Sir John Hamilton Wedgwood, 2nd Baronet, (16 November 1907 – 8 December 1989) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

politician and industrialist.

Biography

Born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, Wedgwood was the son of

Sir Ralph Wedgwood, 1st Baronet Sir Ralph Lewis Wedgwood, 1st Baronet, (; 2 March 1874 – 5 September 1956) was the Chief Officer of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) for 16 years from its inauguration in 1923. He was chairman of the wartime Railway Executive Commit ...

and his wife

Iris Veronica Pawson Iris Veronica, Lady Wedgwood, (née Pawson; 1887 – 17 February 1982) was a British author of novels and non-fiction works on the topography and history of England. Life Iris Wedgwood was the daughter of Albert Henry Pawson (1850–1935) of Fa ...

, daughter of Albert Henry Pawson. His younger sister was the historian

C.V. Wedgwood Dame Cicely Veronica Wedgwood, (20 July 1910 – 9 March 1997) was an English historian who published under the name C. V. Wedgwood. Specializing in the history of 17th-century England and continental Europe, her biographies and narrative hist ...

. Sir John was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

, at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, where he learnt several languages. He married his second cousin Diane Mildred Hawkshaw (1908−1976), granddaughter of

William Forsyth QC William Forsyth QC (25 October 1812 – 26 December 1899) was a Scottish lawyer and Conservative Member of Parliament (MP). Early life and education He was born at Greenock in Renfrewshire, son of merchant Thomas Forsyth, of Birkenhead, and ...

, on 6 April 1933. They had five children. * Sir Hugo Martin Wedgwood, 3rd Baronet * John Julian Wedgwood (born 17 June 1936) * Oliver Ralph Wedgwood (born 27 April 1940) * Germaine Olivia Wedgwood (born 5 May 1944) * Adrian Charles Hamilton Wedgwood (10 June 1948 − 9 June 1974) He joined the family pottery firm in 1931 and was appointed Deputy Chairman in 1955. He worked as a travelling salesman and representative of the firm, a role which took him across the globe. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served as a

Military Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

Staff Officer in the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In 1948 he rejoined the Territorial Army and became the 2nd in command of the

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battali ...

. On 30 April 1982, after the death of his first wife, he remarried

Pamela Tudor-Craig Dr Pamela Tudor-Craig, Lady Wedgwood FSA (née Wynn-Reeves; 26 June 1928 – 5 December 2017) was a British medieval art historian. Personal life Pamela Wynn-Reeves was born on 26 June 1928 in Golders Green, London. Her parents were Herbert W ...

, a medieval art historian. His uncle

Josiah Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood Colonel Josiah Clement Wedgwood, 1st Baron Wedgwood, (16 March 1872 – 26 July 1943), sometimes referred to as Josiah Wedgwood IV, was a British Liberal and Labour politician who served in government under Ramsay MacDonald. He was a promine ...

had been a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and

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 ...

politician and cabinet minister. John Wedgwood stood for the Liberals at the 1945 election at

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, but was not elected.The Times House of Commons, 1945 He then deserted the Liberals to become the Conservative Party's candidate for

Leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

, but was not elected there either. He did however serve as

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

for

Stone, Staffordshire Stone is a canal town and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, north of Stafford, south of Stoke-on-Trent and north of Rugeley. It was an urban district council and a rural district council before becoming part of the Stafford (borough), ...

. Wedgwood had a love for

outdoor pursuits Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

, particularly

cave diving Cave-diving is underwater diving in water-filled caves. It may be done as an extreme sport, a way of exploring flooded caves for scientific investigation, or for the search for and recovery of divers or, as in the 2018 Thai cave rescue, other ...

and

mountain climbing Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

. He was a life vice-president of the

British Sub Aqua Club The British Sub-Aqua Club or BSAC has been recognised since 1954 by UK Sport as the national governing body of recreational diving in the United Kingdom. The club was founded in 1953 and at its peak in the mid-1990s had over 50,000 members dec ...

. He inherited the Wedgwood Baronetcy on the death of his father on 5 September 1956. On his own death in 1989 the baronetcy passed to his son

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

References

External links

Canadian Trade—Handle With Care
an address by Sir John Wedgwood to

The Empire Club of Canada The Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for many thousands of different speakers. Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and in ...

, 2 April 1959
The Economic Consequences of General de Gaulle
an address by Sir John Wedgwood to

, 27 February 1964. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wedgwood, John Hamilton, Sir, 2nd Baronet 1907 births 1989 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Army personnel of World War II English mountain climbers English underwater divers North Staffordshire Regiment officers People educated at Winchester College Politicians from Newcastle upon Tyne Businesspeople from Newcastle upon Tyne Place of death missing Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates