Albert Gerald Stern

Sir Albert Gerald Stern
Sir Albert Gerald Stern
Born	24 September 1878 Knightsbridge, London
Died	2 January 1966(1966-01-02) (aged 87) Teston, Kent, England
Nationality	British
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford
Parent(s)	James Julius and Lucy Stern

Sir Albert Gerald Stern KBE CMG (24 September 1878 – 2 January 1966) was a banker who became the Secretary of the Landships Committee during World War I, where his organisational ability and influence in financial circles assisted the Committee in creating the first British tank.

During the war he came into conflict with the War 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.

Born the second son of James Julius Stern, a merchant banker, Albert Stern was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford before entering the family business, becoming known in the City of London as "The Holy Terror". Although he negotiated a large loan to the sultan of Morocco, Albert Stern had no real flair as a merchant banker.

At the outbreak of the First World War he tried to join the armed forces but experienced difficulty doing so due to a weak ankle. He offered to supply the Admiralty with an armoured car at his own expense and was eventually commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve at the end of 1914, when he joined the Armoured Car Division of the Royal Naval Air Service.

Stern originally became involved with landships as an assistant to Flight Commander Thomas Hetherington, RNAS. In 1915 he became Secretary of the Landships Committee. In February 1916 Lloyd George appointed him head of what was to become known as the Mechanical Warfare Supply Department, under the Ministry of Munitions, which controlled the procurement and supply of tanks. Stern was transferred to the Army where he eventually attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Stern believed in the application of business methods to war production with the minimum of interference from professional soldiers.