Sir John Elliot (6 May 1898 – 18 September 1988) was a British transport and railway manager. Born John Elliot Blumenfeld, he was the son of the Daily Mail news editor R. D. Blumenfeld (who later became managing editor of the Daily Express.) He changed his surname to Elliot (his mother's surname) in March 1923 on the advice of Lord Beaverbrook.[1][2]
Southern Railway poster produced under Elliot's direction
In 1925, Elliot joined the Southern Railway as public relations assistant to the General Manager Sir Herbert Walker. Under Elliot's leadership, the Southern Railway became noted for the simple, direct messages in its publicity posters. One in particular, showing a small boy talking to the driver of a King Arthur 4-6-0 at Waterloo became internationally famous. The naming of this class of locomotive after characters from Arthurian legend was "in itself a master stroke of publicity".[5]
In 1930, Elliot became assistant traffic manager for the railway, and in 1938 was appointed assistant general manager to Gilbert Szlumper. Shortly after the Second World War he became acting General Manager when his predecessor, Sir Eustace Missenden , was appointed to the Railway Executive. In late 1948, the Southern Railway was nationalised, with the rest of the railway system, into British Railways. Elliot took the role of Chief Regional Officer of the Southern region of the nationalised company[3] and later the London Midland region.[6] In 1951, he became Chairman of the Railway Executive.[7] Elliot spent much of 1949 in Australia, reporting on the Victorian Railways system,[8] he recommended a significant re-equipment of their system, which they started in 1950.[9]
Elliot was appointed as Chairman of London Transport in 1953, a post he held until 1959. He was an early proponent of the building of the Victoria line and oversaw the trial tunneling work for it in the late 1950s, though the line did not open until many years after he left London Transport.[2]
In October 1937 he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel in the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps,[10] and was promoted to full Colonel in May 1951.[11] He commanded the unit from January 1956[12] until he was retired due to his age on 7 May 1963.[13] He resigned his commission in December 1973.[14] He was the president of the Railway Study Association in 1950–51.[15]
Elliot's son, David, was born in 1927. He was an enthusiastic railway photographer, capturing the last days of the Talyllyn Railway before it was preserved. David later became the Academic Registrar of Trinity College of Music during the 1970s and 1980s.[15] In 1986, David hosted a BBC Radio 3 radio program, claiming that the composer Anton Bruckner was influenced by a love of railways; this spoof program brought together David's love of music and railways.[17]
Worksedit
Elliot, Sir John (November 1960). "Early Days of the Southern Railway". The Journal of Transport History. IV (4).
Elliot, Sir John (29 April 1956). Why should we mind what the public think?. The Institute of Public Relations Seventh Annual Conference. Margate.
Elliot, John (1958). The Story of the French Revolution as seen in Paris Today. New York: Reynal and Company.
Elliot, John (1958). The way of the tumbrils: Paris during the Revolution and today. New York: Reynal and Company.
john, elliot, railway, manager, other, people, with, same, name, john, elliot, disambiguation, john, elliot, 1898, september, 1988, british, transport, railway, manager, born, john, elliot, blumenfeld, daily, mail, news, editor, blumenfeld, later, became, mana. For other people with the same name see John Elliot disambiguation Sir John Elliot 6 May 1898 18 September 1988 was a British transport and railway manager Born John Elliot Blumenfeld he was the son of the Daily Mail news editor R D Blumenfeld who later became managing editor of the Daily Express He changed his surname to Elliot his mother s surname in March 1923 on the advice of Lord Beaverbrook 1 2 John ElliotBorn6 May 1898Died18 September 1988 1988 09 19 aged 90 NationalityBritishOccupation s Railway manager author journalistYears active1925 1969 Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early career 1 2 Railway career 1 3 After the railways 2 Family 3 Works 4 References 5 Further readingBiography editEarly career edit Elliot was educated at Marlborough School He joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst where he trained as an officer in the years immediately before the First World War 3 During the War he served as an officer in France in the 3rd The King s Own Hussars 4 before following his father into journalism He spent three years in New York and then returned to London to become the assistant editor of the Evening Standard from 1922 to 1925 2 3 Railway career edit nbsp Southern Railway poster produced under Elliot s directionIn 1925 Elliot joined the Southern Railway as public relations assistant to the General Manager Sir Herbert Walker Under Elliot s leadership the Southern Railway became noted for the simple direct messages in its publicity posters One in particular showing a small boy talking to the driver of a King Arthur 4 6 0 at Waterloo became internationally famous The naming of this class of locomotive after characters from Arthurian legend was in itself a master stroke of publicity 5 In 1930 Elliot became assistant traffic manager for the railway and in 1938 was appointed assistant general manager to Gilbert Szlumper Shortly after the Second World War he became acting General Manager when his predecessor Sir Eustace Missenden was appointed to the Railway Executive In late 1948 the Southern Railway was nationalised with the rest of the railway system into British Railways Elliot took the role of Chief Regional Officer of the Southern region of the nationalised company 3 and later the London Midland region 6 In 1951 he became Chairman of the Railway Executive 7 Elliot spent much of 1949 in Australia reporting on the Victorian Railways system 8 he recommended a significant re equipment of their system which they started in 1950 9 Elliot was appointed as Chairman of London Transport in 1953 a post he held until 1959 He was an early proponent of the building of the Victoria line and oversaw the trial tunneling work for it in the late 1950s though the line did not open until many years after he left London Transport 2 In October 1937 he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel in the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps 10 and was promoted to full Colonel in May 1951 11 He commanded the unit from January 1956 12 until he was retired due to his age on 7 May 1963 13 He resigned his commission in December 1973 14 He was the president of the Railway Study Association in 1950 51 15 After the railways edit After leaving British Railways Elliot became Chairman of Thomas Cook amp Son Ltd a post he held from 1959 until 1967 He received a knighthood in the 1954 New Years honours list 16 From 1965 to 1969 he was a director of the British Airports Authority 3 Elliot s autobiography On and Off the Rails was published by George Allen amp Unwin in 1982 He was also noted for his writing about the French Revolution and the First World War 2 Family editElliot s son David was born in 1927 He was an enthusiastic railway photographer capturing the last days of the Talyllyn Railway before it was preserved David later became the Academic Registrar of Trinity College of Music during the 1970s and 1980s 15 In 1986 David hosted a BBC Radio 3 radio program claiming that the composer Anton Bruckner was influenced by a love of railways this spoof program brought together David s love of music and railways 17 Works editElliot Sir John November 1960 Early Days of the Southern Railway The Journal of Transport History IV 4 Elliot Sir John 29 April 1956 Why should we mind what the public think The Institute of Public Relations Seventh Annual Conference Margate Elliot John 1958 The Story of the French Revolution as seen in Paris Today New York Reynal and Company Elliot John 1958 The way of the tumbrils Paris during the Revolution and today New York Reynal and Company References edit No 32804 The London Gazette 9 March 1923 p 1954 a b c d Halliday Stephen 1 July 2013 Underground to everywhere The History Press a b c d Rubinstein W Jolles Michael A 27 January 2011 The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo Jewish History Springer No 31887 The London Gazette Supplement 4 May 1920 p 5190 Railways and Publicity How the Railways Promoted Their Services Railway Wonders of the World 2 1935 Retirement of Sir John Elliot from L T E Chairmanship Railway Gazette International Vol 110 20 March 1959 Wragg David 1 August 2017 Southern Handbook The Southern Railway 1923 1947 The History Press Fitch Ronald John 2006 Australian Railwayman from Cadet Engineer to Railway Commissioner Rosenburg Publishing p 227 ISBN 1 877 058 48 3 Survey of Post War Built Heritage in Victoria Stage One Heritage Victoria October 2008 p 13 No 34461 The London Gazette 7 December 1937 p 7660 No 39306 The London Gazette Supplement 7 August 1951 p 4259 No 40700 The London Gazette Supplement 31 January 1956 p 680 No 43048 The London Gazette Supplement 5 July 1963 p 5812 No 46259 The London Gazette Supplement 8 April 1974 p 4600 a b Quine Dan March 2015 Dolgoch 1945 to 1950 Talyllyn News No 40053 The London Gazette Supplement 29 December 1953 p 2 Elliot David 25 May 1986 A Composer on the Footplate some revealing new evidence on the sources of Bruckner s inspiration radio BBC Further reading editCook Thomas 1991 150 years of Popular Tourism London Piers Brendon Secker amp Warburg pp 279 287 8 289 294 296 297 Elliot Sir John Esau Michael 1982 On and Off the Rails London George Allen amp Unwin ISBN 0 04 385089 8 Business positionsPreceded byEustace Missendenas General Manager Acting General Manager Southern Railway1947 Company nationalisedPreceded byEustace Missenden Chairman Railway Executive1951 1953 Railway Executive abolishedPreceded byLord Latham Chairman London Transport Executive1953 1959 Succeeded bySir Alexander ValentineMilitary officesPreceded byCol V A M Robertson Officer Commanding Engineer and Railway Staff CorpsJanuary 1956 May 1963 Succeeded byCol Alexander Valentine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Elliot railway manager amp oldid 1196967836, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
