Sir George William Harriman CBE (3 March 1908 – 29 May 1973) was a leading figure in the British motor industry in the 1960s.

Early life and education

Harriman was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

to George Harriman, a "Motor Machinist", and May Victoria (née Cooper).

Career

Morris Motors

In 1923 he was apprenticed at the

Hotchkiss Hotchkiss may refer to: Places Canada * Hotchkiss, Alberta * Hotchkiss, Calgary United States * Hotchkiss, Colorado * Hotchkiss, Virginia * Hotchkiss, West Virginia Business and industry * Hotchkiss (car), a French automobile manufacturer ...

works in Coventry of Morris Motors Limited. He was promoted repeatedly, becoming assistant works superintendent with Morris in 1938.

Austin Motor Company

In 1940 he joined

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, and by 1945 had become a director of that company. There followed a succession of promotions through the management of BMC, a car manufacturing conglomerate created from the merger in 1952 of the Morris and

businesses.

British Motor Corporation

In 1961 he was appointed Chairman and Managing Director of the

British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a UK-based vehicle manufacturer, formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris and Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merger Company Named. ''The Times'', Friday, 29 February ...

having taken over many of the responsibilities of

Leonard Lord Leonard Percy Lord, 1st Baron Lambury KBE (15 November 1896 – 13 September 1967) was a captain of the British motor industry. Background and education Leonard Percy Lord was born on 16 November 1896 and was the youngest child in his family ...

some years earlier.

Personal life

In addition to his business career, he was a noted

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

player, captaining the Coventry and Warwickshire teams in the 1930s, and playing briefly for the England team in 1933. He married Vera G Reynolds in 1936, but she died in 1954 aged just 42. In 1957 his sister married his late wife's brother.

Honours

Harriman was appointed

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) in 1943 and

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in 1951. 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

in 1965.

References

1908 births 1973 deaths Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Coventry 20th-century English businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1900s-stub