Edward Ettingdere Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges (4 August 1892 – 27 August 1969) was a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

Early life

Bridges was born on 4 August 1892 in

Yattendon Yattendon is a village and civil parish northeast of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury in the county of Berkshire, England. The M4 motorway passes through the fields of the village which lie south and below the elevations of its nucleated village, c ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. He was the son of Robert Bridges, later Poet Laureate, and the pianist (Mary) Monica Waterhouse, daughter of the architect

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs ...

and niece of Price Waterhouse co-founder, Edwin Waterhouse. He was educated at Eton and Magdalen College,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Career

Military service

Bridges then fought in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with the

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

, eventually achieving the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and being awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

Public service

He later joined the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

and in 1938 he was appointed

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

, succeeding Sir Maurice Hankey. Bridges remained in this post until 1946, when he was made Permanent Secretary to the Treasury and

Head of the Home Civil Service In the United Kingdom, the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or Secretariat (administrative office), secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government, which is led ...

, a position he held until 1956. In his post-war memoirs,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

praised Bridges' wartime work as Secretary to the War Cabinet, writing that not only was Bridges "an extremely competent and tireless worker, but he was also a man of exceptional force, ability, and personal charm, without a trace of jealousy in his nature". During his time as the Head of the Home Civil Service, Bridges, promoted the opening of the Civil Service Club which was a gift from Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by her wish, to be applied to some object of general benefit to the Civil and Foreign Services using the balance of the Wedding Fund collected by the Home Civil Service and the

Foreign Service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

on the occasion of her

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, RN,

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

.. London: Civil Service Club The Civil Service Club has a meeting room named in honour of Bridges. After his retirement, Bridges served as Chancellor of the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

. He was given

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s from several universities and appointed a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. He also published ''The State and the Arts'',

Romanes Lecture The Romanes Lecture is a prestigious free public lecture given annually at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, England. The lecture series was founded by, and named after, the biologist George Romanes, and has been running since 1892. Over the years, ...

for 1958, Oxford, and ''The Treasury'' (Oxford University Press, 1964).

Personal life

Bridges married Katharine Dianthe Farrer, daughter of Thomas Farrer, 2nd Baron Farrer, on 6 June 1922. They had four children: * Shirley Frances Bridges (1924–2015) * Thomas Edward Bridges, 2nd Baron Bridges (1927–2017), a diplomat * Robert Bridges (1930–2015) (an architect) * Margaret Evelyn Bridges (1932–2014) a medieval historian. married, firstly, Trevor Aston, secondly Paul Buxton. Bridges died at Winterfold Heath,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, on 27 August 1969, aged 77. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Thomas Edward Bridges, a diplomat who served as British Ambassador to Italy from 1983 to 1987.

Honours

In the 1939 New Year Honours, Bridges was appointed to the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

as a Knight Commander (KCB) and in the 1944 New Year Honours was promoted within the same Order as a Knight Grand Cross (GCB). In the 1946 Birthday Honours, Sir Edward was appointed to the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

as a Knight Grand Cross (GCVO). Sir Edward was made a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1952 (FRS). He was then sworn of the Privy Council in the 1953 Coronation Honours. In 1957, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Bridges, ''of Headley in the County of Surrey, and of St Nicholas at Wade in the County of Kent''. Lord Bridges was appointed to the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

as a Knight Companion (KG) in 1965.

Arms

References

External links

Family tree
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Edward Bridges, 1st Baron 1892 births 1969 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I Chancellors of the University of Reading Fellows of the Royal Society Knights of the Garter Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers Permanent Secretaries of HM Treasury Recipients of the Military Cross Cabinet Secretaries (United Kingdom) 1 Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II People of the British Council Military personnel from Berkshire