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
Alma mater	Magdalen College, Oxford

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:

Hon. Shirley Frances Bridges (1924-2015)
Thomas Edward Bridges, 2nd Baron Bridges (1927-2017) (a diplomat)
Hon. Robert Bridges (1930-2015) (an architect)
Hon. Margaret Evelyn Bridges (1932-2014^[2]) (a medieval historian)

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

1892–1939: Mr Edward Bridges
1939–1944: Sir Edward Bridges KCB
1944–1946: Sir Edward Bridges GCB
1946–1952: Sir Edward Bridges GCB GCVO
1952–1953: Sir Edward Bridges GCB GCVO FRS
1953–1957: The Rt Hon. Sir Edward Bridges GCB GCVO FRS
1957–1965: The Rt Hon. The Lord Bridges GCB GCVO PC FRS
1965–1969: The Rt Hon. The Lord Bridges KG GCB GCVO PC FRS

References

1 2 Winnifrith, J. (1970). "Edward Ettingdean Bridges--Baron Bridges. 1892-1969". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 16: 36–56. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1970.0003.
↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11283174/Margaret-Aston-obituary.html
↑ "No. 34585". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1938. p. 4.
↑ "No. 36309". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1943. p. 4.
↑ "No. 37598". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 July 1946. p. 2764.
↑ "Fellows 1660-2007" (PDF). Royal Society. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
↑ "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. p. 2940.
↑ "No. 40996". The London Gazette. 8 February 1957. p. 873.
↑ "No. 43633". The London Gazette. 23 April 1965. p. 4005.

External links

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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

Heads of the Home Civil Service
Sir Warren Fisher Sir Horace Wilson Sir Edward Bridges Sir William Armstrong Sir Douglas Allen Sir Robert Armstrong* Sir Robin Butler* Sir Richard Wilson* Sir Andrew Turnbull* Sir Gus O'Donnell* Sir Bob Kerslake Sir Jeremy Heywood*
*Also Cabinet Secretary

Secretaries of the Cabinet
Colonel Maurice Hankey Sir Edward Bridges Sir Norman Brook Sir Burke Trend Sir John Hunt Sir Robert Armstrong Sir Robin Butler Sir Richard Wilson Sir Andrew Turnbull Sir Gus O'Donnell Sir Jeremy Heywood

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