John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, (1 September 1867 – 2 June 1947) was a British businessman and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician. Gretton won two gold medals in the

1900 Olympic Games The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

Life and career

Gretton was the eldest son of John Gretton of

Stapleford Park Stapleford Park is a Grade I listed country house in Stapleford, Leicestershire, Stapleford, near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England, which is now used as a hotel. It was originally the seat of the Sherard and Tamblyn families, later the Ear ...

and Marianne, daughter of Major John Molineux of Brook House, Compton in Surrey. John Gretton was educated at Harrow School. He was appointed chairman of Bass, Ratcliff and Gretton Ltd, the Burton-upon-Trent brewers in 1908 and served until 1945. Gretton was a

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

officer in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion,

The (Prince of Wales's) North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battalio ...

, and served as

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

and

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

when this became the 6th battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment in the Territorial Army from 1907. He was appointed a captain in the

Reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

on 24 February 1900. At the outbreak of 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 was confirmed as temporary colonel in command of the 6th battalion. In 1920, the War Office appointed Lord Gretton as Lieutenant-colonel Reserve Officer until demobilised in 1922. In 1895, he was elected to 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 ...

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 Derbyshire South, a seat he held until 1906. He then represented Rutland from the 1907 by-election to 1918 and Burton from 1918 to 1943, when he was appointed an

Officer of the Order of St John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British British monarchy ...

(OStJ). Gretton was made a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1919 and admitted to the Privy Council in 1926. In 1944, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Gretton, of Stapleford in the County of Leicester. He was a Deputy Lieutenant of Derbyshire. Lord Gretton precipitated by a speech the Carlton Club revolt that brought down the Lloyd George Coalition Cabinet in the British Parliament in 1922. In 1929, he forced the British Government to honour its pledge of compensation to the Irish Loyalists. In 1940, Lord Gretton precipitated by a speech the fall of the Neville Chamberlain Government and its replacement by a Coalition. Lord Gretton was a leading champion of the Second World War as a crusade of good versus evil, and a war against the German nation before the Winston Churchill era. He was identified by the press as "an old Tory". Lord Gretton married on 19 April 1900 The Hon. Maud Helen Eveleigh de Moleyns, youngest daughter of The 4th Baron Ventry, an Anglo-Irish peer. The couple had three children: * John Frederic * Kathleen Fanny married on 9 April 1929 Brigadier Sir Henry Robert Kincaid Floyd, 5th Baronet Floyd * Mary Catherine Hersey married on 19 July 1933 Capt Edward William Brook,

20th Hussars The 20th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. After service in the First World War it was amalgamated with the 14th King's Hussars to form became the 14th/20th King's Hussars in 1922. History Early wars The regiment was original ...

, only son of Lt-Col Charles Brook of Meltham Mills, Yorkshire and Kinmount House, Dumfries. He died in June 1947 in

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes promo ...

, aged 79, and was succeeded in the barony by his son John Gretton, 2nd Baron Gretton. A noted yachtsman, Gretton won two gold medals in the

. He is unique in winning an Olympic gold medal whilst serving as a member of the

. ( John Wodehouse, MP for Mid Norfolk 1906–10, won a silver medal at the 1908 Olympic Games.) File:John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, grave.jpg, The grave of John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, in the graveyard of

St Mary Magdalene's Church, Stapleford St Mary Magdalene's Church is a redundant church, redundant Anglican church near the village of Stapleford, Leicestershire, Stapleford, Leicestershire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade ...

File:John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, memorial.jpg, The memorial to John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, in

Arms

References

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External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gretton, John Gretton, 1st Baron 1867 births 1947 deaths People educated at Harrow School People from Burton upon Trent British sailors Olympic sailors of Great Britain British male sailors (sport) English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy Lieutenants of Derbyshire Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Derbyshire UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs who were granted peerages Sailors at the 1900 Summer Olympics – .5 to 1 ton Sailors at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Open class British sportsperson-politicians Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Olympic medalists in sailing Barons created by George VI