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

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 ...

and

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 ...

. It should not be confused with the

Railway Executive The British Railways Board (BRB) was a nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that operated from 1963 to 2001. Until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in Great Britain, trading under the brand name British Railways and, fr ...

which was a division of the

British Transport Commission The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the s ...

. 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 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 ...

and the various British railway companies. It was formed in response to the

Agadir Crisis The Agadir Crisis, Agadir Incident, or Second Moroccan Crisis, was a brief crisis sparked by the deployment of a substantial force of French troops in the interior of Morocco in July 1911 and the deployment of the German gunboat to Agadir, ...

for a contingency in which it would have to defend its

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French 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. It was built upon th ...

partners

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

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 ...

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 status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, in case of

mobilisation Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...

; 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 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an act of Parliament enacted by the British government, and was intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grou ...

which led to the creation of the

Big Four British railway companies The "Big Four" was a name used to describe the four largest railway companies in the United Kingdom in the period 1923–1947. The name was coined by ''The Railway Magazine'' in its issue of February 1923: "The Big Four of the New Railway Era". ...

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, on 16 May 1868, the son of a doctor. He was educated at the North London Collegiate School and stu ...

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 a ...

. The Big Four railway companies, comprising the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

(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 London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

(LMS), the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

(LNER), and the Southern Railway (SR), along with the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) were initially represented by Sir Ralph Wedgwood (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 served as secretary of the Railway Executive Committee in World War I and left ...

for SR, and

Frank Pick Frank Pick Royal Institute of British Architects, Hon. RIBA (23 November 1878 – 7 November 1941) was a British transport administrator. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1902, he worked at the North Eastern Railway (UK), North Eastern Ra ...

for LTPB. The secretary of the committee was G. Cole Deacon from the Railway Companies' Association. 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 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 David Euan Wallace, MC PC (20 April 1892 – 9 February 1941) was a British Conservative politician who was an ally of Neville Chamberlain and briefly served as Minister of Transport during World War II. Early life Wallace was born on 20 Apr ...

, 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 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 62) 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 ...

. 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. The railway runs b ...

, King's Lynn Docks and Railway Company,

Mersey Railway The Mersey Railway was the passenger railway connecting the communities of Liverpool and Birkenhead, England. It is currently a part of the Merseyrail network. It was extended further into the Wirral Peninsula, which lies on the opposite bank ...

, 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 contrasts with ...

in 1948.

Publicity

Some of the

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

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, usuall ...

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 typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

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