George Mathers, 1st Baron Mathers KT, PC, DL (28 February 1886 – 26 September 1965) was a Scottish trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He served as

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of t ...

from 1944 to 1945 in

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's war-time coalition government and as

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 ...

(Deputy Chief Whip) from 1945 to 1946 in

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

's post-war Labour administration.

Background and education

Mathers was born in

Newtown St Boswells Newtown St Boswells ( sco, Newtoon; gd, Baile Ùr Bhoisil ) is a village in the historic county of Roxburghshire which houses the administrative centre of the Scottish Borders council area. The village lies south of the Eildon Hills on the Spr ...

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

, the son of George Mathers, JP, and Annie, daughter of James Barclay. He was educated at the Newtown St Boswells School.thepeerage.com George Mathers, 1st and last Baron Mathers
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Early working life and trade unionism

From 1899 Mathers served as a clerk with the

North British Railway The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...

. He was active in the trade union and labour movement from 1908, becoming President of the Carlisle Trades Council and Labour Party from 1917 to 1920. He was elected a member of

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

City Council in 1919, before transferring to Edinburgh in 1921.

Political career

Mathers was Chairman of Edinburgh Central

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

and President of the Edinburgh Branch of the Scottish Home Rule Association. He unsuccessfully contested Edinburgh West in 1923 and 1924 before being elected as

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 ...

(MP) for the seat in 1929. He lost his seat in 1931 but was returned for

Linlithgowshire West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Av ...

in 1935. He continued to hold the seat (renamed

West Lothian West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...

in 1950) until he stood down at the 1951 general election. Mathers was

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 ...

(PPS) to the

Under-Secretary of State for India This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the period of British rule between 1858 and 1937 for India(and Burma by extension), and for India and Burma from 193 ...

from July 1929, and transferred to same position with the

Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State. Under-Secretaries of State for the Col ...

in November of that year (

Drummond Shiels Sir Thomas Drummond Shiels MC MB ChB (7 August 1881 – 1 January 1953) was a Scottish Labour politician. Life The son of James Drummond Shiels, photographer, and Agnes Campbell of Edinburgh, he was educated at Edinburgh University wher ...

held both positions). From 1935 to 1945 he was a Scottish Labour Whip. He entered the government under

in October 1944, a post he held until the coalition government was disbanded in May 1945. When Labour came to power under

in July 1945, he was appointed

(Deputy Chief Whip), which he remained until April the following year. He 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 1947 and raised to the peerage as Baron Mathers, of

in the

County of Roxburgh Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berwi ...

, on 30 January 1952, in recognition of his "political and public services". This was the last hereditary peerage created on the recommendation of a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Prime Minister. Mathers was also Lord High Commissioner to the

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray ...

in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1951, and was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1946. In 1956 he was appointed a

Knight of the Thistle 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 ...

Personal life

Lord Mathers married firstly Edith Mary, daughter of William Robinson, in 1916. After her death in June 1938 he married secondly Jessie, daughter of George Graham, in 1940. He died in September 1965, aged 79, when the barony became extinct.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathers, George 1886 births 1965 deaths Councillors in Cumbria Deputy Lieutenants of Edinburgh Knights of the Thistle Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Attlee governments, 1945–1951 Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Scottish Labour MPs Transport Salaried Staffs' Association-sponsored MPs Treasurers of the Household UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs who were granted peerages Barons created by George VI Parliamentary Peace Aims Group