Ronald Weeks was the first Director-General of Army Equipment in WW2. He had served in the Rifle Brigade in WW1 and then worked as a director of Pilkingtons. He became Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff with a focus on organisation and equipment. After WW2, he became executive chairman of Vickers, a massive job. He was much involved with the nationalisation and de-nationalisation of the steel industry.
In the 1930, he was part of Management Research Group No.1 with Seebohm Rowntree, exploring management issues which were presented by companies growing ever larger. He plays a key role in my book on soldiers who armed an army entitled Dunkirk to D Day.
He was the son of a Durham mining engineer. The family had been farmers in County Durham for many decades. Ronald went from school in Durham down to Charterhouse in Surrey and then to Cambridge, where he was an exceptional student. He was one of the first Cambridge graduates to pursue a career in industry.
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