Paul Norman Wilson, Baron Wilson of High Wray (24 October 1908 – 24 February 1980) was a British engineer,

Lord Lieutenant of Westmorland This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Westmorland. The office was abolished on 31 March 1974 and replaced by the Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria. From 1751 to 1974, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Westmorland ...

(1965 to 1974) and of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

(1974 to 1980) and Governor of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Early life

Wilson was the youngest son of Norman Forster Wilson, of

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

, and of Mrs H. G. M. Wilson (''née'' Harris). His two elder siblings were Gilbert, an academic geologist, and

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, a scholar of Spanish. Wilson was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

, Holt, and

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

.Paul Norman Wilson, Baron Wilson of High Wray, of Kendal in the County of Cumbria (Life Peer 1976, Extinct 1980)
Debretts.com online: retrieved 4 May 2022

Career

Wilson began his career as an engineer in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, working there between 1930 and 1934. He then joined Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon Ltd, water turbine manufacturers, as managing director, in his home town of Kendal. He served 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 ...

of 1939–1945 with 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 ...

, most of that time being spent at sea in capital ships. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

and retired as a temporary Lieutenant-Commander, to return to Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon. He was chairman of the company from 1954 to 1978. In 1950 and 1951, he stood as Labour Party General Election candidate for his home constituency of

but lost on both occasions. In public life, Wilson became a justice of the peace in 1958 and a Deputy Lieutenant for

in 1964, later DL for

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

and

, and

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 ...

of the newly created county of

, 1974 to 1980. He was a Governor of the

from 1968 to 1972, governor of

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

, 1965–1974, and chairman of governors of Kendal College of Further Education, 1958–1974. He served as chairman of the Kendal & District Local Employment Committee (1954–1969), a member of the Westmoreland Youth Employment Committee (1946–1969) and of the National Youth Employment Council (1959 to 1969). A member of the Advisory Council of the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, Industry (manufacturing), industry and Outline of industrial ...

, 1968–1972 and 1973–1978, he was also Chairman of the Fund for the Preservation of Technological and Scientific Material, 1973–1978. Chairman of Trustees and Governors of the Lake District Museum Trust, 1968–1978.

Honours

, 1945 *Officer 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 ...

, 1959 *

, 1965 to 1974 *Knight of the

Venerable Order of Saint 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 ...

, 1966 *Lord Lieutenant of

, 1974 to 1980 *Created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

with the title Baron Wilson of High Wray, ''of

in the County of Cumbria'' on 3 February 1976 *President of the

Newcomen Society The Newcomen Society is an international learned society that promotes and celebrates the history of engineering and technology. It was founded in London in 1920,The Newcomen Society. '' Journal of the Royal Society of Arts'' 72 (3709): 84 (19 ...

, 1973–1975 (and vice-president, 1968–1973 and 1975–1977) *Patron of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 1965 (President, 1975–1978) *Deputy Chairman of the British Hydromechanics Research Association, 1973–1975

Major publications

*''Watermills, an introduction'' (1956, 2nd edn 1973) *''Watermills with Horizontal Wheels'' (1960) *''Water Turbines'' (Science Museum, 1974) *''Water and other forms of Motive Power'' in ''History of Technology, 1900–1950'' (1977)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson of High Wray, Paul Wilson, Baron 1908 births 1980 deaths Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge BBC governors Deputy lieutenants of Cumberland Deputy lieutenants of Westmorland Knights of the Order of St John Wilson of High Wray Lord-lieutenants of Cumbria Lord-lieutenants of Westmorland Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Gresham's School People from Kendal Royal Navy officers People associated with the Science Museum, London Life peers created by Elizabeth II Military personnel from Cumbria Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II English justices of the peace