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Editorial Extra | Exhibition
Railnews 60
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GWR magazine
December 1947
‘On the 1st January next the Undertaking of the Great Western Railway Company becomes vested in the British Transport Commission, and the change of ownership brings to an end the administration of the Company’s affairs by a Board of Directors …’
Vol.59 No.11
244x185mm 28pp
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The nationalisation of the railways had been authorised by the 1947 Transport Act, and the forthcoming change was reported in the final edition of the Great Western Railway Magazine.
This issue included a farewell message from the Chairman, Lord Portal, as well as a portrait of the General Manager Sir James Milne on the front cover, which continued a long series of images of the staff, all of which had been captioned ‘Pride in the Job’.
Sir James had decided to retire at the end of 1947, when the company’s business was to be transferred to the British Transport Commission.
After the transfer, the Big Four companies could not be wound up until they had held a Final General Meeting, at which the closing dividend was declared and the Directors were customarily thanked by the shareholders (always known within the GWR as the ’Proprietors’) for their services.
Unlike the Directors of the other companies, the GWR Board declined to accept any payment as compensation for loss of office.
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