John Scott Hindley, 1st Viscount Hyndley, GBE (24 October 1883 – 5 January 1963), known as Sir John Hindley, 1st Baronet, between 1927 and 1931 and as The Lord Hyndley between 1931 and 1948, was a British businessman. He was the first

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

at its creation on 1 January 1947.

Background

Hindley was the son of the Reverend William Talbot Hindley, vicar of

Meads Meads is an area of the town of Eastbourne in the England, English county of East Sussex. It is at the westerly end of the town below the South Downs. Boundaries The local government ward of Meads is extensive, stretching from Birling Gap in ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, and Caroline, daughter of John Scott. He was educated at

Weymouth College Weymouth College is a further education college located in Weymouth, England. The college has over 4,000 students, studying on a wide range of practical and academic courses in many subjects. The college is part of The University of Plymouth ...

, Weymouth between 1899 and 1901. He took up an engineering apprentice at Murton colliery in

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, but did not complete the course and moved into the commercial side of mining.

Business career

Hindley was a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

between 1931 and 1945 and he was managing director of Powell Duffryn Ltd,

collieries Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

, between 1931 and 1946. He became the first

of the

at its creation on 1 January 1947, a post he held until 1951. Despite the

Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. Attlee was Deputy Prime Minister d ...

government's pronouncement in 1947 that "Today the mines belong to the people", in reality the same people held influence over the operation of the mines. Hindley was chairman at the time of the explosion at

Easington Colliery Easington Colliery is a village in County Durham, England, known for a history of coal mining. It is situated to the north of Horden, a short distance to the east of Easington. It had a population of 4,959 in 2001, and 5,022 at the 2011 Census ...

on 29 May 1951. Facing relatives of miners waiting at the colliery gates, he announced:

''Though everything has been done and is still being done, there is now no hope of any of the men being alive. This is the worst pit disaster we have had in the History of the N.C.B.''

Hindley was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

1921 Birthday Honours The 1921 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were ...

, created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Meads in the County of Sussex, on 18 February 1927 and elevated to the peerage as Baron Hyndley, ''of

in the

County of Sussex Sussex ( /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom and, later, a county. It includes the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and We ...

'' on 21 January 1931. He was further honoured when he was appointed a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(GBE) in the

1939 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1939 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the o ...

, "for public services", and made Viscount Hyndley, ''of Meads in the County of Sussex'' on 2 February 1947. Lord Hyndley was also master of the

Clothworkers' Company The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1528, following the merger of two older guilds: the Fullers (incorporated in 1480) and the Shearmen (incorporat ...

in 1953. The ''Viscount Hyndley Trophy'' was a trophy awarded to the British National Coal Board

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

champion.

Family

Lord Hyndley married Vera Westoll in 1909. He had worked for her father James Westoll at Murton colliery. They had two daughters, Joyce and Elizabeth (Betty). A coal ship in National Coal Board fleet was named in Elizabeth's honour in 1947, the SS Betty Hindley, which became the last vessel to be lost due to World War Two enemy action, when on 7 October 1947 she detonated an unexploded WWII contact mine, just off Scarborough on the Yorkshire coast. He died on 5 January 1963, aged 79, when the baronetcy and two peerages became extinct.

Arms

References

Going public – The ''Socialist Review''

External links

*
1948 Grant of Supporters
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hyndley, John Hindley, 1st Viscount 1883 births 1963 deaths British businesspeople in the coal industry Knights Bachelor Barons created by George V Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Viscounts created by George VI