This is the Story of Herbert
Austin
from Boy to Lord.
(known to all who worked
for him, affectionally as) "The Old Man"
Herbert Austin who was born
on the 8th November 1866 to Mr Giles Stevens Austin, a farmer and
his mother Clara Jane Austin daughter of Willoughby Simpson, an
officer in HM Customs. They lived at Grange Farm, Deep Mill Lane in
the small village of Little Missenden, Buckinghamshire which lies
in the shadow of the Chiltern Hills. He was christened Herbert
Austin at the local Parish Church of St John The Baptist.
After four years the family
moved to a small village in Wentworth, South Yorkshire, his father
becoming Farm Bailiff to Earl Fitzwilliam. The family grew with
Herbert having three brothers named Walter, Jack, and Harry, and
later a sister joined the family who was named Albreda. In this
small community there was very little to do as a small boy, so as
he grew up, it became obvious to his parents that his talent lay in
the way of drawing. At the age of six he would spend many hours
especially in the winter months at the large table making freehand
drawings of various subjects.
It was his ability to draw
anything mechanical which gave him the most enjoyment. Friends and
family used to be amazed that this small boy could produce drawings
that were of a geometrical nature that had the right sizes and
proportion to be almost three dimensional. This skill was something
that stayed with him through out his life. What was even more
surprising was that nobody in the family before-hand had shown this
aptitude.
Rotherham Grammar
School
When he was older, he attended the Rotherham Grammar School, which
meant a daily round trip of 10 miles on foot come summer or winter.
Along with his passion in drawing his artistic skills were also to
show in his interest in music, and spent many hours enjoying the
works of great composers. He became a chorister in Wentworth St
Peters Church. Sadness hit the family when Herbert's younger
brother Ernest of 3 years, fell downstairs braking a leg which
became gangrenous and after a few weeks he died.
Wentworth
St Peters Church
After
leaving Rotherham Grammar School he attended the Brampton
Commercial College for about two years. It was at this point his
parents decided that his artistic talent could be used, so that he
should take up a profession in architecture. As his uncle was
architect to Earl Fitzwilliam. who had shown a willingness to have
Herbert join him, so an apprenticeship was entered into. This
arrangement did not bode well, as Herbert's heart was really in
engineering. So it was not long before the Uncle was having words
with Hertbert's parents that the apprenticeship would have to be
cancelled.
GNR
Motif
So his parents decided to
apply for an apprenticeship with the Great Northern Railway. This
Railway Company had been formed in 1846, it expanded and took over
many small railway companies of the day, with its main activities
been the transporting of coal. There were no vacancies at that
time, but Herbert was duly registered, and it was arranged that he
should enter upon his five years' training immediately a vacancy
occurred.
He was determined to improving his skill in freehand drawing, and
won several prizes for life-size crayon enlargements from
photographs. But it was in drawings of mechanical objects that he
receive most distinction.
It was whilst waiting for a vacancy with the Great Northern
Railways that he remembered that his mother had a brother in
Australia who had always been going on about what a fascinating
country it was. Being a young country that need men who were
willing to work hard and it would reward them richly for there
efforts. So this was to become his vision for the future.
His uncle who was managing a engineering firm in Melbourne was
going to visit them in a few months time, so was this the break he
needed, could he convince his parents that he wished to go back
with his uncle to Australia.
With uncle's visit now only
weeks away, it was time to put his plan into action. So he would
seize an opportunity to get mother by herself (how many times have
we done this) and convince her that he would like to return with
his uncle to Australia. It appears that over time she could see
that he would only be happy if this could happen. Now it was only a
case of convincing father, but with mother on his side it wouldn't
be too difficult.
A few days after his uncle had arrived, the question was broached.
His uncle said that he was happy to take him back to Australia, so
after further pleading with his parents, permission was finally
granted.
So yet again his apprenticeship, this time with the Great Northern
Railway had to be called off, as now it was a sea voyage to the
land of opportunities.
Australia
Thy set sail on the Austral
ship on a journey that would take two months. I am sure although at
times he wondered when he would arrive, his time would have been
put to good use. For a young man in his late teens he was very
focused, and no doubt used his time to draw and plan out what he
would do, down under.
On the day they arrived in
Melbourne it was the hottest the city had experienced for many
years. The next day his uncle who loved horse racing took him to
see the 1884 Melbourne Cup. Next day he was in the Northern
Melbourne engineering shop where his uncle was manager for the
Scottish owner Mephan Ferguson. This small workshop contained a
foundry and small forge a some lathes and drilling machines. It was
here that he received a grounding in general engineering
particularly been a mechanic. The company was of medium size but
soon grew with this canny Scot in charge. One thing he would never
allow was to work on a Sunday, but come Monday morning it was all
hands to the pump and this probable was good grounding for Herbert,
that if you want to succeed you have to work for
it.
It is interesting that his
inventive genius, which had lay dormant, was now showing through.
As having only been in Australia for about a years, had already
applied for his first patent in the form of a locking plate for
railway fish-plates. He showed that he was willing to have ago at
anything that would involve his engineering and design
skills.
In his spare time his
passion for drawing was catered for by attending the Hotham Art
School again in Melbourne, and as was the case in England his work
surprised his teachers. Although he was in the Junior Section of
the school, his work was of such high standard that his work was
put in the Senior Division for marking, and even then he carried
away the first prize. So this was the first stage in him becoming a
automobile designer.
After two years he felt
that it was time to move on, so severing the family ties with his
uncle he moved to another Melbourne company called Cowan, which
imported and installed printing machines and Crossley gas engines.
This again lasted about two years but in those years he obtained
more skills which would be useful later on.
He was only twenty one when the Government of Victoria invited
designs and estimates for a swing bridge over the Yarra River at
the end of Spencer Street, Melbourne, This would be a real
challenge, so it was only possible to work on the design in the
evenings and some weekends. His designs and estimates were duly
submitted. He was not successful, but was told that for such a
young man he was very talented.
Still in Melbourne he now joined the Langland’s Foundry Company.
This company had more bearing on his engineering life that the
others. He was quoted as saying, "I have mixed memories of this
particular shop, but I feel that I owe to it a very great debt of
gratitude, for it was here that I received a thorough training as a
mechanic."
He met and fell in love
with an Australian girl, Helen Dron whose parents had moved from
Scotland and settled in Melbourne. Three days before the wedding he
gave his notice in to Longlands and the wedding took place on 26th
December 1887 in Melbourne. They could not afford a honeymoon so
after the reception went to their new house in Melbourne. This time
he started a new job as manager for £3 10s a week with Richard
Pick-Up Parks, they were developing a new sheep-shearing machine
for an inventor named Frederick York Wolseley. Frederick over many
years had decided that there must be a way of mechanising the
shearing of sheep and around 1875 took out a patent on his
invention. To prove that the sheep shearing machine would prove a
winner in the field, he bought a large sheep station near to
Walgett, New South Wales. This gave him the time to perfect his
machine, so 1887 he founded the Wolseley Sheep-Shearing Company in
Sydney.
Herbert Austin soon realised in this capacity working with the
Wolseley Sheep Shearing Company, from which his firm had obtained
an order. That he was able to see various weaknesses in the
machinery, which he pointed out to the manufacturer. Several of his
suggestions for improvement of the machinery were adopted by the
Wolseley Company. Obvious this impressed the Wolseley management,
because he was later offered the post of engineer. His first task
was to study how the machines in the hands of the operators at a
sheep-shearing station at Avoca were performing. Herbert decided to
improve the design, and in fact took out patents in his own name.
The company moved to Sydney and Herbert signed an agreement with
the Wolseley Company on 10th March 1893 to exchange his right to
the patents for eighty fully paid £5 ordinary shares. Some months
later the company offered him a directorship of the British
company, which meant going back to the UK.
_________________________
Returning to
England
Herbert wife was looking
forward to going to England for what she thought would be a short
stay. It was necessary to sell the house at a reduced price for a
quick sale. His wife and first child (Irene) were not well when
they boarded the ship for the UK.
The ship landed at Tilbury in November 1893 with the family still
not well. Herbert took up his position as manager and got down to
addressing the poor quality of the machines. It was decided to
actually repurchasing the whole of the faulty machines, some could
be rectified but most were scrapped, this procedure costing the
company a great deal of money. Frederick York Wolseley Managing
Director resigned in 1894 and the board in March 1894 renewed
Herbert contract for a further year. He then rented a house in
Melville Road off the Hagley Road Birmingham for an annual rent of
£35. After about a year the family moved to 7 Calthorpe Road
Edgbaston. In the first ten years of Herbert Austin controlling
production, things were very tough because the company's capital
had been largely consumed in connection with the shipment of faulty
products. With a view to keeping the cost down to the minimum, the
company decided to start a workshop in Birmingham mainly because of
the fact that most of the machine parts were produced there. The
first premises were in Broad Street, and chosen because of their
cheapness rather than with an eye to convenience. Operations had to
be conducted with remarkable economy, Herbert Austin had learned
his lesson during his years in Australia, and was now able to
impress upon his directors and his men that, in order to be good
enough for overseas conditions, machinery had to be of the very
finest quality. Second-rate apparatus could not function without
failure under conditions which were so very severe. Even though he
succeeded in impressing upon his own men the urgent necessity for
exactitude and care, still he was faced with shortcomings in the
parts supplied from outside suppliers. Because of the need to
produce all of the components in house they would need to move to
larger premises. Austin saw that a factory in Alma Street, Aston
was up for sale, so without the boards permission he went to the
auction and bid £5,000. The Wolseley Directors said that they would
not honour the bid, and Austin would have to fund it himself. After
much debate the board did finally approved the purchase and the
company into Sydney Works, Alma Street, Aston, Birmingham. At
around the same time another move was taking place with the family
moved to a new house in Berwood Grove, Erdington, where their only
son Vernon was born.
Sydney Works Alma Street
Aston Birmingham
It was now that the company
looked at other products to keep the workforce and machinery busy.
This took the form of making machine tools principally for cotton
machine makers. With a large number of cycle manufactures in the
Birmingham and Coventry area this was an ideal outlet to supply.
Herbert Austin even designed a bicycle, but was never put into
production. Another side line was machine tools, and at Alma Street
thy produced the first vertical semi-automatic chucking lathe,
which was considered to be a remarkable piece of workmanship when
exhibited at the Paris Salon.
Owing to Austin's love of cycling, he looked at the possibility of
been an agent to sell bikes to Australia, and in fact did so for
about three years. But it was the motor car that was his dream, so
he tried to convince the main board that they should produce their
own car. But the Board were not willing to back him, this did not
dampen his enthusiasm, so in his own time he set to work on making
his own car.
The Wolseley Autocar No. 1
Wolseley
Autocar
After various experimental
versions the Wolseley Autocar No.1 was born. It was a three wheeled
design (one front, two rear) featuring independent rear suspension,
mid engine and back to back seating. The public first showing was
at the Nation Cycle Show Crystal Place and was priced at £110 for a
two seater version and £150 for a four seater. It came with a six
months guarantee and if you broke down, a mechanic would be sent
from the factory at minimum cost. In June 1898, Herbert Austin
drove a Wolseley car to Rhyl and back a distance of about 255
miles, averaging around eight miles per hour, carrying two
passengers without experiencing any kind of breakdown. The end
result was it received favourable comments from the board and they
decided to fund a four wheel car, this was called the Wolseley
"Voiturette" in 1899. In 1900 his latest baby was entered in the
1,000 miles trial, which proved successful and on the strength of
this the board elected him to the board as a director in
1901.
Wolseley Voiturette with
Herbert Austin at the wheel
He was concerned that
because of the cash restraints, his vision for the future would not
materialise without an injection of money, from outside the
company. Herbert Austin was at the time in touch with Sir Hiram
Maxim (Vickers Shipbuilders) so he approached the company Vickers
Sons and Maxim with the suggestion that it should take over the
machine tool and motor side of the Wolseley concern. At this time
the great shipbuilding firm was in the heyday of its success, and
was prepared to consider any additional enterprise that looked
promising. A deal was put to the Wolseley board, which was
accepted, and Herbert Austin was made General Manager, with the
company renamed The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company. With
finance behind them, they bought a factory called Adderley Park
that was vacant for £31,545 to replace Alma
Street.
Adderley Park
1901
It is interesting that
although he was now the General Manager of Wolseley, part of him
wasn't sure it was right for him. As he was quoted as saying, "In a
sense it is possible that I made a mistake when I took over the
management of Wolseley Company for Messrs Vickers, in that I did
not commence to build cars on my own account. It would, of course,
have had to be in a very small way, but it might have been better
from the personal stand point, than managing somebody else's
business. It would have been a slow process, however, and also
somewhat unsafe."
So what were the main problems for the car manufacturers of the
time. it appears that there were three main areas that affected the
reliability of the vehicles.
A reliable ignition system, as at the time only the hot wire type
was available. Next came the tyres, which partly because of the
poor roads in some areas, punctures were quite frequent also the
milage covered per tyre was very low. Transmission in the form of
the gearbox, were very noisy and they had very wooly gear changes.
It is this area that Herbert Austin came up with the universal gate
change in 1895. In the early years, Wolseley cars used horizontal
engines, but later on changed to the vertical type that soon became
the norm.
Left to right Schmidt (Draughtsman) A A Remington (In charge of the
drawing office)
Herbert Austin, Mr Collins (Test Department) and Alfred
Hitchon
Wolseley’s Latest
Model
Financially the company was
now on a firm footing, as in 1901 from February to December the
turnover was £22,368 by 1903 the turnover had risen to £171,136.
With the rapid growth of the car business, the machine tool section
took a back seat. So the Wolseley range of cars expanded and
production increased, showing that with Herbert Austin leadership
the company was moving forward in the right direction.
The range of vehicles produced increased over the years, from a
Racing Car in 1903 to a Baby Wolseley in 1905.
1903 50hp Racing Car
1905 5hp Baby Wolseley
In 1905 Austin and the
Vickers management had a disagreement, it revolved round the design
of the engine. Austin was passionate that the horizontal engine was
the way to go, but the general thinking at the time was that the
vertical layout was best. The board backed the vertical design and
so Albert Vickers presiding wrote a letter to Austin asking for his
resignation. Austin replied and asked the Company to purchase back
his second Mortgage debentures. Austin felt that he was unable to
steer the company his way, so this was the catalyst that made
Herbert Austin start looking for a place that he could call his
own.
On the day Austin left the
Wolseley Company, he was presented with an illuminated address by
the employees.
The
employees of the Wolseley Company feel that they cannot let your
connection with them pass without acknowledgement of their great
esteem and sincere appreciation of your endeavours to attain that
high position held in the motor car industry during your
management. They trust you may be spared for many years with
healthful activity to carry on this splendid career, and to bring
your new undertaking to a successful issue.
--------------------------------------------------
Faithfully Yours The Employers
_________________________
Herbert Austin Sets Up His
Own Company
To set up his own company, Herbert Austin
needed people with design skills. He had been impressed by a junior
draughtsman who had started work at Wolseley in 1903, his name A J
Hancock. Having been approached, he agreed to work and soon was
working on the first Austin car at Herberts home in Berwood Grove.
A bedroom was suitable turned into a drawing office, but he soon
realised that he need more help if the drawings would be ready
around November 1905. Hancock suggested that Herbert employed
Davidge who was still working for Wolseley. So Herbert agreed to
this and at the same time, Bobby Howitt was appointed as private
secretary.
Just how much capital would you need to set a car company in 1905,
well it appears that £100,000 is the minimum needed. At the time he
had only £15,000, but what he did have was this reputation that
brought with it design and management skills. Some of this capital
came partly from a son of an old friend, Captain Frank Kayser, (who
owned various companies, including a steel company in Sheffield) he
was his only partner.
At the time, his candid friends ridiculed the idea of starting a
motor manufacturing company on his own account, and especially
doing it seven miles from the centre of Birmingham. But as the
empty workshops at Longbridge were of a size convenient for his
immediate purpose, and there was available plenty of space for
expansion. With the Great Western and Midland Railway lines having
siding accommodation, even though he had modest financial resources
he could scarcely arrive at any other decision. After all it was
not that far from the manufacturing centre of Birmingham which
could supply all his needs in the early years.
With a small team the first Austin car was designed, ready for the
Motor Exhibition to be held on the 17th to 25th November 1905.
Because he did not have a prototype built and cash was short,
Harvey Du Cros who was the sole importer of Mercedes cars allowed
Austin to display the drawing of his first car in a corner of stand
23. There was considerable interest shown, and in fact a few orders
were secured.
It was very important that these first orders were delivered as
soon as possible, thereby improving the cash flow. With Austin at
the wheel the first car drove out of the works gates and up the
Lickey Road in a cloud of smoke.
The first production Austin car produced was delivered in August
1906 to its new customer who lived in Richmond,
Surrey
First car on test up Lickey
Road
For the Olympia Exhibition of November
1906 Austin this time had his own Stand No 136. Two cars were shown
along with two chassis allowing the public the opportunity of
seeing the suspension and transmission. One car described as a
Limousine powered by a 25 - 30hp engine and priced at
£800.
About a year afterwards, Harvey Du Cros
joined the firm, and later on various members of the family
furnished the additional capital which enabled the company to
expand.
His main problem was to get a skilled workforce that would be
willing to travel to Longbridge. But this is what we would call
today a green field site, although he would have to adapted the
buildings from tin box printing to motor manufacture. It was
because he had worked his way up from the shop floor to management
in an engineering environment, he was able to do any job and had
the knowledge of knowing what facilities were needed. This ability
proved invaluable when employing workers, as they soon respected
his judgement, although they may not have always agreed with
everything he did. He no doubt kept a tight reign on his workforce,
and was able to implement different working procedures that would
have not been possible at Wolseley. The old-times at Longbridge
used to say that the "governor" is able to see round corners.
One thing you need when producing cars, is a dealer network.
Herbert Austin had no problem in setting this up, because of his
Wolseley connections he was able to contact various distributors at
home, the Colonies and elsewhere. At the time the sole selling
export agent was put in the hands of Mr R G Ash who had his own
company. This carried on till 1912 when Mr Ash joined the Austin
Motor Company as the export director to expand the markets
overseas.
At the end of 1913 Austin and Frank Kayser
decided that they needed more capital to finance and expand the
business. The three main shareholders were Herbert Austin with
186,663, next was Harvey Du Cross (Dunlop Rubber Company) 18,663
and Frank Kayser with 26,662. Austin would become chairman and
managing director on a five year contract at a salary of £3,500 a
year and 2.5 per cent of the net profits in each year. All this was
signed and sealed in February 1914 and the company was renamed The
Austin Motor Company (l914) Limited. With net turnover at over
£400,000 for the year, allowing for all expenses, depreciation and
the setting up of the company, it made a healthy profit.
Northfield Golf
Club
Handing out the Golf Trophies
Herbert Austin often enjoyed a game of
golf, playing at the local Northfield Golf Club. In 1907 the
Cadbury family had a golf course built not far from the Longbridge
site. The course was designed by James Braid, one of the
greatest golfers and golf course architects of all time. It was
originally called Northfield Golf Club but later changed its name
to North Worcestershire Golf Club as in those days it was actually
in Worcestershire. Herbert Austin was President of the golf club
from 1912 to 1914 and was influential in shaping the
club.
K Gate early
1910s
Although Austin was happy at the time
taking the company public, when asked in the late 1920s if he
though that was a good think he made the remark, "The truth is that
was the biggest mistake I ever made, had it remained a private
concern its development would have been more personal and less
spectacular'
In recognition of the important service
Herbert Austin rendered to his country during the war years,
(Link) he was created a Knight of the British
Empire in 1917. He was also honoured with the Order of Leopold for
war services to the Belgium people. It was sad that his only son
was killed in France in January 1915.
After the war it was now time to
reorganise the factory back to car production. The company were
able to exercise the option of buying the North and West Works from
the Government. Of course the workforce had to be slimmed down as
Government contracts came to an end. It must have been a very
difficult period to decide what type of vehicle to put into
production, and how to price it. To try and kick start the market,
the first model introduced was the Austin 20, which was sold at a
very low price. Sales did not really take off as most people
considered it as too big. But then came along the Austin 12 which
was popular. But the real boost in production and profit came with
the Austin Seven.
In October 1918 his daughter Irene Austin married Capt. A. C. R.
Waite who joined the company and was involved in the Racing side of
the company.
_________________________
Herbert Austin becomes an
MP
Although he had no particular yearning for
a political career, there was a feeling after WWI it was time that
to get the country back on its feet, the Government should include
business men. So Herbert Austin was persuaded in 1919 to stand as a
Unionist member for the Kings Norton Division of Birmingham, which
covered the Kings Norton, Northfield and Longbridge areas where
most of his workers lived.
Although he had no particular yearning for
a political career, there was a feeling after WWI it was time that
to get the country back on its feet, the Government should include
business men. So Herbert Austin was persuaded in 1919 to stand as a
Unionist member for the Kings Norton Division of Birmingham, which
covered the Kings Norton, Northfield and Longbridge areas where
most of his workers lived.
He was duly elected and sat in the house of Commons until 1924, but
felt frustrated with the Government, as when it was time to be
re-elected he remarked, "I have no intention of standing again for
Parliament, because I am convinced that the business men of
England, including myself, are best engaged in giving the whole of
their attention to their own particular jobs, and thus bring about
a solution of the country's difficulties by natural means. The
thriving condition of the Longbridge factory to-day will do more,
for example, to minimise the evil of unemployment than could all my
efforts on the floor of the House. In making these statements I do
not wish to create-any wrong impression. I do not wish to infer
that I regard Parliament as a home for nonentities, or as a place
from which no good thing can emanate. I just wish to point out,
that men such as myself can accomplish more outside than in.
Despite this, I remain convinced that the argument promulgated in
1919 still holds good to-day, and that England does need to be
governed in a businesslike fashion. After all, government is a huge
business, and needs to be run on lines exactly similar to those
along which any smaller enterprise might be expected to
prosper.
Provided that there is no radical change in our fiscal policy,
England may now count upon a period of unprecedented prosperity.
Development is proceeding and must proceed apace, and every day,
under present conditions, sees England better fitted to meet
outside competition. Provided that the English manufacturer is
allowed to make legitimate use of his home markets, he will be able
to put up a better fight for those in other parts of the world. For
example, Longbridge turned its attention to the 20 horse-power car,
the commercial vehicie, and the agricultural tractor. Later on,
however, Longbridge busied itself with the manufacture of the
small-powered car, and it was here that England scored. Despite the
undoubted brilliance of our competitors and the unique
opportunities that had been theirs, they overlooked the small car
need.
In view of the peculiarly poverty-stricken condition of the people,
particularly in Europe, economy should have been a watchword.
Therefore, despite the wasted years, England had the start in this
field, and the lead she obtained does not seem likely ever to be
decreased. As soon as it was recognised as a practicable
proposition, the Austin Seven was hailed with delight by those
people who stood in sore need of mechanical transport but who could
not afford to pay a big price therefor. As you already know, the
Seven is manufactured under Licence in France, and is selling like
hot cakes. Germany also obtained the licence to manufacture the
'baby' in that country, and there, too, it is enjoying a remarkable
popularity. Fortunately, it was not only in Europe that the Seven
found its market. It is also needed in outlandish parts of the
world where the call is for a tough proposition that can live a
long while on very little fodder."
He had this to say on the question of Buying British Products. " I
would like to impress upon the people of this country that if they
have the interests of the nation at heart and wish to see the
solution of our unemployment problem, the dole a thing of the past,
prosperity a condition shared by all, then they should see to it
that it is a point of faith to purchase nothing but the truly
British article wherever and whenever possible. It has been the aim
of the Longbridge factory to justify certain additions to the
slogan which we now hear so frequently: 'Buy British.' There is, of
course, the addition 'Buy' Best,' which the wise have long taken
for granted; but the other addition is 'Buy Cheapest,''and this is
now an accomplished fact. If a motor car is British, best, and
cheapest, what more can anyone ask ? "
My other little bit of advice, chiefly tendered to the younger
generation is: Be courteous. I do not address this to the younger
generation because I think they are any less courteous than were
their fathers, but because they have to carry on the good work.
They were born with a steering wheel between their hands, and it is
up to them to see that throughout their lives they are able to make
the very best use of it. If motorists will practise a perpetual
courtesy then will the motor car establish itself still more firmly
in popular favour, and primitive legislation, which still hampers
development, will be swept away. Common sense' and courtesy are the
qualities required to make motoring safe."
Sir Herbert the
Benefactor
Lord Austin of
Longbridge
Sir Herbert followed the example of that
great motoring benefactor Lord Nuffield by presenting a small
fortune to an educational establishment. He gave £250,000, which
must have represented a high proportion of his own rather meagre
personal wealth, to Lord Rutherford's Cavendish Laboratory at
Cambridge University for scientific research into radio-activity.
With the exception of Payton, whose wealth was derived from his
many other interests, Austin directors did not build up vast
fortunes. When Sir Francis Pepper died at the age of 75 in
November, he left only a little over £80,000. Later Austin followed
his major endowment with a gift of £7,000 to the Birmingham United
Hospital for radium equipment and £1,000 to the National Hospital
in London, and also paid off the debts owed by the Coach Harness
Company, one of London's most historic City Guilds.
In 1934 William Morris had been honoured and taken the title Lord
Nuffield after his £l million gift to Oxford University, which
created Nuffield College. In June 1936 a delighted Sir Herbert, in
his seventieth year, was made a baron in King Edward VIII's first
and only birthday honours list. Unlike Morris, he decided to retain
his name in his title - Lord Austin of Longbridge.
1912:- President of the Institute of British Carriage and
Automobile Manufactures.
1927:- Knight of the British Empire and a Commander of the Order of
Lepold II for his services in the war.
1918:- Member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
1919-25:- Unionist Member of Parliament for the King's Norton
Division of Birmingham.
-------------Member
of the Government Labour Resettlement
Committee.
1931:- President of the Institution of
Automobile Engineers
1932:- President of the Institution of Production
Engineers.
1932:- Chairman of the
Birmingham General Hospital and later became Chairman of the
new
---------Birmingham
United Hospital.
1932:- Chairman of the Greater Birmingham
Employment Committee.
1932-33:- President of the Institution of Production
Engineers.
1933:- Appointed a Justice of the Peace for Birmingham.
1934:- President of the Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders
Ltd
1934:- Master of the Worshipful Company of
Coach makers and Coach Harness Makers.
1934:- Member of the Transport Advisory Council.
1934-35:-
President of the Society of Motor Manufactures and
Traders.
1936:- Created Baron, 'Austin of
Longbridge'. Gave £250,00 to the university of
Cambridge to forward the work ---------of
Lord Rutherford
1937:- The university of
Birmingham conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of
Law.
1937-40:- Chairman of the Shadow Aero-Engine Committee.
1937:- Member of the Livery of the Worshipful Company of
Carmen.
1937:- Honorary Member of the Institute of British
Foundrymen.
1937:- Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) conferred by
Birmingham University.
1938:- Elected Honorary Life Member of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers.
1939:- President of the British Cast Iron Research
Association.
1940:- President of the Birmingham United Hospital. Governor of the
Royal Cancer Hospital London.
---------Life
Member of the Court of Governors of the University of
Birmingham.
---------President
of the Motor trade Association.