Sir George Edwin Bailey

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

MIMechE MIEE (19 October 1879 – 14 October 1965) was a British

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

. He was born in Loughborough, Leicestershire, the tenth child of

master tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

Thomas W. Bailey, and educated at

Loughborough Grammar School , religion = Christian , head_label = Headmaster , head = Dr Daniel Koch , r_head_label = Chaplain , r_head = Revd E J York , chair_label = Chairman ...

. He became an apprentice at the Loughborough works of the

Brush Electrical Engineering Company Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England. It is a subsidiary of Wabtec. History Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Henry Hughes had been operating at the Falcon Works since t ...

, continuing his technical education at the

University College, Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

. In 1907 he joined

British Westinghouse British Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company was a subsidiary of the Pittsburgh, USA based Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company. British Westinghouse would become a subsidiary of Metropolitan-Vickers in 1919; and after Metr ...

as a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

in the engine department at Trafford Park, Manchester, and was promoted to chief draughtsman in 1909. By 1913 he had been made superintendent of the engine department, becoming responsible for manufacture. When British Westinghouse became the

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

Electrical Company in 1919, Bailey was appointed works manager, becoming director and general manager of manufacture in 1927. In 1929 he joined the board of Metropolitan-Vickers and when

Associated Electrical Industries Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company (BTH) and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to c ...

was created in 1931 was appointed the first Works Director. Within two years he had become Managing Director. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served on various committees and was responsible for the urgent manufacture of the first thousand radar transmitters. He was awarded the

in 1941 and knighted in 1944. In 1951 he became Chairman of AEI. He served as President of a number of societies and organisations, including the British Electrical and Allied Manufacturers' Association (1954), the

Engineering and Allied Employers' National Federation Make UK, formerly the Engineering Employers' Federation, represents manufacturers in the United Kingdom. Purpose Make UK provides businesses with advice, guidance and support in employment law, employee relations, health, safety, climate and envi ...

(1940–43), the Institution of Production Engineers (1939–42), the Manchester District Engineering Employers Association and the Manchester Engineering Council. He died in 1965 at his home in Berkshire. He had married Margaret Fanny, the daughter of Loughborough farmer Thomas Bolesworth, and had one daughter.

References

Grace's Guide
* ‘BAILEY, Sir George Edwin’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 26 April 2011
* H. West, ‘Bailey, Sir George Edwin (1879–1965)’, rev.

Anita McConnell Anita McConnell (1936–2016) PhD, JP, was a writer on the history of science and a curator of oceanography and geophysics at the Science Museum, London. She is most widely known for her popular Shire book on barometers but also wrote many books ...

, first published 2004, 816 words 1879 births 1965 deaths People from Loughborough People educated at Loughborough Grammar School British electrical engineers Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Metropolitan-Vickers people {{UK-engineer-stub