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 in

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 Ber ...

. He was the son of

Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was an English poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...

, later

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

, 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 ...

and niece of Price Waterhouse co-founder, Edwin Waterhouse. He was educated at Eton and

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Career

Military service

Bridges then fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

with the

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence ...

. 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 The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

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 The UK Permanent Secretary to the Treasury is the most senior civil servant at HM Treasury. The post originated as that of Assistant Secretary to the Treasury in 1805; that office was given new duties and renamed in 1867 as a Permanent Secretaryship ...

and

Head of the Home Civil Service His Majesty's Home Civil Service, also known as His Majesty's Civil Service, the Home Civil Service, or colloquially as the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, whic ...

, 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 during the Second World War, and again from ...

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 The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

. Moreover, he was given

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...

s from several universities and appointed a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

. 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 Thomas Edward Bridges, 2nd Baron Bridges, (27 November 1927 – 27 May 2017) was a British hereditary peer and diplomat. Early life Bridges was born on 27 November 1927 to Edward Bridges, later Cabinet Secretary. His grandfather was Robert ...

(1927–2017), a diplomat * Robert Bridges (1930–2015) (an architect) * Margaret Evelyn Bridges (1932–2014) a medieval historian. married, firstly,

Trevor Aston Trevor Henry Aston (14 June 1925 – 17 October 1985) was a British historian and academic at the University of Oxford. He was a tutor in history and fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, from 1952 to 1985. In addition, he served as Keeper of ...

, secondly Paul Buxton. Lord Bridges died at Winterfold Heath,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, 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 The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...

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 Britis ...

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 The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

as a Knight Grand Cross (GCVO). Sir Edward was made a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

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 mo ...

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 re ...

. 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 Georg ...

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