Sir Albert Gerald Stern | |
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| Born | 24 September 1878 Knightsbridge, London |
| Died | 2 January 1966(1966-01-02) (aged 87) Teston, Kent, England |
| Resting place | The Parish Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul Teston 51.255035466036226, 0.44236990088165834 |
| Other names | Bertie |
| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
| Occupation | Merchant Banker |
| Spouse | Helen Stern |
| Parent(s) | James Julius and Lucy Stern |
Sir Albert Gerald SternKBE CMG DL (24 September 1878 – 2 January 1966) was a banker who became the Secretary of theLandship Committee duringWorld War I, where his organisational ability assisted the Committee in creating thefirst British tank.[1]
During the war he came into conflict with theWar Office but had the advantage of direct access to the Prime Minister, and no civil service career to protect. He was removed from direct involvement in the production of tanks and sidelined.[2]
Born the second son of James Julius Stern, a part of the Jewish EuropeanStern Banking dynasty, Albert Stern was educated atEton andChrist Church, Oxford before entering the family business, becoming known in theCity of London as "The Holy Terror".[3] Although he negotiated a large loan to the sultan ofMorocco, Albert Stern had no real flair as a merchant banker.
At the outbreak of theFirst World War he tried to join the armed forces but experienced difficulty doing so due to a weak ankle. He offered to supply theAdmiralty with anarmoured car at his own expense and was eventually commissioned as a lieutenant in theRoyal Naval Volunteer Reserve at the end of 1914, when he joined theArmoured Car Division of theRoyal Naval Air Service.[4]
Stern originally became involved with landships as an assistant to Flight CommanderThomas Hetherington, RNAS. In 1915 he became Secretary of theLandship Committee. In February 1916David Lloyd George appointed him head of what became known as the Mechanical Warfare Supply Department, under theMinistry of Munitions, which controlled the procurement and supply of tanks. Stern was transferred to the Army where he eventually attained the rank oflieutenant-colonel. Stern believed in the application of business methods to war production with the minimum of interference from professional soldiers.
Stern and the chairman of the committee,Eustace d'Eyncourt (Director of Naval Construction and designer of many of the Royal Navy's latest ships), attempted to use their influence with Lloyd George to influence the employment of tanks. However, neither had a military background nor had they spent much time on the frontline, andGHQ became irritated at their interference in their affairs.[5]
Stern was removed from his post and given the task of co-ordinating an Allied tank, which resulted in theTank Mark VIII, a few of which were built towards the end of the war.[2]
Until the creation in 1939 of theMinistry of Supply, theWar Office had issued specifications for weapons it required and then chose from the proposals submitted in response by manufacturers. In the case of tank production there were only two manufacturers with the required skills:Vickers and theRoyal Arsenal,Woolwich.
Leslie Burgin, theMinister of Supply, was worried about the ongoing expansion of the German armoured forces and realised that he needed the help of an expert in tank warfare who could understand the army's requirements. He therefore selected Stern, who was now 62. Stern was on the boards of theMidland Bank, theClydesdale Bank, and theBank of Romania. He was also helping to prevent the Germans' attempts to take over the Romanian oil industry.
When he was approached to talk to Burgin about tanks, he seized the opportunity since he too had been worrying about the type of tank that the army would need in the forthcoming war. He met General SirMaurice Taylor, the Ministry's chief military advisor, but the meeting did not go well since Taylor said he was satisfied with the state of Britain's tank development. However, Taylor's assistant, General Davidson, told Stern of his concerns about the lack of investment in tank production in a private meeting.
When Stern reported back to Burgin, he appointed Stern the head of theSpecial Vehicle Development Committee. Stern then began selecting the members of the committee, including many people who had been part of the development of the tank during World War I, including formerDirector of Naval Construction, Eustace d'Eyncourt,Sir Ernest Swinton (now a director ofCitroën), engine designerHarry Ricardo, and the gearbox and transmission expertMajor W G Wilson. Unsurprisingly they got the nickname "The Old Gang". It soon became obvious that the SVDC lacked power, butGeneral Ironside, Chief of theImperial General Staff, was helpful. Aware of the inadequacy of the tank designs currently in service, he assisted the committee in finding accommodation where they could produce an initial tank specification.
Together they proposed the development of a "heavy tank" design, theTOG 1, an acronym for "The Old Gang", which was the Committee's nickname for themselves. Production was carried out by another of the first tank's developers and builders,Sir William Tritton ofFoster's of Lincoln.
Designed with trench crossing abilities to the fore and the capability to carry infantry as well, the design was a large hull with side doors supported on broad tracks, with a small turret on top. The prototype TOG 1 was delivered in October 1940. After problems with the electro-mechanical drive, it was converted tohydraulic drive, a process that took until May 1943 after which it was called TOG 1A. The prototype was sent toChobham and then seems to have disappeared into history.
The second design to come out of the SVDC, theTOG 2 was similar to the TOG 1 and kept many of its features, but mounted the latest tank gun, the QF17-pounder (76.2 mm). Instead of the track path arrangement of the TOG 1 which was like that of the First World War British tanks, the track path was lower on the return run and the doors were above the tracks. It was ordered in 1940, and built by Foster's of Lincoln, and the prototype ran for the first time in March 1941.
Although fitted with the same electro-mechanical drive as the TOG 1, the TOG 2 used twin generators and no problems were reported. It was modified to include among other things a change from the unsprung tracks for a torsion bar suspension and as the TOG 2* was successfully trialled in May 1943. No further development occurred, although a shorter version, the TOG 2 (R) was mooted. The TOG 2 can be seen at theBovington Tank Museum.
Unfortunately, onceWinston Churchill – with whom Stern had had a blazing row in 1917 – took over as prime minister on 10 May 1940, Stern and the work of the SVDC were sidelined. Despite this, the SVDC went on to develop specifications for acruiser tank which was vigorously promoted by Stern.
The Tog design was also sidelined by the good cross-country performance of theChurchill tank which had been designed byHarland and Wolff (and subsequently improved byVauxhall Motors) to cross shelled ground.
Stern was made a Companion of theOrder of St Michael and St George in the1917 New Year Honours, and was made a Knight Commander of theOrder of the British Empire in the1918 Birthday Honours.[1]
He becameHigh Sheriff of Kent and aDeputy Lieutenant for Kent in 1952.[6]
In 1922 Stern married Helen Orr-Lewis, daughter ofSir Frederick Orr-Lewis, 1st Baronet, upon his permission after meeting her in the south of France on diplomatic business, since she was underage at the time. They had two sons and two daughters.[1] His brother, SirFrederick Claude Stern, was an accomplished horticulturist and botanist.
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