Eric Geddes

Born in British India, Geddes was a son of Auckland Campbell Geddes, of Edinburgh, Scotland. Among his siblings were Dr. Mona Chalmers Watson and Auckland Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes. He was educated at Oxford Military College and Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, until asked to leave. ==Business career==

Geddes then spent 2½ years drifting between jobs like lumberjack and steelworker in the United States, eventually becoming a stationmaster for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, rising to car-tracer. When he abruptly returned home, his elder sister gave him a firm talking-to. Late in 1895 he was sent to India for a minor job in estate management, where he built light railways before moving to the Rohilkund and Kumaon railway; he became superintendent in 1901. in 1904 to become the NER's claims agent (a newly created position) and rose to be deputy chief goods manager in 1906, chief goods manager in 1907, and finally deputy general manager in 1911. His initial NER salary was £500 per year, and by the time that he left in 1915, had increased to £5,000 per year; and he received a golden handshake of £50,000 at the end of the war. He was briefly considered as a possible chairman of the London and North Eastern Railway when that was formed at the end of 1922, but the choice fell to William Whitelaw. ==Political career==

During the First World War Geddes was one of the "men of push and go" brought into government service by Minister of Munitions David Lloyd George. In 1915 Geddes was selected by Lloyd George and given the title of deputy director general of munitions supply, whereupon he left the NER. Haig and Geddes breakfasted with Lloyd George to demand a new administration in the Admiralty. On 6 July 1917 Geddes, strongly recommended by Haig, returned to civilian life as First Lord of the Admiralty. To serve he had to be a member of the House of Commons and was elected in a by-election for Cambridge. He was sworn into the Privy Council the same month. ''The Daily Telegraph's'' naval correspondent, Sir Archibald Hurd, later wrote of Geddes and Lloyd George, "No men more ignorant of naval affairs were ever associated together than the Prime Minister and Geddes". Convoying was turning the tide. Geddes appointed the Belfast shipbuilder Lord Pirrie as controller-general of merchant shipbuilding, It was a great Allied victory. Lloyd George's evaluation was that Geddes was "... one of the most remarkable men which the State called to its aid ..." He left the Admiralty in January 1919 and was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. Lloyd George then asked him to organise a new Ministry of Transport. Until the bill setting up this new office was passed in May 1919, Geddes remained in the cabinet as minister without portfolio. In May 1919, he was appointed the first Minister of Transport. The new ministry was given control over railways, roads, canals and docks, but was criticised in both houses of parliament for giving in to nationalisation and for its large size. In the autumn of 1921, the handing back of the railways to the companies after state control was being reviewed, which put the Ministry of Transport under further pressure. Geddes had neither taste nor aptitude for political infighting, and resigned in November 1921. ==Austerity programme==

In 1921, Geddes chaired the Committee on National Expenditure, which proposed heavy cuts in public expenditure to match falling national income. The austerity policy became known as the Geddes Axe. A notable feature of the recommendations were a cut in army personnel by 50,000 men from 210,000, and a cut in funding by £20 million from an existing army estimate of £75 million. The various expenditure cuts depressed the economy further. Geddes resigned from the government and the Commons in 1922, becoming director of Dunlop Rubber. From 1924 until his death, he was chairman of Imperial Airways. ==Family==

Geddes married Gwendolen, daughter of Reverend A. Stokes, in 1900. They had three sons, including Sir Reay Geddes, former chairman of the Dunlop Rubber Company. Eric Geddes died in June 1937, at the age of 61, after several years of declining health. ==References==