Leonard Lord

Leonard Percy Lord, 1st Baron Lambury KBE (15 November 1896 – 13 September 1967) was a captain of the British motor industry.

Background and education

Lord was the son of William Lord, of Coventry, and Emma, daughter of George Swain, and was educated at Bablake School, Coventry.

Automotive career

Between 1914 and 1918 Lord worked in a munitions factory in Coventry, then after the First World War in a manufacturing plant for Daimler engines. In 1923 he moved to Morris Motors Limited where he was involved in rationalising all stages of the production process. In 1927 Morris bought Wolseley Motors Limited, and Lord was transferred there in order to modernise their production equipment. In 1932 Lord was promoted to General Manager at Morris, working from the Cowley factory. In 1938 after many years of conflict with William Morris, Lord left to join Morris's chief competitor, the Austin Motor Company.

At that time, Herbert Austin was looking for somebody to direct his company, his only son having been killed during the war. Ultimately, Lord was selected to manage the company. With the advent of the Second World War, Austin converted from civil to military production, and in particular the construction of ambulances and government vehicles. After the war, Lord became Chairman of Austin in 1946, and moved the company to a resumption of civil motor-vehicle production. In 1954 he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). Through further mergers and acquisitions, Lord ultimately became president of the British Motor Corporation. On 26 March 1962 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Lambury, of Northfield in the County of Warwick.