John Campbell Arbuthnott, 16th Viscount of Arbuthnott (26 October 1924 – 14 July 2012) was a Scottish peer,

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the stewartry"), is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area on the ...

(1977–99) and a notable businessman.Mosley, Charles, editor, ''Burke's Peerage & Baronetage'', 106th edition, Crans, Switzerland, 1999, p. 99, Crooks, John, & Green, Alison, ''Debrett's People of Today'', 14th edition, London, 2001, p. 45;

Early life

Arbuthnott was the son of Major General Robert ''Keith'' Arbuthnott, 15th Viscount of Arbuthnott and Ursula Collingwood. He was educated at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational private boarding and day school in Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in ...

, Edinburgh and at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

, where he studied estate management graduating with a BA degree in 1949; and a MA degree in 1967. He held an Honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree from

Aberdeen University The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Al ...

(1995).

War service

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 ...

, Arbuthnott served in the near and Far East and Pacific theatre (1944–45) with the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

(1942–46), and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) in 1945.

Career

Arbuthnott was a chartered

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS), a Land Agent, a Justice of the Peace (JP) and a Lieutenant in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

. He served with the Agricultural Land Service division of the Ministry of Agriculture (1949–55), was Senior Land Agent for Nature Conservancy in Scotland (1955–67), member of the Countryside Commission (Scotland; 1968–71), Chairman of the Red Deer Commission 1969–75, President of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (1973–92), President of the Scottish Landowners' Federation (1974–79), and a member of the

Royal Zoological Society of Scotland The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is a learned society and registered charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by Thomas Haining Gillespie in 1909. In 1913, Edinburgh Town Council bought a large plot of land on Corstorphine ...

(1976–2012), Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (1980–1983), the

RSGS The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland, founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

(1983–2012); Federation of Agricultural Co-operatives (UK) Ltd (1983–2012); Deputy Chairman of the

Nature Conservancy Council The Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) was a United Kingdom government agency responsible for designating and managing National Nature Reserves and other nature conservation areas in Great Britain between 1973 and 1991 (it did not cover Northern ...

(1980–85); and Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Scotland (1980–85). Arbuthnott was a director of Aberdeen & Northern Estates (1973–91; chairman, 1986–91), and served as a director of the investment firm

Scottish Widows Scottish Widows Limited is a life insurance, pensions and investment company based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a part of Lloyds Banking Group. The company has been providing financial services to the UK market since 1815 and its product range ...

(1978–1994), and was elected as chairman of the society (1984–87). He was a member (1979–85) of the Scottish North investment Trust, and a director of Britoil plc (1988–90), and joined the British Petroleum (BP) Scottish Advisory Board (1990–96). In 1985,

Clydesdale Bank Clydesdale Bank () is a trading name used by Clydesdale Bank plc for its retail banking operations in Scotland. In June 2018, it was announced that Clydesdale Bank plc's holding company, CYBG, would acquire Virgin Money for £1.7 billi ...

appointed Arbuthnott as a main board director, a position that lasted until 1992.

Honours and affiliations

Arbuthnott was

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(FRSA) and a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(FRSE), Prior of the Scottish

Venerable Order of St 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 ...

(GCStJ) (1983–95), and served as

Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the monarch's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (the Kirk), reflecting the Church's role as the national church of Scotla ...

(May 1986–87), on the Royal Commission on Historic Manuscripts (1987–94), and a member of the Aberdeen University Court (1978–84), and Liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Farmers The Worshipful Company of Farmers is one of the Livery Company, Livery Companies of the City of London. The company became a Livery Company in 1952, with the support of HM King George VI, and was granted a royal charter three years later by H ...

. Arbuthnott was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

1986 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1986 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countri ...

, and made a

Knight of the Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

(KT) in 1996.

Personal life

On 3 September 1949, he married Mary Elizabeth Darley Oxley (d. 2010). Together, they had two children, a son and one daughter: * Keith Arbuthnott, 17th Viscount of Arbuthnott (b. 1950) * Lady Susanna Mary Arbuthnott (b. 1954) Lady Arbuthnott died 16 January 2010. Following Arbuthnott's death, a service of thanksgiving for his life was held at

St Machar's Cathedral St Machar's Cathedral is a Church of Scotland church (building), church in Aberdeen, Scotland, located to the north of the city centre, in the former burgh of Old Aberdeen. Technically, St Machar's is no longer a cathedral but rather a Kirk ...

, Aberdeen, on 14 September 2012.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arbuthnott, John Arbuthnott, 16th Viscount of 1924 births 2012 deaths People from Inverbervie Nobility from Aberdeenshire Military personnel from Aberdeenshire Scottish clan chiefs Royal Navy officers Scottish naval personnel Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Presidents of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Knights of the Thistle Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Order of St John Lord-lieutenants of Kincardineshire Scottish surveyors Scottish lawyers Scottish Presbyterians 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 21st-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish justices of the peace People educated at Fettes College John Arbuthnott, 16th Viscount Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish landowners 16 Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II

Arbuthnott Arbuthnott (, "mouth of the Buadhnat") is a hamlet and parish in the Howe of the Mearns, a low-lying agricultural district of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located on the B967, east of Fordoun (on the A90) and north-west of Inverbervie (on ...