Sir John Gilmour | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Home Secretary | |
| In office 1 October 1932 – 7 June 1935 | |
| Prime Minister | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Preceded by | Sir Herbert Samuel |
| Succeeded by | Sir John Simon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 May 1876 Montrave, Fife, Scotland |
| Died | 30 March 1940(1940-03-30) (aged 63) London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Unionist |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Louise Lambert Violet Agnes Lambert Lady Mary Cecilia Hamilton |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh Trinity Hall, Cambridge |
Lieutenant-ColonelSir John Gilmour, 2nd BaronetGCVO DSO* TD PC JP DL MP (27 May 1876 – 30 March 1940) was aScottishUnionist politician. He notably served asHome Secretary from 1932 to 1935.
Gilmour was the son ofSir John Gilmour, 1st Baronet, chairman of theScottish Conservative and Unionist party, who was created a baronet in 1897. His mother wasHenrietta, daughter of David Gilmour of Quebec. He was educated atTrinity College, Glenalmond, theUniversity of Edinburgh andTrinity Hall, Cambridge.[1]
Gilmour was alieutenant in theFifeshire Volunteer Light Horse, and was among the officers of the Fife and Forfar volunteer battalions to volunteer for service in theSecond Boer War. He was commissioned a lieutenant in theImperial Yeomanry on 7 February 1900,[2] and served inSouth Africa with the 20th (Fife and Forfarshire Light Horse) Company of the 6th Battalion. He leftLiverpool for South Africa with the company on theSSCymric in March 1900.[3] For his service, he was awarded theQueen's medal with 4 clasps and was twicementioned in despatches (byLord Roberts dated 4 September 1901[4] and in the final despatch byLord Kitchener dated 23 June 1902[5]). His letters from the Boer War were published in 1996 under the title "Clearly My Duty" by his son,Sir John Gilmour, 3rd Baronet. He again served inWorld War I with theFife and Forfar Yeomanry, where he was again mentioned in despatches and awarded theDSO with bar. His service after the war saw him rise to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel when he commanded the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry. On 8 May 1931 he was made the Honorary Colonel of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry.[6]
He unsuccessfully contestedEast Fife in 1906 and was elected asMember of Parliament (MP) forEast Renfrewshire from 1910 to 1918 and forGlasgow Pollok from 1918 until 1940. He was a JuniorLord of the Treasury in 1921–1922,Scottish Unionist Whip from 1919 to 1922 and in 1924.
He was appointed asSecretary for Scotland in 1924, and became the firstSecretary of State for Scotland when the post was upgraded in 1926. A member of theOrange Order joining the Pollokshaws Lodge, LOL172, in June 1910. This Lodge is now named after him. Gilmour, as Secretary for Scotland, repudiated theChurch of Scotland's report,"The Menace of the Irish Race to our Scottish Nationality".[citation needed]
Later in his career he served asMinister of Shipping during the early months of British involvement in theSecond World War but died in office of a heart attack in London on 30 March 1940,[7][8]
Gilmour was Master of the Fife Fox Hounds, 1902–1906, and a Member of Fife County Council 1901–1910. He wasRector of the University of Edinburgh, 1926–1929, and was awarded honorary degrees by theUniversity of Glasgow in 1925, theUniversity of Edinburgh in 1927, and theUniversity of St Andrews in 1929. He was a Brigadier with theRoyal Company of Archers. He was madeVice-Lieutenant for the County ofFife on 27 March 1936.[9] Appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in 1935.
Gilmour first married Mary Louise Lambert, daughter of Edward Tiley Lambert, of Telham Court,Battle, Sussex, on 9 April 1902 at St. Mary's Church in Battle, Sussex.[10] The marriage produced two children,Anne Margaret, born in October 1909, andJohn, born in October 1912. After Mary Louise's death in 1919, he married her younger sister (his former sister-in-law), Violet Agnes Lambert, in 1920. They had one daughter, Daphne, born in January 1922.[11]
Both children from his first marriage both rose to positions of prominence in the civil service. His eldest daughter, Dame Anne Margaret BryansDBE DStJ, worked for the British Red Cross Society and served as vice-chairman of the executive committee from 1964 to 1976, in addition to holding positions in the governorship of many hospitals in the United Kingdom. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, Sir John Gilmour, 3rd Baronet, who also had a successful political career.
His great-nephew,George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, was also a Conservative MP and served as Scottish Secretary from 1979 to 1986.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEast Renfrewshire January 1910–1918 | Succeeded by |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forGlasgow Pollok 1918–1940 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary for Scotland 1924–1926 | Succeeded by Himself as Secretary of State for Scotland |
| Preceded by Himself as Secretary for Scotland | Secretary of State for Scotland 1926–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture 1931–1932 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Home Secretary 1932–1935 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Minister of Shipping 1939–1940 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Rector of the University of Edinburgh 1926–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Baronet (of Lundin) 1920–1940 | Succeeded by |
| Secretaries of state for Scotland 1707–1746 | .svg) | |
|---|---|---|
| Secretaries for Scotland 1885–1926 | ||
| Secretaries of state for Scotland (pre-devolution) 1926–1999 | ||
| Secretaries of state for Scotland (post-devolution) 1999–present | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
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