Arthur Blaikie Purvis

Arthur Blaikie Purvis (31 March 1890 – 14 August 1941) was a British industrialist who coordinated British war purchases in North America during the Second World War.

Life and career Purvis was born in London to a Scottish father and was educated at the Tottenham Grammar School. During the First World War, Purvis was responsible for the purchase of materials for explosives in America. After the War, he moved to Canada to head Canadian Industries Limited.

In 1941, he was made chairman of the British Supply Council in North America, having overall responsibility over all British war purchases in the United States. Purvis worked closely with Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr., "almost as closely together as two Ministers in the same Cabinet." He was killed in an air crash on 14 August 1941, when his plane crashed shortly after taking off from RAF Heathfield in Scotland. On his death, Winston Churchill wrote that "Purvis was a grievous loss, as he held so many British, American, and Canadian threads in his hands". He was succeeded as head of the British Supply Council by Morris Wilson. Purvis Hall, 1020 avenue des Pins Ouest, Montreal, Quebec, McGill University Campus. Purvis was made a Privy Counsellor in 1940, but was killed before he could be sworn in.