Papers of John Craig, chairman of Colvilles Ltd, iron and steel manufacturers, Motherwell, Scotland
- Reference:GB 248 UGD 104/33-36
- Dates of Creation:1904-1975
- Name of Creator:
- Physical Description:0.3 metresThere are no physical characteristics that affect the use of this material.
Scope and Content
- Dinner programmes 1939-1953
- Press cuttings 1942-1955
- Professional memberships 1916-1953
- Business papers 1916-1953
- Business correspondence 1904-1955
- Personal correspondence 1922-1966
- Colville publications 1950-1975
Administrative / Biographical History
John Craig (1874-1957) was born on 11 December 1874 at Mossend, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was educated at Dalzell Public School, North Lanarkshire, and, in 1888 , entered employment as an office boy in the firm of David Colville & Sons Ltd , iron and steel manufacturers, Motherwell, Scotland, his father's employers. He very soon became an order clerk, responsible for the purchase of pig iron. In 1895 John Colville, chairman of David Colville & Sons Ltd , entered Parliament, and John Craig was given responsibility for carrying out his duties at the Royal Exchange in Glasgow. With the death of John Colville in 1901 these responsibilities increased and, in 1902 , he was one of several senior employees to be offered shares in the firm. He was appointed iron works salesman in 1905 , and invited to become a member of the board of directors in 1910 . When both Archibald Colville and David Colville, jnr, died suddenly in 1916 , John Craig was unanimously appointed chairman of the company. John Craig 's business acumen allied to Andrew McCance 's technical expertise resulted in what has been referred to by Sir William McLintock as 'the consolidation and rationalisation of the steel industry in Scotland'. He was a member of the executive committees, of the National Federation of Iron & Steel Manufacturers, the British Iron & Steel Federation, and president of the National Federation of Iron & Steel Manufacturers, the Iron & Steel Institute, and the West of Scotland Iron & Steel Institute. In addition to his business interests, he was active in Christian circles and served as both chairman and president of the Scottish National Council of the Young Mens' Christian Association. From 1901 he was an elder in Dalziel Free Church, serving for more than fifty years. He was appointed CBE in 1918 , and knighted in 1943 . He was a Justice of the Peace in Lanarkshire from 1919 , and Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Lanark in 1934 . The University of Glasgow awarded him an honorary degree of LLD in 1951 . He retired in 1956 and died at Cambusnethan, Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, on 1 February 1957 .
Slaven, A and Checkland, S (eds), Dictionary of Scottish Business Biography 1860-1960 vol 1 (Aberdeen, 1986)
Arrangement
The arrangement of this material reflects the original order in which it was received
Access Information
Open
Acquisition Information
Acquired from the estate of Sir Andrew McCance by the Economic History Department, University of Glasgow
Other Finding Aids
Digital file level list available in searchroom
Manual file level list available at the National Registers of Archives in Edinburgh (NRA(S)2591) and London (NRA27344)
Alternative Form Available
No known copies
Conditions Governing Use
Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the University Archivist
Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use & condition of documents
Appraisal Information
This material has been appraised in line with normal procedures
Custodial History
They were previously stored with the family of Andrew McCance family
Accruals
None expected
Related Material
GB 234 Records of Colvilles Ltd (National Archives of Scotland)
GB 1496 Records of Colvilles Ltd (British Steel East Midlands Regional Records Centre)
GB 1527 Records relating to Colvilles Ltd Clyde, Clydebridge and Glangarnock Works (British Steel Records Centre)
GB 248 Papers of Andrew McCance, chairman of Colvilles Ltd
For contact details of all repositories with a GB code, see the Archon repository search page
Material in other repositories: no material associated by provenance
Bibliography
Peter L Payne,Colvilles and the Scottish Steel Industry(Oxford, 1979)
Additional Information
This material is original
Revised by Jenny Cooknell , Assistant Archivist, 17 September 1999
Revised by David Powell, Hub Project Archivist, 24 April 2002
Subjects
Personal Names
Corporate Names
Geographical Names