Sir Frank Price

[JamesWoolcock]

I have learned that Sir Frank Price has died at the age of 95.

I have been trying to find an obituary online without much hard success, other than press reports of 15th January.

He had retired many years ago to live in Spain.

My thought is that Sir Frank, as Chairman of BWB, and Barbara Castle, as Minister Of Transport, were instrumental in saving the canals for us.

Gratitude.

James

[Tim Lewis]

9 hours ago, JamesWoolcock said:

I have learned that Sir Frank Price has died at the age of 95.

I have been trying to find an obituary online without much hard success, other than press reports of 15th January.

He had retired many years ago to live in Spain.

My thought is that Sir Frank, as Chairman of BWB, and Barbara Castle, as Minister Of Transport, were instrumental in saving the canals for us.

Gratitude.

James

There is an obituary in the latest Waterways World

Tim

[alan_fincher]

It has always seemed odd to me that in recent years Sir Frank Price has seemed to be well revered for his chairmanship of BWB.

It really isn't my memory that things seemed that great during his tenure, but perhaps I'm being unfair to the man.

Certainly I think he supported ideas like the universal introduction of hydraulic paddle gear, something which even at the time it was not hard to see was a very bad idea indeed!

(Oh, and am I the only person who couldn't help thinking Ronnie Corbett every time a picture of him was published?).

[BEngo]

Sir Frank was eventually captured by the canal system.  It just took  longer than for most of us here.

Hydraulic paddle gear was on his watch, but I doubt it was his baby- the Department of Not Thought About Ideas resided in Watford even before Sally Ash!  It was eventually killed off on his watch too.

Other things on his watch included the Great Tunnel Closures, and the resulting extra grants to repair them ( actually 'for measures pursuant to public safety'),  and  which continued to be handed over for some time after Sir Frank's departure.

 

He was, in his latter days,  certainly a better Chairman than Tony Hales IMO. 

 

N

 

 

[cuthound]

13 hours ago, JamesWoolcock said:

I have learned that Sir Frank Price has died at the age of 95.

I have been trying to find an obituary online without much hard success, other than press reports of 15th January.

He had retired many years ago to live in Spain.

My thought is that Sir Frank, as Chairman of BWB, and Barbara Castle, as Minister Of Transport, were instrumental in saving the canals for us.

Gratitude.

James

Couldn't agree more. His autobiography "Being There" details his time as chair of BWB, although it is mainly concerned with his time as a local councillor in Birmingham.

[alan_fincher]

2 hours ago, BEngo said:

Sir Frank was eventually captured by the canal system.  It just took  longer than for most of us here.

Hydraulic paddle gear was on his watch, but I doubt it was his baby- the Department of Not Thought About Ideas resided in Watford even before Sally Ash!  It was eventually killed off on his watch too.

Other things on his watch included the Great Tunnel Closures, and the resulting extra grants to repair them ( actually 'for measures pursuant to public safety'),  and  which continued to be handed over for some time after Sir Frank's departure.

He was, in his latter days,  certainly a better Chairman than Tony Hales IMO.

Yes, Sir Frank does seem to have grown into the role, and become respected over time.

On the subject of Tony Hales, I'm sure we are in complete agreement!

[JamesWoolcock]

3 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

Yes, Sir Frank does seem to have grown into the role, and become respected over time.

On the subject of Tony Hales, I'm sure we are in complete agreement!

Tony Hales? No we're not!

There was a lot that Tony Hales contributed to both BWB and CRT, other than his time and management expertise, that he kept private and hidden. In time this may well come out but it is not for me to discuss such details on here, or anywhere else.

And he did put himself about a lot more than his successor appears to do, often turning up unexpectedly at even quite minor events.

James

[Tiggers]

I think you would all be surprised by just how much Tony did. I don’t have many good things to say about many people I encountered at the museum, but he was a constant champion of the boatyard and the one person we could rely on to really get things done. He once found out how short we were of timber and the next thing we knew, he had arranged for two whole oak trees, cut into boards, to be delivered to the yard through his connections. He was also always one to show his face even at the smallest of gatherings and when you spoke to him, you could tell he was genuinely interested in what you had to say and would take everything on board.

At the end of the day, in a role like his, you are always going to have people bitch and complain, but I think he deserves far more credit than you are giving him.

[alan_fincher]

44 minutes ago, Tiggers said:

At the end of the day, in a role like his, you are always going to have people bitch and complain, but I think he deserves far more credit than you are giving him.

I may have given the wrong impression - my remark wasn't intended as a firm bashing of Tony Hales, but I can now see it could be read that way!  I did meet him a few times, and know he often turned up in unexpected places.

I was only intending to endorse the suggestion made by BEngo that overall Frank Price, in his heyday, probably made a greater contribution.

I still think it is fair to say that Sir Frank didn't start off that impressively, but over time probably did much that was of significance.

I'm surprised he doesn't seem to have qualified for an obituary in the mainstream press.

[JamesWoolcock]

Yes, so am I as the Daily Telegraph always listed his birthday in that newspaper's daily list of notable birthdays. This coincided with the Audlem Gathering of Historic Boats at the village's Transport Weekend and there was always a unanimous standing and raising of glasses to the birthday boy at supper in The Bridge Inn.

James

[fanshaft]

16 hours ago, Tiggers said:

I think you would all be surprised by just how much Tony did. I don’t have many good things to say about many people I encountered at the museum, but he was a constant champion of the boatyard and the one person we could rely on to really get things done. He once found out how short we were of timber and the next thing we knew, he had arranged for two whole oak trees, cut into boards, to be delivered to the yard through his connections. He was also always one to show his face even at the smallest of gatherings and when you spoke to him, you could tell he was genuinely interested in what you had to say and would take everything on board.

At the end of the day, in a role like his, you are always going to have people bitch and complain, but I think he deserves far more credit than you are giving him.

I would agree with James and Tiggers.  Tony was (and is) a gentleman in every sense, generous, kind and encouraging.  I think he did a challenging job very well.  Same comment for Sir Frank - he was especially interested in promoting freight on the larger waterways and eventually managed to prise the cash out of government and Europe for the SYN enlargement.  Sad that the colllapse of the steel industry meant that hoped for tonnages didn't materialise by the time it was re-opened, and that the BACAT scheme failed due to industrial unrest.  'Being There' is a very interesting read!

Best wishes David