John David Drummond, 8th Earl of Perth, (13 May 1907 – 25 November 2002), styled Viscount Strathallan from 1937 to 1951, was a Scottish peer, banker and politician. Because of the complicated history of the earldom of Perth (attainder 1715, reversed 1853), he was sometimes deemed informally to be the 17th Earl of Perth. He was

Minister of State for Colonial Affairs The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State. Under-Secretaries of State for the Col ...

from 1957 to 1962.

Background and education

Drummond was born in London, the son of Eric Drummond, 7th Earl of Perth, and the Hon. Angela Mary Constable-Maxwell, a daughter of

Marmaduke Constable-Maxwell, 11th Lord Herries of Terregles Marmaduke Constable-Maxwell, 11th Lord Herries of Terregles, (4 October 1837 – 5 October 1908) was Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1880 and Lord-Lieutenant of Kirkcudbrightshire from 1885 until his death. The son of Willia ...

. A Roman Catholic, he was educated at

Downside School Downside School (formally The College of St Gregory the Great, Downside but simply referred to as Downside) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, independent, day and boarding school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England. It was establish ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. As his parents travelled for his father's work, David Drummond spent much of his childhood with his maternal aunt, the

Duchess of Norfolk Duchess of Norfolk is a title held by the wife of the Duke of Norfolk in the peerage of England afterwards. The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The first creation was i ...

Career

After beginning a banking career, 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 ...

the young Drummond went to Paris to help

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

in a propaganda office, then returned to London to work in the War Cabinet office and later at the

Ministry of Production Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

, having been recruited by

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...

. In 1945, after the war, he joined

Schroders Schroders plc is a British multinational asset management company headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1804, it employs over 6,000 people worldwide in 38 locations around Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It is traded on ...

and was a partner until 1956. On his father's death in December 1951, he succeeded him as Earl of Perth and was a

Scottish representative peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the unicameral Parliament of Scotland, where all Scottish Peers had been entit ...

from 1952 to 1963. In 1957, despite not being a member of the Conservative party, was appointed

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

's government, a post he held until 1962. He was 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 1957. Perth was also First

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

Commissioner from 1962 to 1977, Chairman of the

Ditchley Foundation The Ditchley Foundation is a foundation that holds conferences, with a primary focus on British-American relations. Based at Ditchley Park near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, it was established as a privately funded charity in 1958 by philanthr ...

from 1963 to 1966 and Chairman of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art from 1972 to 1976. He was a champion of Scottish arts and heritage, serving as a trustee of the

National Museums of Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; ) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections, and holds internationally important collect ...

and the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

, and a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Personal life

In 1934 Perth married Nancy Fincke, an American, in New York City. They lived at

Stobhall Stobhall (or Stobhall Castle) is a country house and estate in Perthshire in Scotland, from Perth, Scotland, Perth. The 17th-century dower house and several other buildings are Category A-listed with Historic Environment Scotland. The lands at ...

, near

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

in Tayside and had two sons. Lady Perth died in 1996, and Lord Perth died in Cargill, Perthshire, on 25 November 2002, aged 95. He was succeeded by his elder son, John Eric Drummond, 9th Earl of Perth, who died in March 2023, aged 87.

References

Obituary:The Earl of Perth, Daily Telegraph, 29 November 2002

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perth, David, 8th Earl of 1907 births 2002 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Anglo-Scots Scottish Roman Catholics David Drummond, 17th Earl of Perth Dukes of Perth 8 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 People educated at Downside School Schroders people Scottish bankers Scottish representative peers Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 20th-century Scottish antiquarians

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...