George Lawson Johnston, 1st Baron Luke,

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

(9 September 1873 – 23 February 1943), was a British businessman.

Early life and education

Luke was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the second son of

John Lawson Johnston John Lawson Johnston (1839 – 24 November 1900) was a Scottish entrepreneur and the creator of Bovril. He was born in 29 Main Street, Roslin, Midlothian. A memorial plaque is on the property and can be seen above the door. The plaque was put t ...

, a butcher who became a beef stock manufacturer and the founder of

Bovril Bovril is a thick and salty meat extract paste, similar to a yeast extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston. It is sold in a distinctive bulbous jar and as cubes and granules. Its appearance is similar to the British Marmite and ...

Ltd, and Elizabeth, daughter of George Lawson, a biscuit manufacturer in Edinburgh. He was educated privately in Canada, at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

, and at Blairlodge School, Polmont (a former Scottish private school).

Career

Johnston worked in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, Africa, and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and thereby developed expertise in trade and raw materials. He returned from Argentina in 1896 and joined the board of Bovril Ltd, of which he became vice-chairman in 1900 when his father died. He was a Director of the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'' from its foundation in 1900 to 1917 and was also a director of

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the "Big Four (banking)#England and Wales, Big Four" clearing house ...

. During

World War I 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 ...

he was a member of the leather control board and Chairman of Committees in the Raw Materials Department 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 ...

. Apart from his business career, Johnston was also a member of the

Bedfordshire County Council Bedfordshire County Council was the county council of Bedfordshire in England. It was created in 1889 and abolished in 2009. Throughout its existence, the council was based in Bedford. Luton was a county borough independent from the county cou ...

and served as a Justice of the Peace, and was

High Sheriff of Bedfordshire This is a list of high sheriffs of Bedfordshire. Pre-Conquest pre-1042: Aelfstan 1042–1066; Godric, Ralph Talgebose Bondi the Staller 1066–1125 *1066-c.1084: Ansculf de Picquigny * Ralph Taillebois *c. 1080 Hugh de Beauchamp *1124 ...

in 1924. He was particularly noted for his work for hospitals, being honorary Treasurer of the Royal Northern Hospital from 1909 to 1923, chairman of the organizing committee of the Hospitals of London combined appeal in 1922, Honorary Secretary of King Edward's Hospital fund for London, Chairman of the British Charities Association, Treasurer of the County of London Red Cross, and Hon Secretary of the

League of Mercy The League of Mercy was a British foundation established in 1899 by Royal Charter of Queen Victoria. The goal of the organisation was to recruit a large number of volunteers to aid the sick and suffering at charity hospitals. It was disbanded ...

In the 1929 Dissolution Honours, Johnston was raised to the peerage as

Baron Luke Baron Luke, of Pavenham in the County of Bedford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1929 for the businessman George Lawson Johnston. He was the second son of John Lawson Johnston, the founder of Bovril Ltd. th ...

, of

Pavenham Pavenham is a small village and civil parish on the River Great Ouse in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England, about north-west of Bedford. Village amenities consist of St Peter's Church, a pub, Village hall, tennis Club, Cricket Clu ...

in the County of Bedford. He chose his title partly because St Luke was the patron of hospitals, and partly from the parish of St Luke, Old Street EC1 with which he had a long association. He later served as

Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire. Since 1711, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Bedfordshire. * William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1549–1551 *Oliver St John, 1st Baron ...

between 1936 and 1943.

Death

Lord Luke died in London on 23 February 1943, aged 69, and was succeeded in the barony by his son

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, which is derived from the Hebrew given name ( Yohanan, ') and corresponds to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. This name is a po ...

Personal life

Lawson Johnston married Edith Laura St John (1879–1941) at

Melchbourne Melchbourne is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Melchbourne and Yielden, in the Bedford district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 160. On 1 April 1934 the parish w ...

on 4 December 1902. daughter of

Beauchamp Mowbray St John, 17th Baron St John of Bletso Beauchamp Moubray St John, 17th Baron St John of Bletso (4 December 1844 – 10 May 1912) was an Peerage of England, English peer. Biography St John was born at Melchbourne, the second son of St Andrew St John, 15th Baron St John of Bletso and h ...

. She was a County Commissioner for the Girl Guides in Bedfordshire and vice-chairman of the City of London Pensions Sub-Committee. They had two sons and four daughters. His daughter Margaret married

James Pitman Sir Isaac James Pitman (known as James), Order of the British Empire, KBE (14 August 1901 – 1 September 1985) was a Publishing, publisher, Civil Service (United Kingdom), senior civil servant, politician, and Education, prominent educational ...

. His second son Hugh was married to Audrey (Pearl) Lawson-Johnston, the last survivor of the sinking of the RMS ''Lusitania'' in 1915.

Arms

References

Sources

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luke, George Lawson Johnston, 1st Baron 1873 births 1943 deaths Businesspeople from Edinburgh Nobility from Edinburgh Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom High sheriffs of Bedfordshire Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Lord-lieutenants of Bedfordshire People educated at Dulwich College Councillors in Bedfordshire Barons created by George V British expatriates in Canada British expatriates in Australia British expatriates in Argentina

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 ...

Anglo-Scots