Sir Robert Blyth Greig (23 March 1874 – 29 November 1947) was a Scottish agriculturalist. He served as Chairman of the Scottish Board of Agriculture from 1921 to 1928 and was Secretary to the Department of Agriculture for all Great Britain from 1928 to 1934.

Early life

Robert Blyth Greig was born on 23 March 1874 in

Balcurvie Balcurvie is a Scottish rural hamlet located within the Windygates Windygates is a small village and surrounding district in central Fife, Scotland. The district encompasses the following villages, farms and estates; Wellsgreen Farm, Little ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, the son of Helen Ann Martin and George Greig, a farmer.

Education

He studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and began lecturing at

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

in 1903 and continued here until 1910 (being succeeded by John Morrison Caie). During this period he lived at "The Croft" in

Cults In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

, a small village west of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Career

In 1905 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were Sir John Arthur Thomson,

David James Hamilton David James Hamilton FRS FRSE FRCSE (6 March 1849 – 19 February 1909) was a Scottish pathologist, known for his work on the diseases of sheep. Life Born on 6 March 1849 in Falkirk, he was third child and second son of the nine children of ...

Robert Patrick Wright Sir Robert Patrick Wright (1857–1938) was a Scottish farmer and agriculturalist. He was Chairman of the Scottish Board of Agriculture and was knighted by King George V on 6 July 1911. Life He was born on 12 February 1857 the son of Rober ...

and Douglas Alston Gilchrist. He served as Vice President of the Society from 1924 to 1927. He served as a Commissioner on the Scottish Board of Agriculture from 1912. In 1921 he succeeded Sir Robert Wright as Chairman. In 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 ...

he served as a Staff Captain in the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

and saw action in France in 1916 and 1917, being awarded an MC in the 1917 New Year Honours. He was created a Knight Bachelor in 1919. He received honorary doctorates from

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

(LLD) and South Africa (DSc). In 1937 he was appointed a Director of the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

Company. He was also a Director of the

Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway The Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway (DNGR, DN&GR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. It was conceived in the 1860s to provide a link between the towns in its title and the London and North Western Railway port at Greenore, from ...

Company, and the Scottish Motor Traction Company. In later life, he lived at "The Shaws" (10) Barton Avenue West in western

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. The house is a large detached

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

villa set in substantial gardens, and is now a category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Death

Greig died on 29 November 1947, aged 73.

Recognition

A photographic portrait of Greig by

Alexander Bassano Alexander Bassano (10 May 1829 – 21 October 1913) was an English photographer who was a leading royal and high society portrait photographer in Victorian London. He is known for his photo of the Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Earl Kit ...

is held by the National Portrait Gallery in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Family

In 1903, he married Alice Maud Hunter. They had four children: George Marcus Greig (b.1904); Marion Greig (b.1906); and Robert Coventry Greig (b.1909) and John Martin Greig (b.1920)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greig, Robert Blyth 1874 births 1947 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Recipients of the Military Cross Scottish agriculturalists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from Fife Knights Bachelor