Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Alexander Steven Bilsland, 1st Baron Bilsland, KT, MC (13 September 1892 – 10 December 1970), known as Sir Steven Bilsland, Bt, between 1921 and 1950, was a Scottish businessman and public servant.

Life

Bilsland was the eldest surviving son of

Sir William Bilsland Sir William Bilsland LLD (17 March 1847 – 27 August 1921) was a Scottish baker who owned one of Scotland's largest bakeries, and was Lord Provost of Glasgow. He was an elder of the United Free Church of Scotland and a supporter of the tem ...

, 1st Baronet, Lord Provost of Glasgow, and his wife, Agnes Anne Steven, daughter of Alexander Steven, of Provanside,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. He was the brother-in-law of Lord Clydesmuir. He was educated at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

. He was head of Bilsland Brothers Ltd, bakers, of Glasgow, founded by his uncle James Bilsland. He was also chairman of the Scottish National Trust Ltd. Bilsland succeeded his father in the baronetcy in 1921.thepeerage.com Alexander Steven Bilsland, 1st and last Baron Bilsland
/ref> In November 1938 he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the newly formed 8th Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (57th Searchlight Regiment) (having previously served as a captain in the old 8th Battalion). In 1950 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Bilsland, of Kinrara in the County of Inverness, in recognition of his "...public services in Scotland". He was further honoured in 1955 when he was made a

Knight of the Thistle A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

. Lord Bilsland married Amy Janet Colville, daughter of David Colville JP, of

Jerviston Jerviston is a country estate on the north-eastern edge of the Scottish town of Motherwell in North Lanarkshire which is now occupied by ''Colville Park Country Club''. The estate was once the location of a small castle (Laird's House) construc ...

House,

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

, in 1922. They had no children. He died in December 1970, aged 78, when the baronetcy and barony became extinct.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilsland, Steven Bilsland, 1st Baron 1892 births 1970 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Knights of the Thistle Recipients of the Military Cross Scottish bankers Barons created by George VI 20th-century Scottish businesspeople