Anderson, John

Anderson, John (1882–1958) British home secretary and civil defense advocate John Anderson (later Sir John Anderson, first viscount Waverley) was born at Eskbank by Dalkeith in Midlothian and was educated at the University of Edinburgh and Leipzig University. After service in World War I, Anderson entered the British government as chair of the Board of the Inland Revenue in 1919 and then as governor of Bengal, India, in 1932. He was elected to Parliament as member for the Scottish Universities in 1938 and served as home secretary in the cabinet of Neville Chamberlain from late 1938 to 1940. Almost immediately upon assuming his cabinet post, and with war clouds rapidly gathering, Anderson proposed the design, manufacture, and distribution of domestic bomb shelters. The result was the Anderson shelter, which proved highly successful during The Blitz. From 1943 to 1945, Anderson served as chancellor of the exchequer in the cabinet of Winston Churchill. His most enduring contribution in this post was the introduction of the Pay-as-You- Earn (PAYE) system for income tax payment. Anderson was knighted in 1919 and raised to the peerage in 1952. Further reading: Colvin, Ian Goodhope. The Chamberlain Cabinet: How the Meetings in 10 Downing Street, 1937–9, Led to the Second World War; Told for the First Time from the Cabinet Papers. London: Gollancz, 1971; Cross, Arthur, Fred Tibbs, and Mike Seaborne. The London Blitz. London: Dirk Nishen Publishing, 1987; Johnson, David. The London Blitz: The City Ablaze, December 29, 1940. New York: Stein & Day, 1982.