John Scott Hindley, 1st Viscount Hyndley, GBE (24 October 1883 – 5 January 1963), known as Sir John Hindley, 1st Baronet, between 1927 and 1931 and as The Lord Hyndley between 1931 and 1948, was a British businessman. He was the first chairman of the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

at its creation on 1 January 1947.

Background

Hindley was the son of the Reverend William Talbot Hindley, vicar of

Meads The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) is a ground-mobile air and missile defense system intended to replace the Patriot missile system through a NATO-managed development. The program is a development of the United States, Germany and Italy ...

, Sussex, and Caroline, daughter of John Scott. He was educated at

Weymouth College Weymouth College is a further education college located in Weymouth, England. The college has over 4,000 students, studying on a wide range of practical and academic courses in many subjects. The college is part of The University of Plymouth C ...

, Weymouth.thepeerage.com John Scott Hindley, 1st Viscount Hyndley
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Business career

Hindley was a director of the Bank of England between 1931 and 1945 and he was managing director of Powell Duffryn Ltd,

collieries Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...

, between 1931 and 1946. He became the first chairman of the

at its creation on 1 January 1947, a post he held until 1951. Despite the

Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 t ...

government's pronouncement in 1947 that "Today the mines belong to the people", in reality the same people held influence over the operation of the mines. Hindley was chairman at the time of the explosion at

Easington Colliery Easington Colliery is a town in County Durham, England, known for a history of coal mining. It is situated to the north of Horden, a short distance to the east of Easington Village. The town suffered a significant mining accident on 29 May ...

on 29 May 1951. Facing relatives of miners waiting at the colliery gates, he announced:

''Though everything has been done and is still being done, there is now no hope of any of the men being alive. This is the worst pit disaster we have had in the History of the N.C.B.''

Hindley was knighted in the

1921 Birthday Honours The 1921 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were ...

, created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

, of Meads in the County of Sussex, on 18 February 1927 and elevated to the peerage as Baron Hyndley, ''of

in the

County of Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

'' on 21 January 1931. He was further honoured when he was appointed a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(GBE) in the

1939 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1939 were appointments in 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. The appointments were made to celebrate the o ...

, "for public services", and made Viscount Hyndley, ''of Meads in the County of Sussex'' on 2 February 1947. Lord Hyndley was also master of the

Clothworkers' Company The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1528, formed by the amalgamation of its two predecessor companies, the Fullers (incorporated 1480) and the Shearmen (incorporated 1508). It succeeded to the position of t ...

in 1953. The ''Viscount Hyndley Trophy'' was a trophy awarded to the British National Coal Board

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

champion.Dowlais Amateur Boxing Club, 1960 – ''Gathering the Jewels''
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Family

Lord Hyndley married Vera, daughter of James Westall, in 1901. They had two daughters. He died in January 1963, aged 79, when the baronetcy and two peerages became extinct.

Arms

References

External links

*
1948 Grant of Supporters
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hyndley, John Hindley, 1st Viscount 1883 births 1963 deaths British businesspeople in the coal industry Knights Bachelor Barons created by George V Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Viscounts created by George VI