Lieutenant-Colonel William Anstruther-Gray, FSA, JP, DL (6 September 1859 – 17 April 1938) was a Scottish soldier and politician.

Biography

The son of Colonel John Anstruther-Thomson of Charleton,

Colinsburgh Colinsburgh is a village in east Fife, Scotland, in the parish of Kilconquhar. History The village is named after Colin Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Balcarres (1652–1722), who gave the land on which it was built. It was here that the first meeting of ...

, Fife, and Maria Hamilton Gray of

Carntyne Carntyne ( gd, Càrn an Teine) is a suburban district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde, and in the east end of the city. Since 2007 it has formed the core of the East Centre ward under Glasgow City Coun ...

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 educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

. He adopted name of Gray on succeeding to the Carntyne estate in 1904. He joined the Militia's Fife Artillery as a Sub-Lieutenant (Supernumerary) on 16 December 1876. He served for four years until he joined the 13th Hussars as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 1880, served in India and Afghanistan in 1880-1881 and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 1 July 1881, before transferring to the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) (RHG) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. Raised in August 1650 at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham by Sir Arthur Haselrigge on the orders of Oliver Cr ...

in 1885. He was Aide-de-Camp to the

Earl of Kintore Earl of Kintore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1677 for Sir John Keith, third son of William Keith, 6th Hereditary Earl Marischal of Scotland (see Earl Marischal for earlier history of the family) and Chief of Clan ...

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gene ...

, from 1889 to 1891, was promoted to

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 ...

on 30 December 1893, and to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 1 May 1897. He served in South Africa from 1901 to 1902 where he was commandant of the district of

Knysna Knysna () is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. and is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It lies at 34° 2' 6.3168'' S and 23° 2' 47. ...

in 1901, and Inspector of

Concentration Camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

s in

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

in 1902. Following the end of the war in June 1902, he returned to the United Kingdom in the ''SS Dunottar Castle'', which arrived at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in July 1902. He later commanded 3rd Line Group,

Scottish Horse The Scottish Horse was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army's Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army raised in 1900 for service in the Second Boer War. It saw heavy fighting in both the World War I, First World War, as the 13th Battali ...

during

World War I 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 was unsuccessful candidate for St Andrews Burghs in 1903, and represented that constituency as a Liberal Unionist (beginning in 1912 Unionist) from 1906-January 1910 and from December 1910–1918.

Family

He married

Clayre Tennant Andrew Tennant (20 June 1835 – 19 July 1913) was a Scottish-born Australian pastoralist, businessman and politician. He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1881 to 1887, representing Flinders, and a member of the Sou ...

CBE JP, daughter of Andrew Tennant of Essenside on 26 January 1891 at St. Peter's Church,

Glenelg, South Australia Glenelg is a beach-side suburb of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Located on the shore of Holdfast Bay in Gulf St Vincent, it has become a tourist destination due to its beach and many attractions, home to several hotels and dozens of ...

. They had one son,

William John St Clair Anstruther-Gray William John St Clair Anstruther-Gray, Baron Kilmany, MC PC (5 March 1905 – 6 August 1985) was a Scottish Unionist Party politician. Life The only son of Col William Anstruther-Gray of Kilmany and Clayre Jessie Tennant, he was educated a ...

, and one daughter

Jean Helen St. Clair Campbell Jean Helen St. Clair Campbell, Lady Stratheden and Campbell CBE (?–9 August 1956) served as the Girl Guide Chief Commissioner for the British Commonwealth. She was a recipient of the Silver Fish Award, the highest adult award in Girlguiding ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anstruther-Gray, William 1859 births 1938 deaths People educated at Eton College Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies Liberal Unionist Party MPs for Scottish constituencies Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 13th Hussars officers Royal Horse Guards officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I British Militia officers Scottish Horse officers Deputy Lieutenants of Fife 20th-century Scottish politicians

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...