Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

James Archibald Morrison DSO (18 September 1873 – 27 October 1934) was a British

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. Morrison was the son of

Alfred Morrison Alfred Morrison (1821 – 22 December 1897) was an English collector, known for his interest in works of art, autographs and manuscripts. Life The second son of James Morrison (1790–1857) the textile businessman, he inherited from his father a ...

, of

Fonthill House Fonthill Gifford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, to the north of the Nadder valley, west of Salisbury. History The name of the village and parish derives from the Giffard family, landowners, beginning with Berenger Giff ...

, and the grandson of James Morrison. Hugh Morrison was his elder brother and Lord Margadale his nephew. A rower and expert shot, Morrison became a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 4th (Eton Volunteer) Battalion, Oxfordshire Light Infantry on 12 December 1891, and transferred to the 4th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps on 15 May 1895. He transferred to the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

on 5 February 1895, and subsequently fought in 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 Sout ...

. He was 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 Wilton division of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

at an unopposed by-election in July 1900. He was re-elected at the 1900 general election, but at the 1906 election he lost his seat to the

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 ...

candidate. In 1910, he inherited

Basildon Park Basildon Park is a country house situated 2 miles (3 kilometres) south of Goring-on-Thames and Streatley in Berkshire, between the villages of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon. It is owned by the National Trust and is a Grade I listed buildin ...

from his uncle Charles (son of James Morrison), and was elected MP for

Nottingham East Nottingham East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Nadia Whittome of the Labour Party. Members of Parliament Constituency profile On average earners' incomes are slightly lower than the ...

. He resigned the seat in 1912 by the procedural device of accepting the post of

Steward of the Manor of Northstead The office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead functions as a procedural device to allow a member of Parliament (MP) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. As members of the House of Commons are forbidden ...

. In 1912 he was named as the co-respondent in a divorce case between Helena Woodley Morand and her husband, the actor M. R. Morand. Both Helena Morand and Morrison denied adultery but the case was found proved and M. R. Morand was awarded £5,500 in agreed damages against Captain Morrison.England & Wales, Civil Divorce Records, 1858-1918 for Marcellus Raymond Morand, 1912: Ancestry.com
/ref> Morrison made major improvements to the Basildon estate, building new cottages and pumping stations to supply it with water. When the

First World War 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 ...

broke out, he returned to the Grenadier Guards.

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...

served as a

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 sub ...

under his command. Badly wounded at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

, he was invalided out of the Army and turned over Basildon Park for use as a Guards' convalescent home. He was awarded the DSO in 1916. Morrison sold off the Basildon estate to Sir Edward Iliffe in 1929 and died in 1934.

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* 1873 births 1934 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Grenadier Guards officers People educated at Eton College UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 People from Basildon, Berkshire Volunteer Force officers in Middlesex units Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

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