Son of Scottish butcher who became visionary boss of British Rail

The Herald Scotland

14-06-2025

Died: May 28, 2025
Sir Bob Reid, who has died aged 91, had a serious accident when he was nine years old that completely changed his life. He was in his father's butcher's shop in Cupar when the mincing machine stopped and he tried to restart it.
'It restarted with a jolt, gripped and bit into my fingers and pulled me down, the blades chewing upward towards me,' he recalled. He was taken to Dundee Royal Infirmary where a surgeon operated on him. Reid had to face life without the use of his right arm.
Resilience, courage and an ability to adapt governed the rest of his life. After learning to write left-handed in ten days - 'not beautifully, but adequately' - he faced his major challenge and became a single-figure handicap one-armed golfer.
Robert Paul Reid was born in Cupar, the younger son of a butcher. During the Second World War his father was in the Home Guard while his mother worked in the local military command office. He attended Bell-Baxter Academy, now Bell Baxter High School, where he was head boy, played rugby and was an excellent student.
But his love of golf played a significant part of his youth. By his mid-teens he was winning junior championships and wrote, 'Passion is too weak a word. Golf is not a relaxation, golf is everything, golf is a philosophy, it's a religion, I mean really absolutely.'
He studied political economy at St Andrews University, won a golf blue and continued his studies at the European Business School in London. At university he met and married Joan Oram in 1958.
His first posting in the oil industry was to Borneo then Australia but in 1985 he returned to London and was appointed chief executive of Shell UK coping in 1989 with a fracture in a Shell oil refinery underwater pipeline in the Mersey. The spill of 150 tons caused a public outcry but Reid dealt with the matter with a canny understanding. When Reid was made chairman he was responsible for all Shell UK's production, refineries and was much involved with the company's North Sea oil explorations.
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In 1990 he was offered the chair of BR – it is thought the job had been offered to many other businessmen – but he believed he could bring his business experience to an industry which had been unsuccessfully restructured by successive governments.
He saw the creation of the Channel Tunnel connection with France as a positive change for the entire rail industry in the UK. But he had to combat constant battles with the Blair and Major governments over money. There were fraught discussions about industrial disputes and the savage increase in fares which made for an unhappy first few months. The winter was also harsh and commuters, staff and politicians were grumbling about the service.
Reid argued that the trains should run on time, be safe and give a good service. But he soon had to negotiate with the government for more money. 'As long as we get the money,' he said, 'we can make it better. The government has got to give us more money.'
In 1992 the return of the Conservatives under John Major put the rail industry in a totally fresh position as the government planned to privatise the industry. Their scheme – with Railtrack in charge of the tracks and signalling, and the train services divided between operating companies – was never ideal in Reid's opinion.
Sir Bob Reid (Image: PA)
His time at BR was not altogether happy and it was no surprise that in 1995 he resigned when he was sidelined by a new rail regulator. But Reid left BR in a better state than he found it. The finances were stabilised and almost healthy, industrial relations were much improved and there was a far greater efficiency throughout the industry. The BR staff who affectionately nicknamed him 'the one-armed bandit' had achieved much.
On leaving BR he became chairman of Sears Holdings, and deputy governor of the Bank of Scotland. In 1999 he was instrumental in revitalising the International Petroleum Exchange and helping it some years later to be handsomely floated on the New York stock exchange.
Reid was a man of much charisma, drive and energy. His business acumen was sharp and he preserved an informal presence in even the most tense situation.
He was the first chancellor of Robert Gordon University and was awarded honorary degrees from Aberdeen, Heriot Watt and St Andrews. He remained a passionate golfer all his life and amongst other clubs was a member of the R&A. He was also a keen opera lover and served on the boards of several musical institutions such as the London Mozart Players.
His wife Joan died in 2017 and he is survived by their sons, Douglas, Paul and Michael.
ALASDAIR STEVEN
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