Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Gilbert Savil Szlumper, (18 April 1884 – 19 July 1969) was a British railwayman, and the penultimate general manager of the Southern Railway. He left the Southern Railway for war service in 1939, becoming director-general of transportation & movements,

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

(1939–1940); railway control officer,

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

(1940–1941) and director-general of supply services,

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...

(1942–1945).

Early life

Gilbert Szlumper was the son of Alfred W. Szlumper, chief engineer of the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

(LSWR). He was educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and ...

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, and studied engineering for two years at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. He joined the LSWR in 1904, held a commission in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

from 1908, became personal assistant to the LSWR General Manager in February 1914 and was secretary to the

Railway Executive Committee The Railway Executive Committee (REC) was a government body which controlled the operation of Britain's railways during World War I and World War II. It should not be confused with the Railway Executive which was a division of the British Transp ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Szlumper was trained as a civil engineer, becoming docks and marine manager at Southampton, before becoming assistant general manager of the Southern Railway.Obituary Major-General Gilbert Savil Szlumper, CBE, TD
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Southern Railway

Szlumper became assistant general manager of the Southern Railway in 1925, and was appointed general manager of the Southern Railway upon Sir Herbert Walker's retirement in 1937. In 1939, Szlumper left the Southern Railway for war service. He surrendered the post of general manager of the Southern Railway to Sir Eustace Missenden, who had refused to take up position as acting general manager in anticipation of Szlumper's return in peacetime.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szlumper, Gilbert 1884 births 1969 deaths London and South Western Railway people Southern Railway (UK) people British railway civil engineers People educated at King's College School, London Alumni of King's College London Commanders of the Order of the British Empire