John Alan Burns, 4th Baron Inverclyde of

Castle Wemyss Castle Wemyss was a large mansion in Wemyss Bay, Scotland. It stood on the southern shore of the Firth of Clyde at Wemyss Point, where the firth turns southwards. History It was built around 1850 for Charles Wilsone Brown, a property developer ...

KStJ The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

(12 December 1897 – 17 June 1957) was a Scottish nobleman, the son of James, 3rd Lord Inverclyde, and Charlotte Mary Emily (née Nugent-Dunbar).

Education

He 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 the

Royal Military College Royal Military College may refer to: ;Australia * Royal Military College, Duntroon, Campbell, Australian Capital Territory ;Canada * Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario * Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean, Quebec ;Indi ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

Military career

Joining the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

, he was wounded by a German bullet while going ' over the top' in

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 ...

. He reached the rank of lieutenant in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. As a subaltern in the Scots Guards, he fought in France until wounded by a bullet through the palm of one hand.

Gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

impeded swift healing, but at last he was ready to return to the front and confided in a friend that if he had to die for it, he would try to win a decoration for gallantry in action to make his father proud of him. But instead of being sent overseas he was shunted into a 'cushy' job at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served in France as a captain in the Scots Guards and as ADC to the General Officer Commanding Lines of Communication before being evacuated from

St Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the seco ...

. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the newly formed

74th (City of Glasgow) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 74th (City of Glasgow) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, was a Scottish air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army raised in Glasgow just before World War II. During the war it served in Home Defence and in Middle East Command. I ...

, in the Territorial Army on 11 January 1939, and held the position until 1944. Inverclyde was on board the RMS ''Lancastria'' when she was sunk off St Nazaire on 17 June 1940. He was rescued by the crew of HMT ''Cambridgeshire'', a 443-ton anti-submarine trawler, which had been requisitioned by the navy in August 1939; she was then given a 4-inch gun, machine guns and depth charges, she herself surviving the war and, after returning to peacetime trawling in 1945 as the ''Kingstone Sapphire'', was scrapped in 1954. After returning to England, Inverclyde presented each of his rescuers with a round rosewood box full of cigarettes, each box with an engraved silver plaque, each individually named and then given the wording "... HMS Cambridgeshire, St Nazaire to Plymouth, 17 to 19 June 1940, from a grateful passenger, Inverclyde/Scots Guards".

Burns succeeded as Lord Inverclyde on the death of his father on 16 August 1919, and inherited

Wemyss Bay Wemyss Bay () is a village on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in Inverclyde in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the traditional county of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire. It is adjacent to Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire. The town ...

in the

County of Renfrew Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The lieutenancy area covers the three modern council areas of Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfr ...

. He was invested as a Knight of the

Venerable Order of Saint John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

and admitted to 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 pers ...

Post-military career

Not having inherited any business acumen from his immediate forebears, he eschewed the idea of taking an active role in the running of the

Cunard Steamship Company The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival Corporation & plc#Carnival UK, Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, ...

and preferred instead the pleasant job of aide-de-camp to the

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of ...

, 1920–21. Inverclyde became a lieutenant in the Reserve of Officers, and in 1922 was Assistant Private Secretary, in an unpaid capacity, to the

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 ...

. After leaving his regiment, he retired into private life as master of Wemyss and man-about-town with a

bachelor flat ''Bachelor Flat'' is a 1962 American DeLuxe Color comedy film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Tuesday Weld, Richard Beymer, Terry-Thomas, and Celeste Holm. Filmed in CinemaScope in Malibu, California, the film is a revised version of Tas ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

. He acquired hunters, a yacht, and a

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order (biology), order Galliformes, in the family (biology), family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the Tribe (biology), tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetr ...

moor. During the winter he rode with the Eglinton in

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

; in the early summer months he cruised the Mediterranean; in the late summer and early autumn he shot grouse. His civic duties were not obligatory and, according to his second wife, June, he never took more than cursory interest in local matters. He did, however, endow two public buildings which remain in use: the

Inverclyde National Sports Training Centre National Sports Training Centre Inverclyde is a sports training facility in Largs, North Ayrshire. It is the UK's first inclusive residential sports facility and caters for both elite athletes and the local community in a range of sports and acti ...

Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...

and the Inverclyde Centre in

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

as a British Sailors Society home, now used by the local authority's homeless persons unit. He was chairman of the British Sailors' Society in Scotland for 18 years. After the war, he unveiled the Free French Memorial in 1946 and was awarded Officer of the French Legion of Honour. In 1955, the French Ambassador to the Court of St James promoted Alan to Commander. He was also awarded the

Medal of French Gratitude The Medal of French Gratitude () was a French honour medal created on 13 July 1917 and solely awarded to civilians. The medal was created to express gratitude by the French government to all those who, without legal or military obligation, had ...

, the medal of the city of Nancy (which he visited in 1949), honorary citizenship of the towns of Brest and

Veulettes-sur-Mer Veulettes-sur-Mer (, literally ''Veulettes on Sea'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. Geography A tourism and far ...

, and an honorary doctorate of the

University of Dijon A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. He was president of the Franco-Scottish Society (1949–54), chairman of Friends of France Council for Glasgow and West of Scotland (1942–57) and an honorary member of the Association des Français libres.

Personal life

He married, firstly, Olive Sylvia Sainsbury, daughter of Arthur Sainsbury, millionaire owner of the J Sainsbury chain of grocery shops, on 23 November 1926. They divorced in Scotland in 1928. She went on to marry the racehorse trainer Captain James Townsend Pearce. Secondly, he married June Howard-Tripp, daughter of Walter Howard-Tripp, on 21 March 1929. She had been a well established star of

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

and

silent films A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

, but gave up her showbusiness career on marriage, although this too was to end in divorce, in 1933.

Death

Inverclyde died on 17 June 1957, at the age of 59, without issue, the title becoming extinct on his death. The name ''Inverclyde'' was however resurrected in the early 1970s for the new

local authority district The districts of England (officially, local authority districts, abbreviated LADs) are a level of Subdivisions of England, subnational division of England used for the purposes of Local government in England, local government. As the structure ...

centred on Greenock, a creation of the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government of Scotland, local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The act followed and largely impleme ...

. The local newspaper, the ''

Greenock Telegraph The ''Greenock Telegraph'' is a local daily newspaper serving Inverclyde (the council area containing the towns of Gourock, Greenock and Port Glasgow), Scotland. Founded in 1857, it was the first halfpenny daily newspaper in Britain. It w ...

'', said that the name "would in a way be a tribute to a man whose interest in the area was always constant".''Greenock Telegraph'' editorial, 5 July 1973 Inverclyde remains as a Scottish council area.

Publications

Inverclyde published a memoir of two cruises: on the

steam yacht A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts. Origin of the name The English steamboat entrepreneur George Dodd (1783–1827) used the term ...

the ''Sapphire'', which belonged to the mother of his friend Huttleston Broughton, to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

in 1924/25, and on his own steam yacht the ''Beryl'' around the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

in 1929. Entitled ''Porpoises and People'', it was published in 1930.

Bibliography

*Lord Inverclyde, ''Porpoises and People'', Halton & Truscott Smith 1930