Sir George Aitken Clark Hutchison (6 July 1873 – 22 December 1928) was an advocate mainly remembered in his role as a politician as a Scottish Unionist who served as the

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 o ...

for Midlothian and Peebles Northern from 1922 to 1923, and from 1924 until his death.

Life

The grave of George Hutchison MP, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

Hutchinson was born in Renfrew, the son of Rev. John B. A. Hutchinson (d.1926) of the

United Presbyterian Church of Scotland The United Presbyterian Church (1847–1900) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. It was formed in 1847 by the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, and in 1900 merged with the Free Church of Scotland to form the Uni ...

on Paisley Road in Renfrew. In 1877 the family moved to

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

on the east coast of Scotland where he was minister of the Bonnington United Free Church. George was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, and was called to the Scottish bar in 1896. He first stood for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

at the December 1910 general election in

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

, a

marginal seat A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. The ...

where he lost by 257 votes (3.0%). In 1906 he sold his house, Afton Lodge, to the church and it was demolished to create Holy Cross Academy (a training school for Roman Catholic teachers) then demolished in turn to create Holy Cross RC Primary School. Hutchison moved to a large West End townhouse at 34 Drumsheugh Gardens. He did not stand again until the 1922 general election, when he held the Midlothian and Peebles Northern seat after the sitting Unionist MP had retired. He was defeated at the 1923 general election by the Labour Party candidate Andrew Clarke, but won again at the 1924 general election. He was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in the

1928 Birthday Honours The 1928 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were p ...

, for political and public services, but because of declining health did not stand in the 1929 general election. He died on 22 December 1928 in Edinburgh, aged 55. He is buried in the northern (independent) extension to Dean Cemetery on Queensferry Road. The grave lies on one of the central east–west paths, towards the eastern side.

Family

He was married to Peggie Blair (1876–1960). Their son Ronald Blair Clark Hutchison was a Commander in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. Their sons

Ian Clark Hutchison Sir George Ian Clark Hutchison (4 January 1903 – 2 February 2002) was a Scottish Unionist Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh West from 1941 to 1959. He was the son of George Aitken Clark Hutchison MP and his ...

and Michael Clark Hutchison were also MPs.'' The Herald'', 6 March 2002

References

External links

* 1873 births 1928 deaths Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1924–1929 Knights Bachelor Politics of Midlothian Scottish knights People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh {{Conservative-UK-MP-1870s-stub