James served in a howitzer battery on the Western Front and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

, breveted

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

and awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

. 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 Sir Eric Campbell Geddes (26 September 1875 – 22 June 1937) was a British businessman and Conservative politician. With a background in railways, he served as head of Military Transportation on the Western Front, with the rank of major-ge ...

appointed him director of

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

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 A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

. While carrying out this role he was given the acting rank of lieutenant-colonel, and attached to the Royal Engineers. James rejoined Henry in the business in 1919 at which point they restructured the partnership of Russell & Co into a

private limited company A private limited company is any type of business entity in "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Examples include the '' LLC'' in the United St ...

, Lithgows Ltd. They then embarked on a rapid process of acquisition and expansion, adopting

vertical integration In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the suppl ...

and taking the company into coal mining and

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

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

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 The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

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

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

by Stanley Baldwin 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, commanding the Clyde Coast Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery, and was promoted to substantive lieutenant-colonel in 1924.''Army List''. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of its successor units, the Clyde Heavy Brigade,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, and 416th (Clyde) Coast Regiment, RA, from 1924. This was the era of

Red Clydeside Red Clydeside was the era of political radicalism in Glasgow, Scotland, and areas around the city, on the banks of the River Clyde, such as Clydebank, Greenock, Dumbarton and Paisley, from the 1910s until the early 1930s. Red Clydeside is a ...

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 describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

, and efficient exploitation of

manual labour Manual labour (in Commonwealth English, manual labor in American English) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word ''manual ...

. 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 1930

National Shipbuilders Securities National Shipbuilders Security was a UK Government body established in 1930, under the Chairmanship of Sir James Lithgow, of the eponymous Clyde shipbuilding giant Lithgows. The remit of National Shipbuilders Security was to remove over-capacity ...

(NSS - actually NS Security) 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 was a British engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active from 1886 to the mid-1930s and at its peak employed about 40,000 people. It was founded and ...

owed considerable

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...

to the Bank of England and its

Dalmuir Dalmuir (; gd, Dail Mhoire) is an area northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots derivation of the Gaelic meaning Big Field. The area was ori ...

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 In corporate finance, a debenture is a medium- to long-term debt instrument used by large companies to borrow money, at a fixed rate of interest. The legal term "debenture" originally referred to a document that either creates a debt or acknowle ...

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 Sir Ian Kinloch MacGregor, KBE (21 September 1912 – 13 April 1998) was a Scottish-American metallurgist and industrialist, most famous in the UK for his controversial tenure at the British Steel Corporation and his conduct during the 1984 ...

who broke a

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

by driving a crane himself for two weeks. James accelerated his career and MacGregor went on himself to be a major industrial figure.Sir Ian MacGregor; Obituary
''The Times'' (London, England) (14 April 1998): 21. InfoTrac Full Text Newspaper Database. Gale. Cheshire Libraries. 16 September 2007

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 being donated to the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

. Again, contacts with Norman and Duncan in 1935 allowed the Lithgows to purchase the

Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a Scottish 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 ...

which was entangled with the

insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet ...

of the Anchor 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 commission until retirement in 1938). In 1940, just after the outbreak of World War II, Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

called James to London, again as Controller of Merchant Shipbuilding and Repair and as a

Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

. He also had a brief responsibility for

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

production and worked with Harold Macmillan on the industrial capacity committee of the production council. He served as President of The

Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland (IESIS) 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 interes ...

from 1929 to 1931. 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. In the

1945 New Year Honours The 1945 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1945 for the Britis ...

he was appointed a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(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 Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

Private life

James was very close to his brother Henry and they enjoyed

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles ...

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondria ...

and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

together at the family estate at Ormsary,

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. The two were both raised as staunch

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

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; Margaret and Ann, and a son,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

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 (from Ancient Greek "clotting") is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel (a vein or an artery) is injured, the body uses platelets (t ...

and stroke 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)

Arms

References

Bibliography

* *Slaven, A. (2006)
Lithgow family (per. c.1870–1952)
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, online edn, Retrieved 16 February 2008 ---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Lithgow, James 1883 births 1952 deaths Presidents of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland Scottish Presbyterians People educated at the Glasgow Academy People from Port Glasgow British Army personnel of World War I Royal Artillery officers Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Lords of the Admiralty Deputy Lieutenants of Renfrewshire 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Admiralty personnel of World War II