Thomas Sivewright Catto, 1st Baron Catto, CBE, PC (15 March 1879 – 23 August 1959) was a Scottish businessman and later

Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent choosing and mentoring a successor. The governor ...

Early life and education

Catto was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, to William and Isabella Catto. His father, a

shipwright Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces i ...

, had moved to Newcastle to find work, but died less than a year after Thomas was born and the family returned to their hometown of

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

. They later moved back to Newcastle and Catto won a scholarship to Heaton School (later Rutherford College of Technology).

Shipping

At the age of fifteen, Catto joined the Gordon Steam Shipping Company as a clerk. In 1898 he became secretary to William Horwood Stuart, managing partner of F. A. Mattievich & Co, based in

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

and

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Russia. In 1904 he was offered the management of the new London office of

MacAndrews & Forbes MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated is an American diversified holding company wholly owned by billionaire investor Ronald Perelman. Current investments include leading participants across a wide range of industries, from cosmetics and entertainme ...

, an American firm with interests in the East, one of whose partners was David Forbes, a fellow Scot with whom he had become friendly in Baku. Catto became a member of the

Baltic Exchange The Baltic Exchange (incorporated as The Baltic Exchange Limited) is a Trade association, membership organisation for the Maritime transport, maritime industry, and Shipping markets, freight market information provider for the trading and settl ...

. In 1906 he went to

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

as Forbes's deputy and travelled extensively in the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

and Middle East. In 1909 he became a vice-president of the company at their New York office.

First World War

Too short to serve in the armed forces during 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 ...

, he instead became involved in the transport of supplies to Russia and then served as the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...

representative on the Russian Commission to the United States from 1915 to 1917. From 1917 to 1918 he served on the British Food Mission in the United States and in 1918 he was appointed chairman of the Allied Provisions Commission and head of the British Ministry of Food in North America.

Inter-war years

He did not return to McAndrews & Forbes after the war; instead, in 1919, he became chairman of the vast Andrew Yule and Company Ltd. of

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, succeeding Sir David Yule. This is now a private company 93.26% owned by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. Catto and Yule also formed Yule Catto & Company Ltd, which is now known as Synthomer and is listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

. In 1928 he returned to London as a partner in the investment bank Morgan, Grenfell & Co., remaining chairman of Andrew Yule & Co and Yule Catto & Co until 1940.

Second World War and later life

In April 1940 he was appointed Director-General of Equipment and Stores at the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed on 1 August 1939 by the Ministry of Supply Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38) to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Ministe ...

and 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 ...

. In July 1941 he moved to become Financial Adviser to the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

. In April 1944 he was elected

and served until February 1949, and overseeing the

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

of the bank. He suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

and died in Holmbury St Mary, Surrey in 1959. His son

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

succeeded to his title.

Honours

For his services in the First World War, Catto was appointed

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in 1918 and 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 ...

in the 1921 Birthday Honours. He was created

Baron Catto Baron Catto, of Cairncatto in the County of Aberdeen, is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. The only hereditary peerage newly conferred during the reign of King Edward VIII, the barony was created on 24 February 1936 for the businessman ...

, of Cairncatto, in 1936 and appointed to the Privy Council in 1947.

Arms

Footnotes

References

External links

* at the Yule Family website
Andrew Yule & Co LtdYule Catto & Co plc
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Catto, Thomas Catto, 1st Baron 1879 births 1959 deaths People from Peterhead Nobility from Aberdeenshire Businesspeople from Newcastle upon Tyne 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 1 Peers created by Edward VIII Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Governors of the Bank of England Deaths from Parkinson's disease in England