Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet (27 May 1876 – 30 March 1940) was a Scottish Unionist politician. He notably served as

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

from 1932 to 1935.

Early life

Gilmour was the son of Sir John Gilmour, 1st Baronet, chairman of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party, who was created a baronet in 1897. His mother was Henrietta, daughter of David Gilmour of Quebec. He was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond, the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

Military service

Gilmour was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the Fifeshire Volunteer Light Horse, and was among the officers of the Fife and Forfar volunteer battalions to volunteer for service in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Imperial Yeomanry on 7 February 1900, and served 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 ...

with the 20th (Fife and Forfarshire Light Horse) Company of the 6th Battalion. He left

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

for South Africa with the company on the SS ''Cymric'' in March 1900. For his service, he was awarded the Queen's medal with 4 clasps and was twice mentioned in despatches (by Lord Roberts dated 4 September 1901 and in the final despatch by Lord Kitchener dated 23 June 1902). His letters from the Boer War were published in 1996 under the title "Clearly My Duty" by his son, Sir John Gilmour, 3rd Baronet. He again served in

World War I 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 ...

with the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, where he was again mentioned in despatches and awarded the DSO with bar. His service after the war saw him rise to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel when he commanded the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry. On 8 May 1931 he was made the Honorary Colonel of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry.

Political career

He unsuccessfully contested East Fife in 1906 and was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...

from 1910 to 1918 and for Glasgow Pollok from 1918 until 1940. He was a Junior Lord of the Treasury in 1921–1922, Scottish Unionist Whip from 1919 to 1922 and in 1924. He was appointed as Secretary for Scotland in 1924, and became the first

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

when the post was upgraded in 1926. A member of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

joining the Pollokshaws Lodge, LOL172, in June 1910. This Lodge is now named after him. Gilmour, as Secretary for Scotland, repudiated the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

's report, ''"The Menace of the Irish Race to our Scottish Nationality"''. Later in his career he served as Minister of Shipping during the early months of British involvement in 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 ...

but died in office of a heart attack in London on 30 March 1940,

Other appointments

Gilmour was Master of the Fife Fox Hounds, 1902–1906, and a Member of Fife County Council 1901–1910. He was

Rector of the University of Edinburgh The Lord Rector of The University of Edinburgh is elected every three years by the students and staff at The University of Edinburgh. Seldom referred to as ''Lord Rector'', the incumbent is more commonly known just as the ''Rector''. Role T ...

, 1926–1929, and was awarded honorary degrees by the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

in 1925, the

in 1927, and the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

in 1929. He was a Brigadier with the Royal Company of Archers. He was made Vice-Lieutenant for the County of

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

on 27 March 1936. Appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) in 1935.

Family

Gilmour first married Mary Louise Lambert, daughter of Edward Tiley Lambert, of Telham Court, Battle, Sussex, on 9 April 1902 at St. Mary's Church in Battle, Sussex. The marriage produced two children, Anne Margaret, born in October 1909, and John, born in October 1912. After Mary Louise's death in 1919, he married her younger sister (his former sister-in-law), Violet Agnes Lambert, in 1920. They had one daughter, Daphne, born in January 1922. Both children from his first marriage both rose to positions of prominence in the civil service. His eldest daughter, Dame Anne Margaret Bryans , worked for the British Red Cross Society and served as vice-chairman of the executive committee from 1964 to 1976, in addition to holding positions in the governorship of many hospitals in the United Kingdom. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, Sir John Gilmour, 3rd Baronet, who also had a successful political career. His great-nephew, George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, was also a Conservative MP and served as Scottish Secretary from 1979 to 1986.

Notes

References

*Torrance, David, ''The Scottish Secretaries'' (Birlinn 2006) * *

External links

Obituary of Dame Anne Bryans
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilmour, John, 2nd Baronet 1876 births 1940 deaths Nobility from Fife British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies Secretaries of State for Scotland Secretaries of State for the Home Department People educated at Glenalmond College Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Rectors of the University of Edinburgh Masters of foxhounds in Scotland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 302 John Companions of the Distinguished Service Order UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Deputy lieutenants of Fife Fife and Forfar Yeomanry officers Imperial Yeomanry officers Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Members of the Royal Company of Archers Agriculture ministers of the United Kingdom Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940 Secretaries for Scotland