Herbert Austin, 1st Baron Austin (8 November 186623 May 1941) was an English
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
designer and builder who founded the
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company Limited was an English manufacturer of motor vehicles, founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin in Longbridge. In 1952 it was merged with Morris Motors Limited in the new holding company British Motor Corporation (BMC) Limi ...
. For the majority of his career he was known as Sir Herbert Austin, and the
Northfield bypass is called "Sir Herbert Austin Way" after him.
Background and early life
The son of a farmer, he was born in
Little Missenden
Little Missenden is a village and civil parish on the River Misbourne in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about southeast of Great Missenden and west of Amersham. The village lies on the River Misbourne in the Misbourne v ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
in
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of england, ...
, but the family moved to
Wentworth Woodhouse
Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Wentworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is currently owned by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust. The building has m ...
, near
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
in 1870 when his father was appointed farm
bailiff
A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
.
[Lambert (1968), Chapter 1: Early Days] Herbert Austin first went to the village school, later continuing his education at
Rotherham Grammar School
(Lest We Should Seem Ungrateful)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Grammar school, becoming County school
, religious_affiliation =
, president =
, head_label = Headmast ...
.
[
In 1884, he emigrated to ]Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, travelling with a maternal uncle, who lived in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
but had recently returned to England on a family visit.[ They travelled to Australia by ship, via the ]Cape
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
.[
]
Life in Melbourne
He started work with his uncle who was the works manager at a general engineering firm, Mephan Ferguson
Mephan Ferguson (25 July 1843 – 2 November 1919) was an Australian manufacturer, particularly of water supply pipes, notably for the pipeline to the Western Australian goldfields. He was born in Falkirk, Scotland. He immigrated with his paren ...
, in North Melbourne.[ Two years later he joined Alex. Cowan & Sons, a Scottish paper business which had an agency for printing equipment and ]Crossley
Crossley, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was a pioneering company in the production of internal combustion engines. Since 1988 it has been part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering group.
More than 100,000 Crossley oil and gas engines ...
gas engines
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
.[ Later he worked for the Langlands Foundry Company Limited in Yarra Bank, Melbourne, which made ]locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
boilers, wheels and gold mining
Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface ...
equipment.[
To develop his drawing skills, Austin attended Hotham School of Art in ]North Melbourne
North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...
, outside working hours.[ During this time, he submitted a design for a swing bridge over the ]Yarra River
The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia.
The lower stre ...
at Spencer Street, Melbourne, for a competition organised by the Government of Victoria
The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive ...
, but did not win.[
In December 1887, Austin took up his new appointment as manager of an engineering workshop owned by Richard Pickup Park, who was developing a new sheep-shearing machine for ]Frederick York Wolseley
Frederick York Wolseley (16 March 1837 – 8 January 1899) was an Irish-born New South Wales inventor and woolgrower who invented and developed the first commercially successful sheep shearing machinery after extensive experimentation. It revolut ...
.[
On the strength of this new managership, he married Helen Dron in Melbourne on 26 December 1887. Born in Melbourne on 23 October 1866, she was the seventh daughter of ]Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
parents. They were to have two daughters, Irene (born in 1891, later Mrs. Waite) and Zeta (later to become Mrs Lambert). Their only son, Vernon James Austin, was killed in action in France during the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
on 26 January 1915.
After Austin spent three months improving the sheep-shearing machine, he was asked to join The Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company
The Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company Limited was a London-incorporated public listed company created to capitalize on a sheep-shearing machinery business established by Frederick Wolseley in Australia which was managed by Herbert Austin wh ...
, in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. Shortly after joining, he was sent to a sheep station at Avoca, Victoria
Avoca is a town in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north west of Ballarat. It is one of two main towns in the Pyrenees Shire, the other being Beaufort to the south.
Geography
The town stands in the gently undulating basin of the ...
to study the machines in use.[ Austin ]patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
ed in his own name the improvements he made to the sheep-shearing machines and later sold the patents to the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company on 10 March 1893 in exchange for shares
In financial markets, a share is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation, and can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Share capital refers to all of the shares of an ...
.[
]
Motor cars
Frederick Wolseley
Frederick York Wolseley (16 March 1837 – 8 January 1899) was an Irish-born New South Wales inventor and woolgrower who invented and developed the first commercially successful sheep shearing machinery after extensive experimentation. It revolut ...
wound up the Sydney-registered company in 1889 and transferred ownership of the business to a new company registered in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
but all operations remained in Australia. Difficulties with suppliers persuaded the Wolseley board to move assembly to England in 1893. Frederick Wolseley and Herbert Austin left John Howard in charge of the Australian operation and returned to England in November 1893.[ Austin set up a factory in Broad Street, ]Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. Fredrick Wolseley resigned from the company in 1894.[Lambert (1968), Chapter 2: Experimental Cars] The Broad Street factory was not large enough, so Austin bought a bigger premises in Aston
Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre.
History
Aston wa ...
, Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
.[ Shearing machinery sales were highly seasonal, during slack periods in the year, they built ]bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
s.[
Looking for other products to even out the workload, Herbert Austin became interested in ]motor car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
s and built two different types of three-wheelers in his own time. A version of one of these was taken up by the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company and listed for sale in 1900, but the Wolseley board could see no profitable future for a motor industry. In 1901, Vickers
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...
bought Wolseley's car interests, taking Austin too, and naming the new business Wolseley Tool & Motor Company setting it up in Adderley Park
Adderley Park is an area in the east of Birmingham, England. Charles Adderley MP donated of land to create the park, which he managed privately from 1855 to 1864. The park was opened to the public on 30 August 1856. At the park's entrance were ...
, Birmingham. Herbert Austin retained his interest and ties with The Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company.[Lambert (1968), Chapter 3: Vickers and Wolseley] He was chairman of their board from 1911 to 1933, when he retired shortly before his death.
In 1905, still under an unexpired five-year contract, Austin resigned from the Wolseley Tool & Motor Company, taking some of the senior staff with him.[Lambert (1968), Chapter 6: The Austin Motor Company is formed] His brother Harry also joined him in this new venture, having worked with him at Wolseley in Birmingham.[ Austin raised capital of £37,000 (£4,369,468.69 adjusted for inflation in 2018) and embarked on a search for a factory that could accommodate his idea for a new car manufacturer.][ He took over an old print works, still outside Birmingham, in ]Longbridge
Longbridge is an area of Northfield in the south-west of Birmingham, England, located near the border with Worcestershire.
Public Transport
Longbridge is described as a hub for public transport with a number of bus services run by Kev's Coa ...
, which was then in the County
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
;[ Longbridge did not become a suburb of Birmingham until 1911 when the city's boundaries were expanded. The Austin car works at Longbridge was later to become one of the greatest car manufacturers in the world (also see ]Longbridge plant
Longbridge plant is an industrial complex in Longbridge, Birmingham, England, currently leased by SAIC as a research and development facility for its MG Motor subsidiary. Vehicle assembly ended in 2016.
Opened in 1905, by the late 1960s Longbr ...
).
Austin was producing seventeen different models by 1908. During the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Austin produced munitions
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
and built Austin Village
Austin Village is a First World War housing estate of prefabs between Longbridge and Northfield, Birmingham.
Herbert Austin, who created the Austin Motor Company at Longbridge in 1905, had to take on more workers during the First World War wh ...
in Turves Green
Turves Green is an area of Birmingham partly in West Heath and partly in Northfield (the boundary between these two wards runs through Turves Green). In addition the area of Longbridge borders Turves Green. A road with the simple name Turves Gree ...
for his workers. The car business was difficult after World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
; the Austin company was threatened with bankruptcy in 1921 and a receiver was appointed. The "Baby Austin" was launched in 1922 and offered for sale at £225 (£12,417.65 in 2018); putting it within the budget of customers who had never owned a car before. Its output reached 25,000 annually by 1925; the price was lowered each year. In 1931, the Austin 12/6
The Austin Light Twelve-Six is a 14 tax horsepower
The tax horsepower or taxable horsepower was an early system by which taxation rates for automobiles were reckoned in some European countries such as Britain, Belgium, Germany, France and It ...
was introduced, followed by the Austin 12/4 in 1933.
Military production
The company turned its resources to the war effort in 1914 and, in 1917, Austin was knighted for his services and also received the Belgium Order of the Crown of Leopold II, for the employment of 3,000 Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
refugees at Longbridge.[Lambert (1968), Appendix 3]
During World War II
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 ...
, the company specialised in making aircraft;[Lambert (1968), Chapter 14: The End of a Career] Horsa glider
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War. It was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Limited, alongside various subcontractors; the type was named after Horsa, the legendary 5th-century c ...
fuselages;[ specialist army vehicles;][ hydraulic motors for gun turrets;][ ammunition boxes, magazines for ]machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s, tommy gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Stat ...
s, Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns;[ marine engines for ships ]lifeboats
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
A ...
;[ and pressings for ]jerrycan
A jerrycan (also written as jerry can or jerrican) is a robust liquid container made from pressed steel (and more recently, high density polyethylene). It was designed in Germany in the 1930s for military use to hold of fuel, and saw widesp ...
s.[
]
British shadow factories
Up until 1938, the Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
had been headed by Lord Swinton
Earl of Swinton is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1955 for the prominent Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Earl of Swinton, Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Viscount Swinton ...
, who at that point had been forced to resign his position by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...
due to a lack of progress in re-arming the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
. New minister Sir Kingsley Wood implemented a new plan to treble British aircraft production in the run up to the Second World War in two parts:
*Development of nine new factories
*Extension and extensions to existing factory complexes to allow either easier switching to aircraft industry capability, or production capacity expansion
Underneath the plan, there was government funding for the building of these new production facilities, in the form of grants and loans. Key to the plan were the products and plans of Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes, they ...
, whose Merlin engine Merlin engine may refer to:
*Rolls-Royce Merlin, an aircraft engine
*Merlin (rocket engine family)
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mag ...
powered many of the key aircraft being developed by the Air Ministry. Austin was placed in charge of implementing the scheme on the producers' side, who were mainly motor vehicle manufacturers; while technical liaison with the aircraft industry was placed with Charles Bruce-Gardner
Sir Charles Bruce-Gardner, 1st Baronet (6 November 1887 – 1 October 1960), born Charles Bruce Gardner, was an English industrialist, specialising in mechanical and aircraft production.
Born in London, he was the son of Henry Gardner and Flo ...
.
Parliamentary career
From 1918 to 1924, Austin served as the Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for Birmingham King's Norton but never made a speech in the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
. In 1936, he was created ''Baron Austin, of Longbridge in the City of Birmingham''. In 1937, he received a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from the University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
.[
Lord Austin died from a ]heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
and a bout of pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
. His only son Vernon had been killed in action in France in 1915 and the peerage became extinct upon his death. He and his wife also had two daughters, Irene (later to become Mrs. Waite) and Zeta (later to become Mrs. Lambert).
He was buried with his wife Helen, Lady Austin in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Lickey
Holy Trinity Church, Lickey is a Church of England parish church in Lickey, Worcestershire.
History
The foundation stone was laid on 16 May 1855 by Robert Windsor-Clive (MP). It was built as a chapel of ease to St John the Baptist Church, Bromsg ...
, near his former home at Lickey Grange
Lickey Grange is a Victorian house and estate in the village of Lickey, Bromsgrove District, Worcestershire, near Birmingham, England, where the automobile manufacturer Herbert Austin lived for 31 years. It later became a residential school and i ...
and the factory at Longbridge, close to both Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about northeast of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 (39,644 in the wider Bromsgrove/Catshill urban area). Bromsgrove is the main town in the ...
and Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
.
Arms
Notes
References
Sources
*Lambert, Z.E. & Wyatt, R.J. (1968). ''Lord Austin: The Man''. Altrincham: Sidgwick & Jackson.
Further reading
* Sharratt, Barney (2000). ''Men and Motors of the Austin: The inside story of a century of car making at Longbridge''. Sparkford: Haynes Publishing.
External links
*
*Article i
Australian Dictionary of Biography
Austin Memories
History of Austin and Longbridge
* ttp://derela.republika.pl/austin.htm Austin tanks helped Russians in WWIbr>Avro Lancaster built at Austin Works
From Outback Engineer to Motorcar Mogul
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Herbert
British automotive pioneers
Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peers created by Edward VIII
British founders of automobile manufacturers
British automobile designers
Burials in Worcestershire
English businesspeople
Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Recipients of the Order of Leopold II
People from Chiltern District
People from Wentworth, South Yorkshire
1866 births
1941 deaths
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1918–1922
UK MPs 1922–1923
UK MPs 1923–1924
UK MPs who were granted peerages
People educated at Thomas Rotherham College
Deaths from pneumonia in England