James Lithgow

Vocation

Notable

Scottish industrialist who played a major role in restructuring the British shipbuilding and steel making industries in the 1930s. He and his brother took control of the family shipbuilding firm on the death of their father in 1908. James joined the Royal Garrison Artillery, initially in the Volunteer Force, and at the creation of the Territorial Force he was a lieutenant. During World War I, James served in a howitzer battery on the Western Front and was awarded the Military Cross, and the Territorial Decoration. However, James became resentful of his military service, believing that he would contribute more to the war effort back at the shipbuilding yard. After the first world war, the brothers expanded the firm and branched into coal mining and steel production. James became vice-president of the National Confederation of Employers' Organisations in 1922 and was the United Kingdom's representative at the International Labour Organisation in Geneva between 1922 and 1927. He was instrumental in re-structuring the British shipbuilding industry and became the first chairman of the Confederation of British Industries. He undertook a number of public responsibilities leading up to a through the second world war. He was made a baronet (Sir James Lithgow) in 1923 Link to Wikipedia