Sir John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet, (11 February 1912 – 13 June 1992) was a British Conservative Party politician.

Early life and education

Arbuthnot was born in

Kittybrewster Kittybrewster ( gd, Cuidhe Briste) is an area within Aberdeen, Scotland, north of the city centre and roughly south-west of Old Aberdeen. Transport Within the area the A9012 road joins the A978 road; there are also several railway tracks, on ...

, the son of Major Kenneth Wyndham Arbuthnot, who was the son of

William Reierson Arbuthnot William Reierson Arbuthnot (28 January 1826 – 31 May 1913) was a British businessman and legislator primarily operating in Madras. Early life William Reierson Arbuthnot was born at 14 Upper Wimpole Street, London, on 28 January 1826 to George ...

and Janet Elspeth Sinclair Wemyss. Kenneth had served with the Seaforth Highlanders since 1893, fighting in the

Chitral Expedition The Chitral Expedition (Urdu:چترال فوجی مہم) was a military expedition in 1895 sent by the British authorities to relieve the fort at Chitral, which was under siege after a local coup following the death of the old ruler. An interv ...

in 1895, in the Mahdist War in the Sudan in 1898 (including the

Battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief ( sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert Kitchener and a Sudanese army of the ...

), and 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 South ...

from 1900 to 1902. He was brigade major of the Gordon Infantry Brigade when his son was born, but was killed in action in the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pr ...

in 1915. John Arbuthnot was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in 1933. He received his MA in 1938. He worked in the tea industry and was a Director of Folkestone and Dover Water Company and other companies.

Military service

Arbuthnot served in

World War II 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 opposing ...

in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, rising to the rank of Major. In 1940, he was seconded to work with explosives and was appointed MBE for his scientific work in 1944. He received the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

(TD) in 1951.

Political career

Arbuthnot stood for election in Don Valley in 1935 and Dover in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

, losing to Labour candidates both times. He was elected as the

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 o ...

(MP) for Dover in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

, serving until

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary for the Minister of Pensions from 1952 to 1955 and for the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 1956 to 1957. He was member of the Public Accounts Committee from 1955 to 1964. He also served as

Second Church Estates Commissioner The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

, the spokesman for the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, and as a Deputy Speaker.

Honours

On 26 February 1964, Arbuthnot was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

, of Kittybrewster in the County of the City 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 ...

Family

Arbuthnot married (Margaret) Jean Duff, daughter of Alexander Gordon Duff on 3 July 1943. They had five children, two sons and three daughters. *Elizabeth Mary Arbuthnot (born 1947) *

Sir William Reierson Arbuthnot, 2nd Baronet Two baronetcies with the surname Arbuthnot have been created for members of the Arbuthnot family—both in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom, and still extant. Arbuthnot baronets of Edinburgh (1823) The Arbuthnot Baronetcy of Edinburgh was cre ...

(1950–2021) *

Rt Hon ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

James Norwich Arbuthnot, Baron Arbuthnot of Edrom (

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...

) (born 1952) *Louise Victoria Arbuthnot (born 1954), married David Bernard Lancaster, son of Major Bernard Thomas Lancaster on 16 June 1984 *Alison Jane Arbuthnot (born 1957)

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arbuthnot, Sir John, 1st Baronet 1912 births 1992 deaths Military personnel from Aberdeen Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II Members of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Dover Church Estates Commissioners