Charles Carlow Reid
Sir Charles Carlow Reid (1879-1961)
1961 Obituary[1]
"WE regret to have to record the death, on February 19, of Sir Charles Reid, who was an outstanding mining engineer and made his way, by his own force of character and ability, from humble beginnings to the top of his profession.
Charles Carlow Reid was born on January 27, 1879. On leaving school at Leven, Fifeshire, he became an apprentice clerk, but when his apprenticeship was over, he went down the pit and so began his long career in mining. Promotion was rapid, and he became, in succession, assistant to the manager at Aitken Colliery, manager of Donibristle Colliery, and agent to a group of collieries owned by the Fife Coal Co.
By 1923 he was general manager of the whole of the company's undertakings, and by 1931 a director and general manager. In 1942 Reid was seconded to Government service, and became, first, Regional Production Director for Scotland under the Ministry of Fuel and Power, and secondly, a year later, Director of Coal Production for Great Britain.
In October, 1944, Reid was appointed chairman of a committee charged with the investigation of the technical aspects of the British coal industry, and in April of the following year, the committee's report widely known as the " Reid Report " was published. It was a forthright document which aroused considerable interest at the time and was interpreted by some as a demand from the highest technical authorities for nationalisation of the mines.
Sir Charles Reid he was knighted in 1945 -was appointed a member of the National Coal Board at its inception, but resigned in May, 1948, as he did not agree with the organisation it had set up. His only son, Mr. William Reid, is now chairman of the Durham Division, National Coal Board."