George Abraham Gibbs, 1st Baron Wraxall, (6 July 1873 – 28 October 1931) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician.

Early life

Educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, Gibbs was the eldest of the seven sons of Major Antony Gibbs and Janet Louisa Merivale, daughter of John Louis Merivale. His grandfather, William Gibbs, was the younger brother of George Henry Gibbs, the father of

Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham MA BA FGS FSA (31 August 1819 – 13 September 1907) was a British banker, businessman and Conservative Party politician. Life Aldenham was the son of George Henry Gibbs, whose father Antony Gibbs was a ...

, while his great-grandfather, Antony Gibbs, was the founder of the firm

Antony Gibbs & Sons Antony Gibbs & Sons was a British trading company, established in London in 1802, whose interests spanned trading in cloth, guano, wine and fruit, and led to it becoming involved in banking, shipping and insurance. Having been family-owned via a ...

, bankers and merchants.

Military career

Gibbs was appointed a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...

regiment the

North Somerset Yeomanry The North Somerset Yeomanry was a part-time cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1798 to 1967. It maintained order in Somerset in the days before organised police forces, and supplied volunteers to fight in the Second Boer War. It served on ...

on 25 September 1895. Following the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

in late 1899 he volunteered for active service, and on 28 February 1900 was appointed a lieutenant in the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

, where he served in the 48th (North Somerset) Company in the 7th Battalion. He was later colonel of the North Somerset Yeomanry, and was appointed deputy lieutenant of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

in 1911.

Political career

In 1906, Gibbs was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Bristol West (succeeding Sir Michael Hicks-Beach), a seat he would hold until 1928. He served as

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

to the Colonial Secretary

Walter Long, 1st Viscount Long Walter Hume Long, 1st Viscount Long, (13 July 1854 – 26 September 1924), was a British Unionist politician. In a political career spanning over 40 years, he held office as President of the Board of Agriculture, President of the Local Govern ...

(his father-in-law), and as a government whip from 1917 to 1921 in the coalition ministry of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

. In 1921, he was appointed

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons. The current holder of the office is Ma ...

, a post he continued to hold also under

Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law ( ; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a ...

and Baldwin until 1924 and again from 1924 to 1928. Gibbs was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1923, and in 1928 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Wraxall, of Clyst St George, in the County of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

Family

Lord Wraxall married firstly Victoria Florence de Burgh Long, daughter of

. They had three children, one daughter and two sons. Both of the sons died as infants. After his first wife's death in 1920, Lord Wraxall married secondly, Hon. Ursula Mary Lawley, daughter of

Sir Arthur Lawley ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

(later the 6th Baron Wenlock). They had two sons, successively the 2nd and 3rd Barons Wraxall. Lord Wraxall died from pneumonia in October 1931, aged 58. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son from his second marriage,

Richard Gibbs, 2nd Baron Wraxall George Richard Lawley Gibbs, 2nd Baron Wraxall (16 May 1928 – 19 July 2001), who used the forename Richard, was a British peer. Early life and background Gibbs succeeded his father, George Gibbs, 1st Baron Wraxall, in the barony on 28 October 19 ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wraxall, George Gibbs, 1st Baron 1873 births 1931 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Gibbs, George Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Treasurers of the Household Gibbs, George Gibbs, George Gibbs, George Gibbs, George Gibbs, George Gibbs, George Gibbs, George UK MPs who were granted peerages Deputy Lieutenants of Somerset Deaths from pneumonia in the United Kingdom Imperial Yeomanry officers North Somerset Yeomanry officers

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...