The grave of John Dewar, 2nd Baron Forteviot, Aberdalgie

John Dewar, 2nd Baron Forteviot (1885–1947) was a Scottish businessman and soldier, notable as being head of the whisky giant

Dewar's Dewar's () is a brand of blended Scotch whisky owned by Bacardi, which claims the brand's "White Label" to be the top-selling blended Scotch in the US. Dewar's is also the world's most awarded blended Scotch whisky with more than 1,000 medals ear ...

and of the

Distillers Company The Distillers Company Limited was a leading Scottish drinks and pharmaceutical company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over by Guinness & Co. (now part of Diageo) in 1986 in a transaction which was later f ...

and a director of the

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...

Life

He was born on 17 March 1885 the eldest child and only son of Sir

John Dewar, 1st Baron Forteviot John Alexander Dewar, 1st Baron Forteviot (6 June 1856 – 23 November 1929) was a Scottish businessman, elder son of the founder of Dewar's Scotch Whisky and a Liberal Member of Parliament. He is buried with his family in the family plot a ...

and his wife Johann (Joan) Tod. His uncle (his father's brother) was

Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar Thomas Robert "Tommy" Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar (6 January 1864 – 11 April 1930) was a Scottish whisky distiller who, along with his brother John Dewar, built their family label, Dewar's, into an international success. They blended their whisky ...

. He was sent to

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

in England as a boarder, followed by New College at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(but did not graduate). In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served as a colonel in the

Scottish Horse The Scottish Horse was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army's Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army raised in 1900 for service in the Second Boer War. It saw heavy fighting in both the World War I, First World War, as the 13th Battali ...

Regiment, serving in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for bravery. From 1922 to 1924 he served as Lord Provost of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and was also Deputy Lieutenant of

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. On the death of his father in 1929 he succeeded to the title of Baron Forteviot. He also held the title of brigadier in 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 perso ...

, the monarch's official bodyguard in Scotland. In 1943, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were James Watt, Sidney

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle of ...

James Pickering Kendall James Pickering Kendall FRS FRSE (30 July 1889, in Chobham, Surrey – 14 June 1978, in Edinburgh) was a British chemist. Life Kendall was born in Chobham, Surrey to soldier William Henry Kendall of the Royal Horse Artillery, and his second w ...

, and

John Edwin MacKenzie John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. He died at his country estate of Dupplin on 24 October 1947. He is buried at

Aberdalgie Aberdalgie (Gaelic: ''Obar Dheilgidh'', 'Confluence of the Thorn-Stream') is a small village in the Scottish council area of Perth and Kinross. It is southwest of Perth, and lies between the B9112 road, to the north, and the River Earn, to the ...

slightly south-west of

. The grave lies attached to the church within the family enclosure to the rear of the church.

Family

He married twice, firstly in 1919 to Marjory Winton Isobel Heaton-Ellis (d.1945), secondly in 1946 to Marjory's sister, Mrs Muriel Cecil Harriette Cavendish (then a widow). They had no children, however John, during his marriage to Marjory had an illegitimate daughter in 1924. When John died the baronetcy passed to his younger half brother Henry Dewar.

References

1885 births 1947 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Deputy Lieutenants of Perthshire Officers of the Order of the British Empire

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Recipients of the Military Cross {{UK-baron-stub