Ross Campbell Geddes, 2nd Baron Geddes (20 July 1907 – 2 February 1975) was a British peer and business man, a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

from 1954 until his death.

Early life

The eldest son of

Auckland Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes Auckland Campbell Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes, (21 June 1879 – 8 June 1954) was a British academic, soldier, politician and diplomat. He was a member of David Lloyd George's coalition government during the First World War and also served as Amb ...

, and his wife Isabella Gamble Ross, a daughter of W. A. Ross of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and

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 ...

, graduating BA and MA. Some of his summers were spent in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where his father was British ambassador between 1920 and 1924.''

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

'', volume 2 (2003), page 1532 Geddes's sister

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(1913–1997) married

Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine (''Ludwig Hermann Alexander Chlodwig'', 20 November 1908 – 30 May 1968) was the youngest son of Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse by his second wife, Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich. He was a grea ...

, a brother-in-law of

Philip Mountbatten Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from ...

, and he was a nephew of

Eric Geddes Sir Eric Campbell Geddes (26 September 1875 – 22 June 1937) was a British businessman and Conservative politician. With a background in railways, he served as head of Military Transportation on the Western Front, with the rank of major-ge ...

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

during the

First World War 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 ...

, who later planned the

Geddes Axe The Geddes Axe was the drive for public economy and retrenchment in UK government expenditure recommended in the 1920s by a Committee on National Expenditure chaired by Sir Eric Geddes and with Lord Inchcape, Lord Faringdon, Sir Joseph Maclay a ...

Career

In the 1930s, Geddes worked in an oil refinery in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and a chemical works in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. With an interest in shipping, during the Second World War Geddes was Assistant Director in the Tanker Division of the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transpor ...

between 1940 and 1942, then until 1944 was a member of the British Merchant Shipping Mission to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, led by

John Maclay John Scott Maclay, 1st Viscount Muirshiel (26 October 1905 – 17 August 1992), was a British politician, sitting as a National Liberal and Conservative Member of Parliament before the party was fully assimilated into the Unionist Party in Sc ...

. He returned to the Tanker Division as Deputy Director between 1944 and 1945. In 1942, his father was created

Baron Geddes Baron Geddes, of Rolvenden in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 28 January 1942 for the prominent Conservative politician and former Ambassador to the United States, Sir Auckland Geddes. ...

of Rolvenden, Kent, and on 8 January 1954 he succeeded to the peerage, gaining a seat in the

. In September 1957 the

Earl of Rosebery Earl of Rosebery is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1703 for Archibald Primrose, 1st Viscount of Rosebery, with remainder to his issue male and female successively. Its name comes from Roseberry Topping, a hill near Archibald's w ...

appointed him as a Deputy Lieutenant for

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

."DEPUTY-LIEUTENANTS OF MIDLOTHIAN" in ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'', Thursday 19 September 1957, p. 7: "The Earl of Rosebery and Midlothian, Lord-Lieutenant of Midlothian, has granted Commissions as Deputy Lieutenants of the County of Midlothian to the Rt. Hon. Ross Campbell, Lord Geddes of Malleny,

Balerno Balerno () is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre, next to Currie and then Juniper Green. Traditionally in the county of Midlothian it now administratively falls within the jurisdiction o ...

, and..." In 1958, he became 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 ...

, then in 1970 a Knight Commander of the same order. Geddes was chairman of several companies, Trident Tankers, Limmer Holdings, Clerical Medical and General Life Assurance, Monks Investment Trust, and the British Travel Association, and was also a director of P&O.

Personal life

On 26 January 1931, Geddes married Enid Mary Butler, daughter of Clarence Howell Butler, of

Tenterden Tenterden is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The 2021 census published the population of the parish to be 8,186. Geography Tenterden is connected to Kent's county town of Maidstone by the A262 road an ...

, Kent, late of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, and they had three children: *Neil Ross Geddes (born and died 1932) *Margaret Ross Geddes (born 1934) * Euan Michael Ross Geddes (born 1937) In 1950 and 1957 Geddes had a Scottish home at Malleny House,

. Geddes died at sea, while on a cruise, on 2 February 1975, aged 67."Lord Geddes, 67, Headed British Travel Association", ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', February 19, 1975
archived
15 March 2025"Lord Geddes dies at sea", ''

Kentish Express The ''Kentish Express'' is a weekly newspaper serving southern Kent. It is published in four editions - Ashford, Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh, and Tenterden. The title is owned by the KM Group and published on Thursdays. History The ...

'', Friday 7 February 1975, p. 9: "LORD Geddes, who has died at sea while on a cruise, 67, was known to many of the older residents of Rolvenden..."

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geddes, Ross Campbell, 2nd Baron 1907 births 1975 deaths People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Deputy lieutenants of Midlothian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire