Eric Campbell Geddes

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Half Measures
Sir Robert Horne, President of the Board of Trade, and Sir Eric Geddes, Minister of Transport (speaking together). "That's a rummy get-up. But perhaps he couldn't afford anything better."

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Cartoon from Punch magazine, 7 July 1920, referring to a bill introduced by Horne (left) concerned with state control of mining, which was similar to an anticipated bill from Geddes (right) concerned with the railways

Sir Eric Campbell Geddes GCB GBE PC (26 September 1875-22 June 1937) was a Conservative British politician. General manager of the North-Eastern Railway, Geddes was one of the "men of push and go" brought into government service by Minister of Munitions David Lloyd George in 1915. During the First World War he was in turn Deputy Director-General of Munitions Supply, Director-General of Military Railways and Inspector-General of Transportation with the British Expeditionary Force, Controller of the Navy then First Lord of the Admiralty, holding the honorary ranks of Major General and Vice Admiral. After the war he served as the first Minister of Transport and as Minister without Portfolio. He chaired the committee on National Expenditure which formulated the controversial government policy of heavy cuts in public expenditure, the policy being known as the Geddes Axe. From 1924 until his death he was chairman of Imperial Airways. His brother Sir Auckland Geddes was also a politician of the period.

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