Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Greville Wilson, (19 May 1877 – 1 February 1943) was a British soldier, company director, and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician from

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-ea ...

. His family owned Thomas Wilson Sons & Co., which was once the largest private shipowning concern in the world.L. P. Sidney
"Wilson, Charles Henry, first Baron Nunburnholme (1833–1907)"
rev. Arthur G. Credland, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006. Accessed 22 July 2010

Family and military service

Wilson was the second son of Charles Henry Wilson (later the first

Baron Nunburnholme Baron Nunburnholme, of the City of Kingston-upon-Hull, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1906 for the former Liberal Member of Parliament for Hull and Hull West, Charles Wilson. His son, the second Baron, al ...

) and his wife Florence Jane Helen Wellesley. He was educated at Eton, and in February 1895 he was commissioned in the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

as a second lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion of the

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

. He transferred to the Regular

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in the 11th Hussars on 11 May 1898, and served in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

with this regiment during 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 South ...

, during which he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 12 June 1900. He was mentioned in despatches by Lord Kitchener in his final despatch dated 23 June 1902, returned to the United Kingdom in August 1902, and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) in October 1902. He retired from the full-time army service in 1903, but joined the

East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry The East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army formed in 1902. Units of Yeomanry Cavalry were raised in the East Riding of Yorkshire in the 18th and early 19th centuries at times of national emergency: the Jacobite Rising ...

, being commissioned as a captain on 17 December 1904 and promoted to major on 20 December 1912. He later became

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

of the 1st battalion of the regiment on active service during

World War I 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 ...

from 1915 to 1916. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of his former regiment, now the 26th (East Riding of York Yeomanry) Armoured Car Company, Royal Tank Regiment, on 2 January 1932. Wilson was married twice, firstly on 23 June 1904 to Lady Isabel Ines-Ker (1879–1905), daughter of the 7th Duke of Roxburghe. She died in childbirth on 12 October 1905 (the year after their marriage). He married again in May 1911, to Avery Fowell Buxton (born 1889), daughter of Lt.-Col. Geoffrey Fowell Buxton (1852–1929), of Dunston Hall in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, a Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk and a Director of

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

Political career

His father Charles had been a

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 ...

(MP) for over 30 years, and when he retired from the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in 1906 before being awarded a peerage, Charles's older son Charles H. W. Wilson was elected at the 1906 general election to succeed him as MP for Kingston upon Hull West. However, their father died the following year, and Charles Jr. succeeded to his peerage, thereby gaining a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

and automatically vacating his seat in the Commons. At the resulting by-election in November 1907, Guy was elected to succeed him, with a narrow majority of 241 votes (1.5% of the total) over his Conservative Party opponent. He was re-elected at both the January 1910 and December 1910 elections and held the seat until the constituency was abolished at the 1918. He then stood in the new Kingston upon Hull North West constituency, where he was one of 159 Liberal candidates to receive the "

coalition coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

", which signified the endorsement of the Conservative-dominated Coalition Government led by

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 ...

. However, Wilson repudiated the coupon, and was overwhelmingly defeated by the Conservative Party candidate Lambert Ward; Wilson took only 21.0% of the votes. After his defeat in 1918, Wilson did not stand 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 ...

again. He was later made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Guy G 1877 births 1943 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 People educated at Eton College 11th Hussars officers East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Military personnel from Kingston upon Hull Deputy Lieutenants of the East Riding of Yorkshire British businesspeople in shipping Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Politicians from Kingston upon Hull Businesspeople from Kingston upon Hull