Anthony Bull

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

CStJ (18 July 1908 – 23 December 2004) was a British transport engineer and was president of the Institute of Transport.

Background and education

The son of Sir William James Bull, MP (1863–1931), who 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 14th ...

in 1922, and his wife Lillian Hester Brandon, Anthony Bull was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

, Holt (1922–1926), and

Magdalene College Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

(1926–1929). He gained the Cambridge degree of MA in 1933. Bull was the third of four brothers. The eldest, Sir Stephen John Bull, 2nd Baronet (1904–1942), was killed on active service in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

. The next, Sir George Bull, 3rd Baronet (1906–1986) inherited the title, which passed to his son, Anthony Bull's nephew, Sir Simeon Bull, 4th Baronet (born 1934).

Career

After Cambridge, he joined London Transport. At the outbreak of

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 ...

, Bull joined the Transportation Branch of the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, then was commissioned as a lieutenant-colonel into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. He went to Africa to work on the Afloc Plan, a logistical scheme to support the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was a field army of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed as the Western Army on 10 September 1941, in Egypt, before being renamed the Army of the Nile and then the Eighth Army on 26 September. It was cr ...

by transporting supplies for it from the mouth of the

River Congo The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world by discharge volume, following the Amazon and Ganges rivers. It is the w ...

to the

River Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

and

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 ...

, by river, road and rail, avoiding the

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. In 1943, he transferred first to

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom. Primar ...

Middle East, then to the headquarters in

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

Lord Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...

, Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia. After leaving the army, Bull returned to his career with London Transport as its chief Staff and Welfare Officer. In 1955, he became a member of the

London Transport Executive The London Transport Executive was the organisation responsible for public transport in Greater London, England between 1948 and 1962. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand o ...

, joined the

London Transport Board The London Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport (except main-line trains) in London, England, and its environs from 1963 to 1969. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public na ...

in 1962 and was its vice chairman, 1965–1970 and vice chairman of its successor, the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

run

from 1970 to 1971. After that, until 1987 he worked as a consultant on underground railway systems around the world, based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He became President of the Institute of Transport in 1969. He died in

in 2004 aged 96.

Honours

*Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, 1943 *

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

(U.S. decoration), 1945 *Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 1968 *President of the Institute of Transport, 1969 *Companion of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem

Family

On 5 October 1946, Bull married Barbara Donovan, daughter of Peter Donovan, whom he had met in Kandy in 1943 when she was a

Wren Wrens are a family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely distributed in the Old Worl ...

. They had one daughter, Caroline (born 11 July 1947), but Barbara Bull died of polio on 18 October 1947. Caroline became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and in 1974 married Sir Robert Chichester-Clark, as his second wife. Chichester-Clark is the brother of Lord Moyola and

Penelope Hobhouse Penelope Hobhouse MBE (née Chichester-Clark; born 20 November 1929) is a British garden writer, designer, lecturer and television presenter. Early life Born into an Anglo-Irish family in Moyola Park, Castledawson, she is the daughter of Ja ...

. They had two sons, Adam and Thomas.

Club

Anthony Bull joined London's

Oxford and Cambridge Club The Oxford and Cambridge Club is a traditional London Gentlemen's club, club. Membership is largely restricted to those who are members of the universities of University of Oxford, Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, including men an ...

in 1930 and was a member for 74 years. When he died at the age of 96 in 2004, he was the ''Father of the Club''.

References

*Obituary of Anthony Bull in

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

, 3 February 2005 *''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'' ed. Charles Mosley (107th edition, 3 volumes, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 581
Corps of Royal Engineers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bull, Anthony 1908 births 2004 deaths People educated at Gresham's School Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge English civil engineers Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People associated with transport in London Younger sons of baronets