John Elliot

Sir John Elliot (6 May 1898 – 18 September 1988) was a British journalist and transport and railway manager. Born John Elliot Blumenfeld, he was the son of the Daily Mail news editor R. D. Blumenfeld (who later became managing editor of the Daily Express.) He changed his surname to Elliot (his mother's surname) in March 1923 on the advice of Lord Beaverbrook. During the War, he served as an officer in France, in the 3rd The King's Own Hussars, before following his father into journalism. He spent three years in New York, and then returned to London to become the assistant editor of the Evening Standard from 1922 to 1925.

In 1930, Elliot became assistant traffic manager for the railway, and in 1938 was appointed assistant general manager to Gilbert Szlumper. Shortly after the Second World War he became acting General Manager when his predecessor, Sir Eustace Missenden, was appointed to the Railway Executive. In late 1948, the Southern Railway was nationalised, with the rest of the railway system, into British Railways. Elliot took the role of Chief Regional Officer of the Southern region of the nationalised company In 1951, he became Chairman of the Railway Executive. Elliot spent much of 1949 in Australia, reporting on the Victorian Railways system, he recommended a significant re-equipment of their system, which they started in 1950.

Elliot was appointed as Chairman of London Transport in 1953, a post he held until 1959. He was an early proponent of the building of the Victoria line and oversaw the trial tunneling work for it in the late 1950s, though the line did not open until many years after he left London Transport. and was promoted to full Colonel in May 1951. He commanded the unit from January 1956 until he was retired due to his age on 7 May 1963. He resigned his commission in December 1973. He was the president of the Railway Study Association in 1950–51. From 1965 to 1969, he was a director of the British Airports Authority. Even then, some parts of the book were suppressed.

Elliot's autobiography, On and Off the Rails, was published by George Allen & Unwin in 1982. He was also noted for his writing about the French Revolution and the First World War. David later became the Academic Registrar of Trinity College of Music during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1986, David hosted a BBC Radio 3 radio program, claiming that the composer Anton Bruckner was influenced by a love of railways; this spoof program brought together David's love of music and railways.

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