George Abraham Gibbs, 1st Baron Wraxall, (6 July 1873 – 28 October 1931) was a British

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

politician.

Early life

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

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, Gibbs was the eldest of the seven sons of Major Antony Gibbs and Janet Louisa Merivale, daughter of John Louis Merivale. His grandfather, William Gibbs, was the younger brother of George Henry Gibbs, the father of

Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham, (31 August 1819 – 13 September 1907), was a British banker, businessman and Conservative Party politician. Life Aldenham was the son of George Henry Gibbs, whose father Antony Gibbs was a brother of Si ...

, while his great-grandfather, Antony Gibbs, was the founder of the firm

Antony Gibbs & Sons Antony Gibbs & Sons was a British trading company, which was founded by Antony Gibbs in 1808 in London. The company's interests spanned trading in cloth, fruit, wine, guano, and nitrate, which led to it becoming involved in banking, shipping an ...

, bankers and merchants. His own brother, Evelyn (1879–1932), married in 1919 Lady Helena Cambridge, formerly Princess Helena of Teck, a niece of Queen Mary and descendant of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

Military career

Gibbs was appointed a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units and sub-units in the British Army Reserve which are descended from volunteer cavalry regiments that now serve in a variety of different roles. History Origins In the 1790s, following the ...

regiment the

North Somerset Yeomanry The North Somerset Yeomanry was a part-time cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1798 to 1967. It maintained order in Somerset in the days before organised police forces, and supplied volunteers to fight in the Second Boer War. It served on ...

on 25 September 1895. Following the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

in late 1899 he volunteered for active service, and on 28 February 1900 was appointed 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 ...

, where he served in the 48th (North Somerset) Company in the 7th Battalion. He was later colonel of the North Somerset Yeomanry, and was appointed deputy lieutenant of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

in 1911.

Political career

In 1906, Gibbs was elected Member of Parliament for

Bristol West Bristol West was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Thangam Debbonaire of the Labour Party. It mostly covered the central and western parts of Bristol. Following t ...

(succeeding Sir Michael Hicks-Beach), a seat he would hold until 1928. He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Colonial Secretary

Walter Long, 1st Viscount Long Walter Hume Long, 1st Viscount Long, (13 July 1854 – 26 September 1924), was a British Unionist politician. In a political career spanning over 40 years, he held office as President of the Board of Agriculture, President of the Local Gover ...

(his father-in-law), and as a government whip from 1917 to 1921 in the coalition ministry of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

. In 1921, he was appointed

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief ...

, a post he continued to hold also under

Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law (; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a Canadi ...

and

Baldwin Baldwin may refer to: People * Baldwin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, ...

until 1924 and again from 1924 to 1928. Gibbs was sworn of the Privy Council in 1923, and in 1928 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Wraxall, of Clyst St George, in the County of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

Family

Lord Wraxall married firstly Victoria Florence de Burgh Long, daughter of

. They had three children, one daughter and two sons. Both of the sons died as infants. After his first wife's death in 1920, Lord Wraxall married secondly, Hon. Ursula Mary Lawley, daughter of Sir Arthur Lawley (later the 6th Baron Wenlock). They had two sons, successively the 2nd and 3rd Barons Wraxall. Lord Wraxall died from pneumonia in October 1931, aged 58. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son from his second marriage,

Richard Gibbs, 2nd Baron Wraxall George Richard Lawley Gibbs, 2nd Baron Wraxall, (16 May 1928 – 19 July 2001), who used the forename Richard, was a British hereditary peer. Early life and background Gibbs succeeded his father, George Gibbs, 1st Baron Wraxall, in the barony on ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wraxall, George Gibbs, 1st Baron 1873 births 1931 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Gibbs, George Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Treasurers of the Household Gibbs, George Gibbs, George Gibbs, George Gibbs, George Gibbs, George Gibbs, George Gibbs, George UK MPs who were granted peerages Deputy lieutenants of Somerset Deaths from pneumonia in the United Kingdom Imperial Yeomanry officers North Somerset Yeomanry officers

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...