Frederick James Leathers, 1st Viscount Leathers, (21 November 1883 – 19 March 1965), was a British industrialist and public servant. Leathers was born at 47, Bromley Street,

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...

("London's poor East End district"), son of carpenter Robert Leathers, of

Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. on the busy A14 trunk road between Bury St Edm ...

, Suffolk, and Emily Jane, née Seaman. His father died when he was four months old.Current Biography yearbook vol. 2, ed. Anna Herthe Rothe et al, H. W. Wilson Co., 1941, p. 503 He left school in 1898 at the age of 15 to work with Steamship Owners Coal Association (later merged with William Cory & Son), becoming managing director in 1916. He was concerned also with other companies dealing with coal or shipping services. He served in the management of the Pacific and Orient Lines, where he came to the attention of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, from 1931 a director of the firm. He served as an adviser to the Ministry of Shipping from 1914 to 1918 and 1940 to 1941, and as Minister of War Transport in 1941 for the duration of

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 opposing ...

, on the appointment and strong recommendation of Churchill, who in so doing raised him to the peerage. In fact, Churchill said of him "At these meetings, (of a subsidiary company of the Peninsular and Oriental shipping lines where Churchill was a director in 1930), I gradually became aware of a very remarkable man. He presided over 30 or 40 companies...I soon perceived that Frederick Leathers was the central brain and controlling power of this combination. He knew everything and commanded absolute confidence. Year after year I watched him...I said to myself "If ever there is another war, here is a man who will play the same kind of part as the great business leaders who served under me at the Ministry of Munitions in 1917 and 1918". On 8 May 1941, I turned to him. To give him the necessary authority I created the office of Minister of War Transport". (The Grand Alliance, pub. Cassell, London, p132. 1966) He attended the Casablanca, Washington,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

conferences in 1943. He negotiated the lend-lease of American ships to Britain. He also accompanied the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

to the Yalta and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

Conferences. He later served as Minister for Coordination of Transport, Fuel and Power from 1951 to 1953. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Leathers, of Purfleet in the County of Essex, in 1941, and appointed a Companion of Honour in 1943. He was further honoured when he was made Viscount Leathers, of Purfleet in the County of Essex, in 1954.

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1883 births 1965 deaths British Secretaries of State British industrialists British people of World War II Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Barons created by George VI Viscounts created by Elizabeth II People from Stepney British businesspeople in shipping {{UK-viscount-stub