BRITISH RECIPIENTS OF HONOURS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 2, 4 January 1939, Page 10

BRITISH RECIPIENTS OF HONOURS

THE NEW YEAR LIST BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES Following are biographical'sketches of those included in the British New Year honours list:— FOUR NEW BARONS Colonel Sir Maurice Hankey is the famous civil servant who for years combined the tasks of Secretary to Cabinet, Secretary to the Privy Council, and Secretary to the Committee of Imperial Defence. He was secretary to the War Cabinet during the World War and rendered invaluable services in the development of the tank. He visited New Zealand in 1934 and retired from all his posts (which were then distributed among three men) last year. He was knighted in 1916, and since then has received the G.C.M.G. and G.C.V.O. At one time he was in the Naval Intelligence Department, and it was there he gained his rank of lieutenant-colonel. Mr. Cecil Harmsworth, third son of the late Alfred Harmsworth and a younger brother of Lord Northcliffe, was previously Under-Secretary to the Home Office, Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Acting-Minister of Blockade. He was appointed by Britain to the Supreme Economic Council, and in 1922 was British member of the Council of the League of Nations. Sir William Peter Rylands is man-aging-director of Rylands Bros., Ltd., and has been president of the Iron, Steel Wire Manufacturers’ Association since 1900. In 1919-21 he was president of the Federation of British Industries, in 1926-27 president of the Iron and Steel Institute, and in 1930 president of the National Federation of Iron and Steel Manufacturers. He is a Commander of the Royal Order of Vasa and was knighted in 1921. He is a barrister of the Inner Temple. The Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur Greer, who graduated at Aberdeen University and was Arden Scholar at Gray’s Inn, was called to the Bar in 1886 and joined the Northern Crcuit. He practised locally until 1907 and then removed to London, where he became a Bencher of Gray’s Inn in 1910 and treasurer in 1921. In 1919 he became a Justice of the High Court. He took silk in 1910, was knighted in 1919, and became a P.C. in 1927. G.C.V.O. Sir John Reith is the famous Scot who for eleven years was directorgeneral of the 8.8. C. and who left that post last year to become chairman of Imperial Airways. He served with the Royal Engineers during the World War and later was sent to the Ministry of Munitions. He first went to the United States in charge of orders for munitions. After the war he went to the Admiralty to control the liquidation of the ordnance and engineering contracts. In 1920 he became general manager of William Beardmore and Co., Coatbridge, and two years later was appointed the first general manager of the 8.8. C., his post being changed to that of man-aging-director in 1923. In 1927 he became director-general. He was knighted in 1927 and received the G.B.E. in 1934. G.C.B. Admiral Sir Alfred Dudley Pound has commanded the Fleet in the Mediterranean since 1936, and was previously Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel, Rear-Admiral Commanding the Battle Cruiser Squadron, and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff. At the Battle of Jutland he commanded H.M.S. Colossus and won mention in dispatches. He was knighted in 1933. K.C.B. Vice-Admiral Andrew Cunningham served in the European War and won the D.S.O. and two bars. He was president of Sub-commission “C” of the Naval Inter-allied Commission of Control and in 1932 became Naval A.D.C. to the King. In 1933-36 he was in command of the destroyer flotillas with the Mediterranean Fleet. Mr. E. E. Bridges is the only son of the late Robert Bridges, Poet Laureate, and succeeded Sir Maurice Hankey as Secretary to Cabinet last November. Previously he was Principal Assistant Secretary to the Treasury and a member of the Air Ministry Supply Committee. K.C.M.G. Mr. Eric Gustav Machtig has been Assistant Secretary to the Dominions Office and Vice-chairman of the Overseas Settlement Committee since 1936. Previously he was at the Colonial Office. Captain Cecil George Graves has been Controller of Programmes for the 8.8. C. since 1935 and formerly was on the Intelligence Staff at the War Office. Mr. Basil Newton was appointed Minister to Czechoslovakia in 1937 and figured prominently in the recent crisis. Previously he was Minister in Berlin. The Hon. Sir Alexander Cadogan became Deputy Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs in 1936 and is the youngest son of the fifth Earl Cadogan. Knights Bachelor Lieut.-Colonel Janies George Hay won the D.S.O. in the World War. Mr. Adam Maitland was chairman of directors of the Pall Mall Gazette and chairman of Berry Hill Collieries and Berry Hill Brickworks. He is chairman of the Departmental Committee on Costs and Maintenance of Hospitals. Eieut.-Colonel Heaton Forbes Robinson commanded No. 3 Base and Supply Depot during the war and in 1920-25 was Deputy-Director of Works to the Imperial War Graves Commission. In 1926 he was appointed director. Mr. John Ballingall Forbes Watson has been Director of the National Confederation of Employers’ organisations since 1928 and is a member of the Governing Body of the 1.L.0. G.C.M.G. The Rt. Hon. Sir Nevile Henderson has been British Ambassador in Berlin since 1937 and formerly was Ambassador in Argentina, and Minister in Paris and Belgrade. He has played a prominent role in relations with Germany in the last ytear. 1

Privy Councillors Mr. R. A. Butier succeeded Lord Cranborne as Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs last February. Previously he was Sir Samuel Hoare’s assistant at-the India Office, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour. Captain H. F. C. Crookshank was previously in the diplomatic service but resigned to enter politics and was formerly Parliamentary Under-Secre-tary to the Home Office. He is Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Mines. Order of Merit Admiral of the Fleet Lord Chatfield recently retired from the post of First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff. Sir James Jeans is the distinguished writer on radiation, cosmogony, dynamics, and mechanics, and former president of the British Association.