Ralph Robins

The New Elizabethans

The New Elizabethans. Ralph Robins

James Naughtie on one of the foremost industrialists of the second Elizabethan age, Ralph Robins, who is credited with turning around the fortunes of Rolls-Royce.

In 1971 Rolls-Royce was nationalised by Edward Heath's government in order to save the ailing company. Their fortunes improved and under the leadership and long term strategies of Ralph Robins, Rolls-Royce was privatised again and is now a hugely successful power systems company again and the world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines.

The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.

They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse.".