Lord and Lady Airedale at the coronation of King George V, 1911

Albert Ernest Kitson, 2nd Baron Airedale (7 October 1863 – 11 March 1944) was a

British peer The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term '' peerage'' can be used both coll ...

. He was ''inter alia'' a director of

Midland Bank Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It ...

Family

Kitson was the son of James Kitson, an iron and steel manufacturer in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. He was educated at

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he gained a BA, before following his father into the family business. On 23 January 1890, at

Mill Hill Chapel Mill Hill Chapel is a Unitarian church in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians. The building, which stands in the centr ...

in Leeds, Kitson married Florence Schunck (1868–1942), the daughter of Edward, Baron von Schunck and his wife Kate Lupton. The Kitsons had seven daughters. Kitson's father was elevated to the peerage in 1907. Albert Kitson succeeded to the titles of 2nd

Baron Airedale Baron Airedale, of Gledhow in the West Riding of the County of York, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 17 July 1907 for the Liberal politician Sir James Kitson, 1st Baronet, who had previously represented Col ...

Gledhow Gledhow is a suburb of north east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, east of Chapel Allerton and west of Roundhay. It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Etymology The name ''Gledhow'' ...

and 2nd Baronet Kitson on his father's death on 16 March 1911. As

peers of the realm A peer of the realm is a member of the highest aristocratic social order outside the ruling dynasty of the kingdom. Notable examples are: * a member of the peerages in the United Kingdom, who is a hereditary peer or a life peer * a member of the ...

, the Kitsons were invited to the coronation of George V at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

on 22 June 1911.

Career, politics and interests

Kitson was a director of

. He was president of the Yorkshire and Leeds Liberal Federations. Prime Minister

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

was his guest at

Gledhow Hall Gledhow Hall is an English country house in Gledhow, Leeds, West Yorkshire. A house, built in the 17th-century by John Thwaites, was remodelled for a new owner by the Yorkshire architect John Carr. It is a Grade II* listed building and has bee ...

in November 1913. Kitson was chairman of the finance committee and hon vice-president of the

Iron and Steel Institute The Iron and Steel Institute was an English association organized by the iron trade of the north of England. Its object was the discussion of practical and scientific questions connected with the manufacture of iron and steel. History The first mee ...

. Like his father, Lord Airedale was a music-lover and supported the Leeds Triennial Musical Festival; in 1922, Kitson and his sister Hilda, were

guarantors In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pa ...

of the festival. He owned one the country's finest collections of Leeds pottery. When the Prime Minister's wife,

Margaret Lloyd George Dame Margaret Lloyd George (; 4 November 1864 – 20 January 1941) was a Welsh humanitarian and one of the first seven women magistrates appointed in Britain in 1919. She was the wife of Prime Minister David Lloyd George from 1888 until her deat ...

, visited Leeds in December 1920 for a reception for women supporters of the

Liberal Coalition Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sex-positive feminism, Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Art ...

, she stayed at Gledhow Hall.

Gledhow Hall

Kitson inherited

in 1911. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he offered the hall for use as a Voluntary Aid Detachment hospital. The hospital was managed by the Headingley Company of the St John Ambulance

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

(VAD). On 22 May 1915, 50 patients were moved to the hall from the 2nd Northern General Hospital at Becketts Park. Kitson's cousin,

Edith Cliff Edith Cliff, OBE, (1871–1962) was the Commandant of Gledhow Hall Military Hospital in Gledhow, Leeds, Yorkshire, England from its opening in 1915, throughout the First World War until it closed 1919. Edith Maud Cliff, daughter of William Dewh ...

, was the

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

and his daughter Doris and her cousin Olive Middleton were VAD nurses. Kitson's family maintained an interest in nursing after the Great War. The Kitson's London home, 3

Cadogan Square Cadogan Square () is a residential square in Knightsbridge, London, that was named after Earl Cadogan. Whilst it is mainly a residential area, some of the properties are used for diplomatic and educational purposes (notably Hill House School) ...

, was damaged by a bomb during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and they moved to Stansted in Essex.

Death

Albert Kitson died on 11 March 1944 at Stansted and the barony was inherited by his younger brother

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

. His wife had died on 8 July 1942.

Family

Career, politics and interests

Gledhow Hall

Death

Arms

References

Further reading