J. C. C. Davidson, 1st Viscount Davidson
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John Colin Campbell Davidson, 1st Viscount Davidson, (23 February 1889 – 11 December 1970), known before his elevation to the peerage as J. C. C. Davidson, was a British civil servant and
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
politician, best known for his close alliance with
Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...
. Initially a civil servant, Davidson was private secretary to
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 ...
between 1915 and 1920. After entering parliament in 1920, he served under Baldwin as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between 1923 and 1924 and as Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty between 1924 and 1926. From 1926 to 1930 he was Chairman of the Conservative Party. He was once again Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between 1931 and 1937, firstly under
Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...
and from 1935 onwards under Baldwin. On Baldwin's retirement in 1937, Davidson left the House of Commons and was ennobled as Viscount Davidson. Despite being only 48, he never took any further active part in politics. His wife Frances, Viscountess Davidson, succeeded him as MP for Hemel Hempstead. Lord Davidson died in London in 1970.


Background and education

Davidson was born at Aberdeen, the younger child and only son of Sir James Mackenzie Davidson, a physician and pioneer of X-rays, by Georgina Barbara Watt Henderson, daughter of William Henderson, of Aberdeen. His grandfather John Davidson had accumulated a large fortune in Argentina, of which Davidson inherited a half. He was educated at Fretherne House preparatory school, Westminster and
Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...
, and was
called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
, Middle Temple, in 1913.William, E. T.; Nicholls, C. S. (editors). ''The Dictionary of National Biography, 1961–1970''. Oxford University Press, 1981.


Civil service career, 1910–1920

After leaving Cambridge in 1910, Davidson joined the Colonial Office, where he became unpaid private secretary to Lord Crewe, the
Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...
. He continued in this post when Lewis Harcourt succeeded Crewe as Colonial secretary at the end of 1910. Davidson was anxious to serve in the First World War, but Harcourt considered him so valuable that he managed to convince him to stay at the Colonial Office. In 1915
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 ...
replaced Harcourt as head of the Colonial Office, and was urged to retain Davidson as private secretary. They became close friends and Law came to rely as heavily on Davidson as Harcourt had done. In December 1916 Bonar Law was appointed
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
and Leader of the House of Commons and insisted on taking Davidson with him as private secretary. Davidson managed to persuade Bonar Law to employ
Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...
as his
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 ...
, a move that would have far-reaching consequences for Davidson himself and for the nation's history. Baldwin had up until then been an obscure back-bench MP, but his appointment as PPS to Bonar Law was his first move on the ladder of promotion. Davidson and Baldwin developed a close friendship which lasted until Baldwin's death in 1947. In 1918 he was responsible for the final draft of the " coupon" endorsing parliamentary candidates in the
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
as representatives of the coalition government. In 1919 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).


Political career, 1920–1937

Davidson entered parliament unopposed for Hemel Hempstead in 1920 by-election and became
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 Bonar Law, then Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons. The latter resigned on the grounds of ill health in May 1921, when Davidson became PPS to Stanley Baldwin, who by then had become
President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. This is a committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centu ...
. The following year he urged Bonar Law to return and accept the leadership of the Conservative Party if the party voted against continuing the
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
headed by David Lloyd George. Despite the wishes of the party leadership, a majority of MP's voted against continuing the coalition at the Carlton Club meeting in October 1922. Austen Chamberlain resigned as party leader and was succeeded by
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 ...
. Shortly afterwards Bonar Law was asked to form a government and once again appointed Davidson as his Parliamentary Private Secretary and unofficial unpaid private secretary. Bonar Law resigned in May 1923 after his health collapsed. Davidson was made a
Companion of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...
the same month. Stanley Baldwin was chosen to succeed Bonar Law as Prime Minister over the claims of Lord Curzon. In his biography of Davidson in the ''
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Robert Blake writes that Davidson's role in the appointment of Baldwin remains a puzzle.
Lord Stamfordham Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham, (18 June 1849 – 31 March 1931) was a British Army officer and courtier. He was Private Secretary to Queen Victoria during the last few years of her reign, and to George V during mos ...
, George V's private secretary, sounded out Davidson on Bonar Law's wishes for his successor. Bonar Law, now gravely ill, asked not to be involved, but it was apparent that he favoured Baldwin although he could not overlook the claims of party grandee, Curzon. In 1954, a memorandum was found in the
Royal Archives The Royal Archives, also known as the King's Archives, is a division of The Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It is operationally under the control of the Keeper of the Royal Archives, who is customarily the Private Secre ...
that had obviously been dictated by Davidson and clearly argued for the claims of Baldwin over Curzon. The note had been handed over to Stamfordham by Sir Ronald Waterhouse, another of Bonar Law's secretaries, at the same time as his official resignation as Prime Minister. Stamfordham had noted on the memorandum that it "practically expressed the views of Mr. Bonar Law". According to Blake, there was nothing in the memorandum to substantiate that claim. Davidson subsequently said that he had dictated the note after being asked by Stamfordham about the opinion of back-bench MP's. However, Blake argued, "In any case, the result aldwin as Bonar Law's successorwas affected only marginally. The King's decision was firmly based on his own good sense and the powerful arguments of
Balfour Balfour may refer to: People Earls of Balfour * Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848–1930), British Conservative politician, Prime Minister of the UK (1902-1905), made the public statement of Balfour Declaration * Gerald Balfour, 2n ...
against the choice of a
peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a net ...
as prime minister". After the appointment of Baldwin as prime minister, Davidson entered the government as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and effectively continued as the prime minister's private secretary. However, he lost his seat in parliament at the general election of December 1923, but regained it already in the general election in October the following year. Baldwin once again formed an administration after the brief first-ever 1924 Labour government, and made Davidson Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty. In this post he was forced to deal with cuts in naval expenditure proposed by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
,
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 ...
, especially regarding the construction of new cruisers. He served as deputy chief civil commissioner during the
general strike of 1926 The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British governmen ...
, with responsibility for publicity. He also managed the short-lived ''
British Gazette The ''British Gazette'' was a short-lived British state newspaper published by the government during the General Strike of 1926. One of the first groups of workers called out by the Trades Union Congress when the general strike began on 3 May ...
'' during the strike and arranged for the broadcasting of official bulletins. In 1926 Davidson left the government to take up the post of Chairman of the Conservative Party, which he remained until 1930. He was primarily charged with raising cash for the party and cleaning up the honours system, which had fallen into disrepute following informal cash-for-honours system instigated by Lloyd George in 1918. He was also the driving force behind the establishment of
Ashridge Ashridge is a country estate and stately home in Hertfordshire, England in the United Kingdom. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about north of Berkhamsted and north west of London. The estate com ...
in memory of Bonar Law. In 1928 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 ...
. According to Blake, Davidson "left a lasting imprint on the organization of the party, including the creation of the Research Department, and many of the changes attributed to his successor,
Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...
, were in fact his". However, Davidson came under criticism after the defeat at the 1929 general election and resigned in 1930. In November 1931 Davidson was once again appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the National Government headed by
Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...
. He was chairman of the Indian States inquiry committee and travelled to India in 1932 and was made a member of the joint select committee whose proposals resulted in the
Government of India Act 1935 The Government of India Act, 1935 was an Act adapted from the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It originally received royal assent in August 1935. It was the longest Act of (British) Parliament ever enacted until the Greater London Authority ...
. He declined the governorship of Bombay. He invited Joachim von Ribbentrop to meet with Stanley Baldwin for the first time in Westminster to discuss Hitler's ideas about equality in armaments. He remained Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when Baldwin became Prime Minister for the third time in 1935, although he was never a member of the cabinet. The latter year he was also made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO). He stepped from the government and the House of Commons after
Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...
became Prime Minister in May 1937. The following June he was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Davidson, of Little Gaddesden in the County of Hertford. He was succeeded as MP by his wife, Frances, Viscountess Davidson (see below).


Later career, 1937–1970

Despite being only 48 at the time of his elevation to the peerage, Davidson took no further active part in political life. He remained involved with Ashridge and his business affairs. During the Second World War he was with the Ministry of Information between 1940 and 1941 and made an official tour of South America in 1942. This was followed in 1943 with his foundation of Canning House, an important centre for Latin American culture and education. Blake writes of Davidson: "A man of much charm and geniality, bespectacled and ruddy complexioned, Davidson could be very tough. He was essentially one who operated behind the scenes rather than on the front of the stage. A streak of Scottish puritanism put him emphatically on the side of the 'respectable'. He had no sympathy with the buccaneers –
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 (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...
,
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 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
, Birkenhead, Beaverbrook. He was deeply devoted to Baldwin who owed a great debt to his advice, companionship, and support."


Family

Lord Davidson married Frances Joan "Mimi" Dickinson, daughter of
Sir Willoughby Dickinson ''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 ...
, later Lord Dickinson of Painswick, in 1919. They had two sons and two daughters (Margaret, Jean, Andrew and Malcolm). Lady Davidson remained MP for Hemel Hempstead until 1959, and was created a life peer as Baroness Northchurch in 1963. Lord and Lady Davidson thereby became one of the few couples who both held titles in their own right. Lord Davidson died in London in December 1970, aged 81, and was succeeded by his eldest son Andrew, 2nd Viscount Davidson, who also became a Conservative government minister. Andrew died in 2012 and the title passed to his brother Malcolm, 3rd Viscount Davidson. The Viscountess Davidson died in November 1985, aged 91. Their second daughter Jean Elizabeth married the Hon. Charles Strutt, son of Lord Rayleigh, and have three children, the youngest of whom is John Gerald Strutt, 6th Baron Rayleigh, and the eldest sits in the House of Lords as
Baroness Jenkin of Kennington Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...
.


Arms


References


External links

*
Portrait of J. C. C. Davidson, 1st Viscount Davidson, at the National Portrait Gallery.

Parliamentary Archives, Papers of John Campbell Davidson MP, 1889-1970
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, J. C. C. Davidson, 1st Viscount 1889 births 1970 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs who were granted peerages People educated at Westminster School, London Spouses of life peers Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Chairmen of the Conservative Party (UK) Viscounts created by George VI