Lt. Col. Sir William de Guise Forbes (21 June 1856 – 14 February 1936) was a British railway manager.

Early life

Forbes was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1856, the son of an English father, William Forbes, the General Manager of the Midland Great Western Railway, and a French mother, Juliette de Guise Forbes. He was educated at Dulwich College and on the continent. The artist

Stanhope Forbes Stanhope Alexander Forbes (18 November 1857 – 2 March 1947) was a British artist and a founding member of the influential Newlyn school of painters. He was often called 'the father of the Newlyn School'.

Career

In 1873, Forbes joined the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (his uncle James Staats Forbes was the General Manager) in the goods department. After being in the Accountant's office and working as a Travelling Auditor, he became Continental Manager in 1889 and went on to be Traffic Manager and Assistant General Manager. In 1899, he became General Manager of the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...

, where he instigated the programme of overhead electrification, rebuilt Victoria, extended Pullman services, rail motor services and built the

Quarry line The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...

. During the war, he was a member of the

Railway Executive Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

. He received a knighthood in 1915. He was also an officer of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

, Belgian

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

, Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

and Lieutenant Colonel of the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps. He retired when the Southern Railway was formed. He died at his home in

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is p ...

in 1936.''Portsmouth Evening News'' 14 February 1936

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, William 1856 births 1936 deaths Businesspeople from Dublin (city) London, Brighton and South Coast Railway people British public transport executives Knights Bachelor People educated at Dulwich College British people of French descent