Edward Ettingdere Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges, (4 August 1892 – 27 August 1969), was a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

Early life

Bridges was born on 4 August 1892 in

Yattendon Yattendon is a small village and civil parish northeast of Newbury in the county of Berkshire. The M4 motorway passes through the fields of the village which lie south and below the elevations of its cluster. The village is privately owned and ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. He was the son of Robert Bridges, later Poet Laureate, and Mary Monica Waterhouse, daughter of the architect

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known f ...

and niece of Price Waterhouse co-founder,

Edwin Waterhouse Edwin Waterhouse (4 June 1841 – 17 September 1917) was an English accountant. He is best known for having co-founded, with Samuel Lowell Price and William Hopkins Holyland, the accountancy practice of ''Price Waterhouse'' that now forms part o ...

. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

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 Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and was awarded the Military Cross.

Public service

He later joined the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

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. In his post-war memoirs,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

praised Bridges' wartime work as Secretary to the War Cabinet, writing that not only was Bridges "an extremely competent and tireless worker, but he was also a man of exceptional force, ability, and personal charm, without a trace of jealousy in his nature." After his retirement Lord Bridges 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. 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 Farrer, 2nd Baron Farrer Thomas Cecil Farrer, 2nd Baron Farrer (25 October 1859 – 12 April 1940), was the second Baron Farrer. He was the eldest son of Thomas Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer, and his first wife Frances Erskine. Life Farrer was a long-term member of the board ...

, on 6 June 1922. They had four children: * Shirley Frances Bridges (1924–2015) * Thomas Edward Bridges, 2nd Baron Bridges (1927–2017), a diplomat * Robert Bridges (1930–2015) (an architect) * Margaret Evelyn Bridges (1932–2014) a medieval historian. married, firstly, Trevor Aston, secondly Paul Buxton. Lord Bridges died at Winterfold Heath,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, on 27 August 1969, aged 77. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son

Thomas Edward Bridges Thomas Edward Bridges, D.D. (c.1783–1843) was an Oxford college head in the 19th century. Bridges matriculated at University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquiall ...

, a diplomat who served as British Ambassador to Italy from 1983 to 1987.

Honours

In the

1939 New Year Honours The 1939 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 30 December 1938.United Kingdom and Britis ...

, Bridges was appointed to the Order of the Bath as a Knight Commander (KCB) and in the

1944 New Year Honours The 1944 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1944 for the Briti ...

was promoted within the same Order as a Knight Grand Cross (GCB). In the

1946 Birthday Honours The 1946 King's Birthday Honours, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 13 June 1946 for the United Kingdom and British Empire. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new h ...

, Sir Edward was appointed to the Royal Victorian Order as a Knight Grand Cross (GCVO). Sir Edward was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1952 (FRS). He was then sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in the

1953 Coronation Honours The 1953 Coronation Honours were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours on the occasion of her coronation on 2 June 1953. The honours were published in ''The London Gazette'' on 1 June 1953.New Zealand list: The reci ...

. 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''. Lord Bridges was appointed to the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

as a Knight Companion (KG) in 1965.

References

External links

Family tree
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Edward Bridges, 1st Baron 1892 births 1969 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I Chancellors of the University of Reading Fellows of the Royal Society Knights of the Garter Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers Permanent Secretaries of HM Treasury Recipients of the Military Cross Cabinet Secretaries (United Kingdom) 1 Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II People of the British Council