George Lawson Johnston, 1st Baron Luke, KBE (9 September 1873 – 23 February 1943), was a British businessman.

Early life and education

Luke was the second son of

John Lawson Johnston John Lawson Johnston (1839– 24 November 1900) was a Scottish entrepreneur and the creator of Bovril. He was born in 29 Main Street, Roslin, Midlothian. A memorial plaque is on the property and can be seen above the door. The plaque was put th ...

, a butcher who became a beef stock manufacturer and the founder of Bovril Ltd and Elizabeth, daughter of George Lawson, biscuit manufacturer of Edinburgh. He was educated privately in Canada, at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

and at Blairlodge School, Polmont (a former Scottish private school).

Career

Johnston worked in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Africa and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and thereby developed expertise in trade and raw materials. He returned from Argentina in 1896 and joined the board of Bovril Ltd, of which he became vice-chairman in 1900 when his father died. He was a Director of the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' from its foundation in 1900 to 1917, and was also a director of

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...

. 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 ...

he was a member of the leather control board and Chairman of Committees in the Raw Materials Department at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

. Apart from his business career, Johnston was also a member of the

Bedfordshire County Council Bedfordshire County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Bedfordshire in England. It was established on 24 January 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 2009. The county council was based in Bedford. In 1997 Luton Borough ...

and served as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and was

High Sheriff of Bedfordshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Bedfordshire. Pre-Conquest pre-1042: Aelfstan 1042-1066; Godric, Ralph Talgebose Bondi the staller 1066–1125 *1066-c.1084: Ansculf de Picquigny * Ralph Taillebois *c. 1080 Hugh de Beauchamp *1124 Rich ...

in 1924. He was particularly noted for his work for hospitals, being honorary Treasurer of the Royal Northern Hospital from 1909 to 1923, chairman of the organizing committee of the Hospitals of London combined appeal in 1922, Honorary Secretary of King Edward's Hospital fund for London, Chairman of the British Charities Association, Treasurer of the County of London Red Cross, and Hon Secretary of the

League of Mercy The League of Mercy was a British foundation established in 1899 by royal charter of Queen Victoria. The goal of the organisation was to recruit a large number of volunteers to aid the sick and suffering at charity hospitals. It was disbanded a ...

In the

1929 Dissolution Honours The 1929 Dissolution Honours List was issued on 28 June 1929 at the advice of the outgoing Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin. Earldom * Rt Hon William Peel, 2nd Viscount Peel, GBE Viscountcy * Rt Hon Sir William Joynson-Hicks, Bt, MP Baronies ...

, Johnston was raised to the peerage as Baron Luke, of

Pavenham Pavenham is a small village and civil parish on the River Great Ouse in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, about north-west of Bedford. Village amenities consist of St Peter's Church, a pub, Village hall, tennis Club, Cricket Clu ...

in the County of Bedford. He chose his title partly because St Luke was the patron of hospitals, and partly from the parish of St Luke, Old Street EC1 with which he had a long association. He later served as

Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire. Since 1711, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Bedfordshire. *William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1549–1551 * Oliver St John, 1st Baron St ...

between 1936 and 1943.

Death

Lord Luke died in February 1943, aged 69, and was succeeded in the barony by his son

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

Personal life

Lawson Johnston married at

Melchbourne Melchbourne is a small village located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. The village is located west of Swineshead, Bedfordshire, Swineshead and east of Yielden. Melchbourne forms part of the Melchbourne and Yielden civil par ...

on 4 December 1902 Edith Laura St John (1879–1941), daughter of

Beauchamp Mowbray St John, 17th Baron St John of Bletso Beauchamp Moubray St John, 17th Baron St John of Bletso (4 December 1844 – 10 May 1912) was an English peer. St John was born at Melchbourne, the second son of St Andrew St John, 15th Baron St John of Bletso and his wife Eleanor Hussey. He serv ...

. She was a County Commissioner for the Girl Guides in Bedfordshire, and vice-chairman of the City of London Pensions Sub-Committee. They had two sons and four daughters. His daughter Margaret married

James Pitman Sir Isaac James Pitman (known as James), KBE (14 August 1901 – 1 September 1985) was a distinguished publisher, senior civil servant, prominent educationalist, and leading politician, whose lifetime pursuit was the study of etymology, o ...

. His second son Hugh was married to Audrey (Pearl) Lawson-Johnston, the last survivor of the sinking of the RMS ''Lusitania'' in 1915.

Arms

References

Sources

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luke, George Lawson Johnston, 1st Baron 1873 births 1943 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom High Sheriffs of Bedfordshire Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Lord-Lieutenants of Bedfordshire People educated at Dulwich College Councillors in Bedfordshire Barons created by George V British expatriates in Canada British expatriates in Australia British expatriates in Argentina Businesspeople from Edinburgh Anglo-Scots