Captain Roland Dudley Kitson, 3rd Baron Airedale (19 July 1882 – 20 March 1958), businessman, was born in Leeds, son of Sir James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale and his second wife, Mary Laura, daughter of Edward Fisher Smith. Roland's elder half-brother was

Albert Kitson, 2nd Baron Airedale Albert Ernest Kitson, 2nd Baron Airedale (7 October 1863 – 11 March 1944) was a British peer. He was ''inter alia'' a director of Midland Bank. Family Kitson was the son of James Kitson, an iron and steel manufacturer in Leeds. He was educ ...

Career

Born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, Kitson's family had a long association with Yorkshire. His father and grandfather both served as

Lord Mayor of Leeds The Lord Mayor of Leeds (until 1897 known as the Mayor of Leeds) is a ceremonial post held by a member of Leeds City Council, elected annually by the council. By charter from Charles I of England, King Charles I in 1626, the leader of the gov ...

. His father was MP for Colne Valley 1892–1907. Kitson was educated at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

As "the Hon. R. D. Kitson", he is recorded in April 1913 as working as a Leeds

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

alongside Alderman Francis Martineau Lupton, whose first cousin (once removed) was Florence, Baroness Airedale, Kitson's sister-in-law. He served in the 1914–1918 war with the

West Yorkshire Regiment The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was ...

winning a DSO and the

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

. His grandfather

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

had founded Airedale Foundry in Hunslet in 1835. Under Roland's father, also James Kitson and uncle, Frederick Kitson, and known as Kitsons of Leeds, this business became the manufacturer of about 5,400 locomotives in its first century. He worked for a time in the Airedale Foundry and in the Monk Bridge Iron and Steel Company works. His directorships included: * director and deputy chairman of

Dorman Long Dorman Long & Co was a UK steel producer, later diversifying into bridge building. The company was once listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Arthur Dorman and Albert de Lande Long when they acquired '' ...

. * director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

1923–1947 * director of Ford Motor Company Limited from its incorporation in 1928,
he succeeded

Lord Perry Percival Lea Dewhurst Perry, 1st Baron Perry Order of the British Empire, KBE (18 March 1878 – 17 June 1956) was an English motor vehicle manufacturer who served as chairman of Ford of Britain, Ford Motor Company Limited in Britain for 20 years ...

as chairman in 1948, until 1954 * director of North-Eastern Railway before its amalgamation * director of London Assurance Corporation * director of John Dickinson and Company Limited He succeeded to the titles of 3rd

Baron Airedale Baron Airedale, of Gledhow in the West Riding of the County of York, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 17 July 1907 for the Liberal politician Sir James Kitson, 1st Baronet, who had previously represented Col ...

, of

Gledhow Gledhow is a suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, east of Chapel Allerton and west of Roundhay. It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Etymology The name ''Gledhow' ...

, and 3rd Baronet on the death of his elder half-brother, 11 March 1944. He was living in the 1940s until his death in 1958 at Ufford Hall, Cambridgeshire.

Family

He married Sheila Grace, daughter of F E Vandeleur in 1913. They had a daughter and a son: * Oliver James Vandeleur Kitson (1915–1996); Oliver assumed the additional name of Vandeleur by deed poll in 1935. After the death of his first wife in 1935 he married Dorothy Christabel Rowland Pelly, widow of Capt H M Rowland, on 16 September 1937. He died in London, aged 75.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Airedale, Roland Kitson, 3rd Baron 1882 births 1958 deaths 3 Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross High sheriffs of the County of London People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge West Yorkshire Regiment officers