Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges

The Right Honourable
The Lord Bridges
KG GCB GCVO MC PC FRS
Cabinet Secretary
In office
1938–1946
Preceded by Sir Maurice Hankey
Succeeded by Sir Norman Brook
Head of the Home Civil Service
In office
1945–1956
Preceded by Sir Horace Wilson
Succeeded by Sir William Armstrong
Personal details
Born 4 August 1892
Died 27 August 1969 (1969-08-28) (aged 77)
Spouse(s) Katharine, Lady Bridges (died in 1986)
Children 4

Edward Ettingdene Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges, KG, GCB, GCVO, MC, PC, FRS[1] (4 August 1892 – 27 August 1969) was a British civil servant.

Early life

Bridges was born on 4 August 1892 in Yattendon in Berkshire. He was the son of Robert Bridges, later Poet Laureate, and Mary Monica Waterhouse, daughter of the architect Alfred Waterhouse. He was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford.

Career

Military service

Bridges then fought in the First World War with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He achieved the rank of captain and was awarded the Military Cross.

Public service

He later joined the Civil Service and in 1938 he was appointed Cabinet Secretary, succeeding Sir Maurice Hankey. Bridges remained in this post until 1946, when he was made Permanent Secretary to the Treasury and Head of the Home Civil Service, a position he held until 1956.

After his retirement Lord Bridges notably served as Chancellor of the University of Reading. Moreover, he was given honorary degrees from several universities and appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society.[1] He also published The State and the Arts, Romanes Lecture for 1958, Oxford, and The Treasury (Oxford University Press, 1964).

Personal life

Bridges married Katharine Dianthe Farrer, daughter of Thomas Cecil Farrer, 2nd Baron Farrer, on 6 June 1922. They had four children:

Lord Bridges died at Winterfold Heath, Surrey, on 27 August 1969, aged 77. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Thomas, a prominent diplomat who notably served as British Ambassador to Italy from 1983 to 1987.

Honours

In the 1939 New Year Honours, Bridges was appointed to the Order of the Bath as a Knight Commander (KCB)[3] and in the 1944 New Year Honours was promoted within the same Order as a Knight Grand Cross (GCB).[4] In the 1946 Birthday Honours, Sir Edward was appointed to the Royal Victorian Order as a Knight Grand Cross (GCVO).[5] Sir Edward was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1952 (FRS).[6] He was then sworn of the Privy Council in the 1953 Coronation Honours.[7] In 1957, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Bridges, of Headley in the County of Surrey, and of St Nicholas at Wade in the County of Kent.[8] Lord Bridges was appointed to the Order of the Garter as a Knight Companion (KG) in 1965.[9]

Styles of address

References

  1. 1 2 Winnifrith, J. (1970). "Edward Ettingdean Bridges--Baron Bridges. 1892-1969". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 16: 36–26. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1970.0003.
  2. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11283174/Margaret-Aston-obituary.html
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34585. p. 4. 30 December 1938.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36309. p. 4. 31 December 1943.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37598. p. 2764. 4 July 1946.
  6. ↑ "Fellows 1660-2007" (PDF). Royal Society. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  7. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 39863. p. 2940. 26 May 1953.
  8. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 40996. p. 873. 8 February 1957.
  9. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 43633. p. 4005. 23 April 1965.
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
Government offices
Preceded by
Sir Maurice Hankey		 Cabinet Secretary
1938-1946 		Succeeded by
Sir Norman Brook
Preceded by
Sir Horace Wilson		 Head of the Home Civil Service
1945-1956 		Succeeded by
Sir William Armstrong
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
New Creation		 Baron Bridges
1957–1969 		Succeeded by
Thomas Bridges
Academic offices
Preceded by
Sir Samuel Hoare		 Chancellor of the University of Reading
1959–1969 		Succeeded by
Lord Sherfield
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.