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 ...

Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet (27 May 1876 – 30 March 1940) was a Scottish Unionist politician. He notably served as

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all nationa ...

from 1932 to 1935.

Early life

Gilmour was the son of

Sir John Gilmour, 1st Baronet Colonel Sir John Gilmour, 1st Baronet, (1845–1920) was chairman of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, and was created a baronet in 1897. Life He was the son of Allan Gilmour, owner of a large shipping company based in Renfrew, and A ...

, chairman of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party, who was created a baronet in 1897. His mother was

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Henrie ...

, daughter of David Gilmour of Quebec. He was educated at

Trinity College, Glenalmond Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. ...

, the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

Military service

Gilmour was a

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 ...

in the Fifeshire Volunteer Light Horse, and was among the officers of the Fife and Forfar volunteer battalions to volunteer for service 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 So ...

. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...

on 7 February 1900, and served in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

with the 20th (Fife and Forfarshire Light Horse) Company of the 6th Battalion. He left

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

for South Africa with the company on the SS ''Cymric'' in March 1900. For his service, he was awarded the Queen's medal with 4 clasps and was twice

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

(by Lord Roberts dated 4 September 1901 and in the final despatch by Lord Kitchener dated 23 June 1902). His letters from the Boer War were published in 1996 under the title "Clearly My Duty" by his son,

Sir John Gilmour, 3rd Baronet Colonel Sir John Edward Gilmour, 3rd Baronet, DSO, TD, DL (24 October 1912 – 1 June 2007) was a British Conservative Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for East Fife for 18 years, from 1961 to 1979. He was also a soldier, fa ...

. He again served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

with the

Fife and Forfar Yeomanry The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry (FFY) was an Armoured Yeomanry Regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. It saw action in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. It amalgamated with the Scottish Horse to form the Fif ...

, where he was again mentioned in despatches and awarded the DSO with bar. His service after the war saw him rise to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel when he commanded the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry. On 8 May 1931 he was made the Honorary Colonel of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry.

Political career

He unsuccessfully contested East Fife in 1906 and was elected as

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

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas ...

from 1910 to 1918 and for Glasgow Pollok from 1918 until 1940. He was a Junior

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of th ...

in 1921–1922, Scottish Unionist Whip from 1919 to 1922 and in 1924. He was appointed as

Secretary for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

in 1924, and became the first

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

when the post was upgraded in 1926. A member of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots people, Ulster Sco ...

joining the Pollokshaws Lodge, LOL172, in June 1910. This Lodge is now named after him. Gilmour, as Secretary for Scotland, repudiated the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

's report, ''"The Menace of the Irish Race to our Scottish Nationality"''. Later in his career he served as

Minister of Shipping The Minister of Shipping was a British government post created in the First World War and again in the Second World War. In 1941 it was merged into the position of Minister of Transport which was then renamed Minister of War Transport. Minister of ...

during the early months of British involvement in the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

but died in office of a heart attack in London on 30 March 1940,

Other appointments

Gilmour was Master of the Fife Fox Hounds, 1902–1906, and a Member of Fife County Council 1901–1910. He was Rector of the University of Edinburgh, 1926–1929, and was awarded honorary degrees by the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1925, the

in 1927, and the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1929. He was a Brigadier with the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a per ...

. He was made Vice-Lieutenant for the County of

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

on 27 March 1936. Appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in 1935.

Family

Gilmour first married Mary Louise Lambert, daughter of Edward Tiley Lambert, of Telham Court,

Battle, Sussex Battle is a small town and civil parish in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south-east of London, east of Brighton and east of Lewes. Hastings is to the south-east and Bexhill-on-Sea to the south. Ba ...

, on 9 April 1902 at St. Mary's Church in Battle, Sussex. The marriage produced two children, Anne Margaret, born in October 1909, and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, born in October 1912. After Mary Louise's death in 1919, he married her younger sister (his former sister-in-law), Violet Agnes Lambert, in 1920. They had one daughter, Daphne, born in January 1922. Both children from his first marriage both rose to positions of prominence in the civil service. His eldest daughter, Dame Anne Margaret Bryans , worked for the British Red Cross Society and served as vice-chairman of the executive committee from 1964 to 1976, in addition to holding positions in the governorship of many hospitals in the United Kingdom. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, Sir John Gilmour, 3rd Baronet, who also had a successful political career. His great-nephew, George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, was also a Conservative MP and served as Scottish Secretary from 1979 to 1986.

Notes

References

*Torrance, David, ''The Scottish Secretaries'' (Birlinn 2006) * *

External links

Obituary of Dame Anne Bryans
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilmour, John, 2nd Baronet 1876 births 1940 deaths British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies Secretaries of State for Scotland Secretaries of State for the Home Department People educated at Glenalmond College Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Rectors of the University of Edinburgh Masters of foxhounds in Scotland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Companions of the Distinguished Service Order 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 Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Deputy Lieutenants of Fife Fife and Forfar Yeomanry officers Imperial Yeomanry officers Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs People from Fife Members of the Royal Company of Archers Agriculture ministers of the United Kingdom Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940