Sir William Lithgow, 2nd Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir William James Lithgow, 2nd Baronet (born 10 May 1934) is a Scottish
industrialist and vice-chairman of Lithgow Group. In 1952 he inherited the Scottish shipbuilding
company, Lithgows
, which was established by his grandfather, William Lithgow
. At the time, it was the largest private shipbuilding concern in the world. Economic and political changes, especially the nationalisation of British shipbuilding in the 1970s, prevented Sir William from simply continuing the family business, and he therefore led it in new directions, including engineering, salmon farming
and other marine and agricultural matters. He describes himself as an "industrialist and farmer". Since 1999 his son James has been chairman of the Lithgow Group, with Sir William as vice-chairman.
, and Lady Gwendolyn Lithgow, whose family homes were Gleddoch House, at Langbank
on the Clyde
, a few miles from their shipyards at Port Glasgow
, and Ormsary, their country estate in Knapdale
. He was educated at Winchester College
, and is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
. His father died when he was eighteen, and his mother acted as chairman of the family company until 1959. In 1967 he married Mary Claire Hill and they have a daughter and two sons.
. This became Scott Lithgow
Ltd. in 1970, but in 1977 the government nationalised the company under the control of the British Shipbuilders
Corporation by the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977
.
Sir William and others involved challenged the amount of compensation they were offered and ended up taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights
. The press reported his views about the wider implications of his experience, which he related to the Thatcher
government's privatisation policies, and the forthcoming expiry of the British lease on Hong Kong. When he finally lost his legal battle in 1986 he told The Times
that his claim had started as a "squalid argument about money" but had come to be about "fundamental property rights which are part of the basis of the free world". On other occasions he has expressed strong views publicly on subjects ranging from the importance of wealth creation to weaknesses in ferry services to the Scottish islands.
boatyard producing fishing vessels closed in 1997, but they still build fishing boats at Buckie
in Moray. Engineering interests include firms producing off-road vehicles and rifles. Many of the conglomerate's interests are related to rural and coastal life, not least their land management and agricultural activities on the Ormsary estate and on the nearby Isle of Jura
.
Sir William says his hobbies are "rural life, invention and photography". The many public bodies on which he has served include some connected with shipbuilding and agriculture, and he also has links with Strathclyde University which made him an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) in 1979. He is a member of the Royal Company of Archers
.
In 1999, Sir William passed on the chairmanship to his son James, around the time of his 65th birthday. At the time, the press reported his belief that many of British shipbuilding's problems in the 1960s and 1970s could be attributed to government policies stemming from the Treasury
. He had apparently "seriously considered relocating to Australia". As of 2006, he has an address in Western Australia, but Ormsary is his home as well part of his title as 2nd Baronet
of Ormsary.
Sir William and the Lithgow Group still have offices at Langbank, close to the house the first William Lithgow moved to in 1883.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
industrialist and vice-chairman of Lithgow Group. In 1952 he inherited the Scottish shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
company, Lithgows
Lithgows
Lithgows Limited, was a British shipbuilding company based in Kingston, Port Glasgow, on the River Clyde in Scotland.-Founding:The Company was established by Joseph Russell and his partners Anderson Rodger and William Lithgow who leased the Bay Yard in Port Glasgow from Cunliffe & Dunlop and...
, which was established by his grandfather, William Lithgow
William Lithgow (shipbuilder)
William Todd Lithgow was a Scottish ship-designer who became sole owner of an extremely successful shipbuilding company. For much of the 20th century its name was Lithgows, as it was developed further by William's sons Sir James Lithgow and Henry Lithgow , and then by his grandson Sir William...
. At the time, it was the largest private shipbuilding concern in the world. Economic and political changes, especially the nationalisation of British shipbuilding in the 1970s, prevented Sir William from simply continuing the family business, and he therefore led it in new directions, including engineering, salmon farming
Aquaculture of salmon
Salmon, along with carp, are the two most important fish groups in aquaculture. In 2007, the aquaculture of salmon and salmon trout was worth US$10.7 billion. The most commonly farmed salmon is the Atlantic salmon. Other commonly farmed fish groups include tilapia, catfish, sea bass, bream and...
and other marine and agricultural matters. He describes himself as an "industrialist and farmer". Since 1999 his son James has been chairman of the Lithgow Group, with Sir William as vice-chairman.
Early life
Sir William is the son of Sir James Lithgow, 1st BaronetSir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet
Sir James Lithgow, 1st Baronet CB GBE MC TD was a Scottish industrialist who played a major role in restructuring the British shipbuilding and steelmaking industries in the 1930s in addition to playing an important role in formulating public policy and supervising wartime production.-Early...
, and Lady Gwendolyn Lithgow, whose family homes were Gleddoch House, at Langbank
Langbank
Langbank is a village on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The name is thought to come from ‘long bank’ Langbank is a village on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The name is thought to come from ‘long bank’ Langbank is a village on the south...
on the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
, a few miles from their shipyards at Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow
Port Glasgow is the second largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16617 persons...
, and Ormsary, their country estate in Knapdale
Knapdale
Knapdale forms a rural district of Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands, adjoining Kintyre to the south, and divided from the rest of Argyll to the north by the Crinan Canal. It includes two parishes, North Knapdale and South Knapdale....
. He was educated at Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, and is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
. His father died when he was eighteen, and his mother acted as chairman of the family company until 1959. In 1967 he married Mary Claire Hill and they have a daughter and two sons.
Change of direction
In the 1960s British shipbuilding was facing serious competition from the Far East, as well as other challenges. In the late 1960s a government enquiry into the UK shipbuilding industry led to a merger between Lithgows Ltd. and Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd. of GreenockGreenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
. This became Scott Lithgow
Scott Lithgow
-History:The Company was formed in 1967 by the merger of Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and Lithgows. Scott Lithgow was based in Port Glasgow and Greenock on the lower Clyde in Scotland. Scott Lithgow was nationalised and subsumed into British Shipbuilders in 1977...
Ltd. in 1970, but in 1977 the government nationalised the company under the control of the British Shipbuilders
British Shipbuilders
British Shipbuilders Corporation was a public corporation that owned and managed the shipbuilding industry in England and Scotland from 1977 and through the 1980s...
Corporation by the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977
Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977
The Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that nationalised large parts of the UK aerospace and shipbuilding industries and established two corporations, British Aerospace and British Shipbuilders ....
.
Sir William and others involved challenged the amount of compensation they were offered and ended up taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
. The press reported his views about the wider implications of his experience, which he related to the Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
government's privatisation policies, and the forthcoming expiry of the British lease on Hong Kong. When he finally lost his legal battle in 1986 he told The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
that his claim had started as a "squalid argument about money" but had come to be about "fundamental property rights which are part of the basis of the free world". On other occasions he has expressed strong views publicly on subjects ranging from the importance of wealth creation to weaknesses in ferry services to the Scottish islands.
After nationalisation
Meanwhile Lithgows was diversifying. In 1980 they moved into salmon farming through their subsidiary Landcatch. Their CampbeltownCampbeltown
Campbeltown is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Originally known as Kinlochkilkerran , it was renamed in the 17th century as Campbell's Town after Archibald Campbell was granted the site in 1667...
boatyard producing fishing vessels closed in 1997, but they still build fishing boats at Buckie
Buckie
Buckie is a burgh town on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland in Moray. Buckie was the largest town in Banffshire by some thousands of inhabitants before regionalisation in 1975 removed that political division from the map of Scotland...
in Moray. Engineering interests include firms producing off-road vehicles and rifles. Many of the conglomerate's interests are related to rural and coastal life, not least their land management and agricultural activities on the Ormsary estate and on the nearby Isle of Jura
Jura, Scotland
Jura is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, situated adjacent and to the north-east of Islay. Part of the island is designated as a National Scenic Area. Until the twentieth century Jura was dominated - and most of it was eventually owned - by the Campbell clan of Inveraray Castle on Loch...
.
Sir William says his hobbies are "rural life, invention and photography". The many public bodies on which he has served include some connected with shipbuilding and agriculture, and he also has links with Strathclyde University which made him an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) in 1979. He is a member of the Royal Company of Archers
Royal Company of Archers
The Royal Company of Archers is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland, a role it has performed since 1822 and the reign of King George IV, when the company provided a personal bodyguard to the King on his visit to Scotland. It is currently known as the Queen's...
.
In 1999, Sir William passed on the chairmanship to his son James, around the time of his 65th birthday. At the time, the press reported his belief that many of British shipbuilding's problems in the 1960s and 1970s could be attributed to government policies stemming from the Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
. He had apparently "seriously considered relocating to Australia". As of 2006, he has an address in Western Australia, but Ormsary is his home as well part of his title as 2nd Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
of Ormsary.
Sir William and the Lithgow Group still have offices at Langbank, close to the house the first William Lithgow moved to in 1883.