John Colville, 1st Baron Clydesmuir

David John Colville, 1st Baron Clydesmuir, GCIE, PC (13 February 1894 – 31 October 1954), was a Scottish Unionist politician, colonial administrator, and industrialist. He was director of his family's steel and iron business, David Colville & Sons as well as the final Governor of Bombay.

The Lord Clydesmuir
Colville in 1931
Governor of Bombay
In office
24 March 1943 – 5 January 1948
Preceded byRoger Lumley
Succeeded byRaja Maharaj Singh
Secretary of State for Scotland
In office
6 May 1938 – 10 May 1940
Prime MinisterNeville Chamberlain
Preceded byWalter Elliot
Succeeded byErnest Brown
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office
29 October 1936 – 6 May 1938
Prime MinisterStanley Baldwin
Neville Chamberlain
Preceded byWilliam Morrison
Succeeded byEuan Wallace
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
In office
28 November 1935 – 29 October 1936
Prime MinisterStanley Baldwin
Preceded byNoel Skelton
Succeeded byHenry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn
Member of Parliament
for Midlothian and Peebles Northern
In office
30 May 1929 – January 1943
Preceded byAndrew Clarke
Succeeded bySir David King Murray
Personal details
Born13 February 1894
Cleland, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died31 October 1954 (aged 60)
SpouseAgnes Anne Bilsland
Children3, including Ronald Colville, 2nd Baron Clydesmuir
Alma materCharterhouse, Trinity College, Cambridge

Early life and education

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The only son of John Colville MP, of Cleland, Lanarkshire, and Christina Marshall Colville, he was educated at Charterhouse and at Trinity College, Cambridge.

He served in World War I with the 6th Battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), and was wounded.

Political career

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He was unsuccessful National Liberal candidate for Motherwell at the 1922 general election. Switching to the Conservative Party, Colville was unsuccessful again at a by-election in January 1929 for Midlothian and Peebles Northern, but won the seat the general election in May 1929, remaining as the constituency's Member of Parliament (MP) until 1943. He served in the National Government as Parliamentary Secretary to the Department of Overseas Trade from 1931 to 1935, as Under-Secretary of State for Scotland from 1935 to 1936, as Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1936 to 1938 and as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1938 until 1940.

 
The Baron and his wife as governor and vice-regal consort of Bombay (now Mumbai)

Diplomatic career and peerage

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Colville left Parliament in 1943 to become Governor of Bombay, a post he held until January 1948. He acted as Viceroy and Governor-General of India, in 1945, 1946 and 1947. On his return from India he was raised to the peerage as Baron Clydesmuir, of Braidwood in the County of Lanarkshire. From 1950 to 1954 Lord Clydesmuir served as a Governor of the BBC.

Colville was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1936 and was a Brigadier in the Royal Company of Archers. He was Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire from 1952 until his death.

Marriage and children

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He married Agnes Anne Bilsland, daughter of Sir William Bilsland, in 1915. They had a son and two daughters.

His son, Ronald Colville, 2nd Baron Clydesmuir, served as Governor of the Bank of Scotland.

Arms

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Coat of arms of John Colville, 1st Baron Clydesmuir
 
 
Crest
A Hind's Head erased proper
Escutcheon
Argent a Cross Moline Sable on a Chief of the last a Thistle slipped proper between two Bulls' Heads also Argent
Supporters
Dexter: a Roebuck; Sinister: a Doe, both proper
Motto
Oublier Ne Puis (I cannot forget)[1]

References

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  1. ^ "Clydesmuir, Baron (UK, 1948)". Archived from the original on 21 March 2016.
  • Torrance, David, The Scottish Secretaries (Birlinn 2006)
  • Who Was Who
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Midlothian and Peebles Northern
19291943
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Financial Secretary to the Treasury
1936–1938
Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State for Scotland
1938–1940
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Bombay
1943–1947
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire
1952–1954
Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Clydesmuir
1948–1954
Succeeded by