Sir Ralph Lewis Wedgwood, 1st Baronet, (; 2 March 1874 – 5 September 1956) was the Chief Officer of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

(LNER) for 16 years from its inauguration in 1923. He was chairman of the wartime Railway Executive Committee from September 1939 to August 1941.

Biography

Wedgwood was born at Barlaston Lea,

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

, the son of

Clement Wedgwood Clement Francis Wedgwood (25 February 1840 – 24 January 1889) was an English businessman, a partner in the Wedgwood pottery firm. The son of Francis Wedgwood and his wife Frances Mosley. He was a great-grandson of the potter Josiah Wedgwood. ...

and his wife Emily, daughter of the engineer

James Meadows Rendel James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. His elder brother was Josiah Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood. He was educated at Clifton College and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, Cambridge, where he became a member of the Cambridge Apostles. He was close friends there with his second cousin,

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, who later dedicated two of his works to him, "In the Fen Country" and " A Sea Symphony". Along with Richard Curle, Wedgwood was

executor An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used. Overview An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...

's estate from Conrad's death in 1924 until 1944, when responsibility was transferred to the author's son John Conrad and the law firm Withers. After graduating, Wedgwood was recruited by Sir George Gibb to the North Eastern Railway. After a period of general training, he was appointed Assistant Dock Superintendent at West Hartlepool from 1 May 1900, at a salary of £250 per annum. Two years later he was appointed District Superintendent at Middlesbrough, and was promoted to Divisional Goods & Mineral Manager, Newcastle, in 1905. When Eric Geddes became Deputy General Manager in 1912, Wedgwood succeeded him as Chief Goods Manager. After war service with the Ministry of Munitions (when he held the rank of Brigadier-General) he returned to the North Eastern Railway in 1919 as Deputy General Manager. When Sir

Alexander Kaye Butterworth Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth (1854–1946) was the General Manager of the North Eastern Railway and also chairman of the Railway Executive during the First World War. He was the father of the composer George Butterworth (1885–1916) Person ...

retired, Wedgwood succeeded him as General Manager for the last year of the NER's existence, and was selected as Chief General Manager of the

London & North Eastern Railway 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 major se ...

from its formation on 1 January 1923. Wedgwood was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in 1917, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1918. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

on 10 July 1924 and created a baronet on 20 January 1942. He married Iris Veronica Pawson, daughter of Albert Henry Pawson on 24 October 1906 at St. Margaret's, Westminster. They had two children who survived to adulthood;

John Hamilton Wedgwood Sir John Hamilton Wedgwood, 2nd Baronet, (16 November 1907 – 8 December 1989) was a British politician and industrialist. Biography Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Wedgwood was the son of Sir Ralph Wedgwood, 1st Baronet and his wife Iris Veron ...

(1907–1989), second baronet and

Cicely Veronica Wedgwood Dame Cicely Veronica Wedgwood, (20 July 1910 – 9 March 1997) was an English historian who published under the name C. V. Wedgwood. Specializing in the history of 17th-century England and continental Europe, her biographies and narrative hist ...

(1910–1997), historian. A second son, Ralph Pawson Wedgwood was born and died in 1909. An A4 Class locomotive, 4469 ''Sir Ralph Wedgwood'', was named after him but it was destroyed at York locomotive shed by bombing in the " Baedeker Raid" of 29 April 1942 during the Second World War. His name was later given to A4 Class 4466.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wedgwood, Ralph Lewis Darwin–Wedgwood family 1874 births 1956 deaths People educated at Clifton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom London and North Eastern Railway people British public transport executives British Army generals of World War I Military personnel from Staffordshire