William John St Clair Anstruther-Gray, Baron Kilmany, MC PC (5 March 1905 – 6 August 1985) was a Scottish Unionist Party politician.

Background

The only son of Col William Anstruther-Gray of Kilmany and Clayre Jessie Tennant, he was born in

Cupar Cupar ( ; ) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the ...

, Fife, Scotland, and was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

Military service

He served as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

from 1926 to 1930, and with the

Shanghai Defence Force The Shanghai Defence Force was a tri-service military formation established by the British Government to protect European nationals and their property in Shanghai from Chinese nationalist forces during a period of tension in 1927. History Following ...

in 1927–28. In September 1939, he rejoined the

and served in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

with Coldstream Guards and Lothians and Border Horse. He was promoted to the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 1942. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in 1943.

Political career

He was elected as Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) for

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...

, in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, in 1931, holding the seat until 1945. Until September 1939, he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...

, and to

Secretary for Overseas Trade The Secretary for Overseas Trade was a junior Ministerial position in the United Kingdom government from 1917 until 1953, subordinate to the President of the Board of Trade. The office was replaced by the Minister of State for Trade on 3 Septem ...

, and latterly to Sir John Colville,

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

. He served as

Assistant Postmaster-General The Assistant Postmaster General is a defunct junior ministerial position in the United Kingdom Government. The title of Postmaster General of the United Kingdom, Postmaster General was abolished under the Post Office Act 1969. A new public authori ...

from May–July 1945. He contested

Berwick and East Lothian Berwick and East Lothian was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post system. History The constituency was created in 1950 and abo ...

in February 1950, and was elected for the seat in 1951, holding it until 1966. He was Chairman of Ways and Means and

Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, the lower house and primary chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, was ...

from 1962 to 1964 (having been Deputy Chairman from 1959 to 1962). He was Chairman of the

1922 Committee The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, or sometimes simply the 22, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party in the British House of Commons of the United Kingdom, H ...

from 1964 to 1966. He was appointed Deputy lieutenant of

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

in 1953, and Lord Lieutenant of Fife from 1975 to 1980. He was also the Crown nominee for Scotland on the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

from 1952 to 1965. He 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 14th ...

in 1956, appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in the 1962 Birthday Honours. On his defeat in the 1966 election, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Kilmany, of Kilmany in the County of

Family

In 1934, Anstruther-Gray married Monica Helen Lambton, only child of Geoffrey Lambton, second son of Frederick Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham. They had two children. On 22 July 1985, Anstruther-Gray collapsed in the Lords chamber, and died in

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...

on 6 August, aged 80.

References

External links

*
British Army Officers 1939–1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anstruther-Gray, William 1905 births 1985 deaths Nobility from Fife Military personnel from Fife Anglo-Scots Chairmen of the 1922 Committee Coldstream Guards officers Recipients of the Military Cross British Army personnel of World War II Kilmany, William Anstruther-Gray, Baron Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Lord-lieutenants of Fife Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 Kilmany Lothians and Border Horse officers Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Scottish Conservative MPs Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Life peers created by Elizabeth II