John Buchan, 2nd Baron Tweedsmuir

John Norman Stuart Buchan, 2nd Baron Tweedsmuir CBE CD (born November 25, 1911 in London , † June 20, 1996 in North Berwick ) was a British politician , author and peer .

life and career

Early years

Buchan was born in London on November 25, 1911 to John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir , and Susan Charlotte Grosvenor. He attended Eton College , where he was engaged in falconry , and graduated from Brasenose College at the University of Oxford in 1933 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). From 1934 to 1936 he was deputy head of the district government (Assistant District Commissioner) in the colonial administration in Uganda . There he fell seriously ill with amoebic dysentery . From 1937 to 1939 he worked for the Hudson Bay Company .

Second World War

During World War II he served as a soldier in the Governor General's Foot Guards and was one of the first Canadian troops to land in England in December 1939 .

In 1943 he was Lieutenant-Colonel of the Hastings and Price Edward Regiment . There he became deputy commander (second-in-command) and later also commander. He was deployed in Sicily , where he and his troops took the Assoro fortress . For this he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire . He was also mentioned twice in Despatches . He was later wounded and transferred to North Africa on an ambulance due to temporary incapacity to fight . He then served on the General Staff in Italy . He was the liaison between the British and Canadian forces. He later became an honorary colonel in his regiment.

post war period

In 1940 he inherited his father's title after his father's death. After the war he took his seat in the House of Lords and belonged to the largest opposition faction for four years. Between 1945 and 1983 he took part in discussions in the House of Lords several times.

From 1948 to 1951 he was Lord Rector of the University of Aberdeen .

From 1950 to 1952 he was chairman of the Joint East and Central African Board . In 1951 he became president of the Institute of Rural Life at Home and Overseas ; he held this office until 1985. In addition, he was from 1955 to 1957 President of the Association of Chambers of Commerce of the Commonwealth and the British Kingdom ( Federation of Commonwealth and British Empire Chambers of Commerce ).

Buchan was president of the British Schools Exploring Society for 21 years (1964-1985), an association that organized and conducted research expeditions for young people. From 1964 to 1967 he served as President of the Institute of Export , a body dedicated to promoting UK export performance and establishing international trade standards.

From 1971 to 1974 he was chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the voluntary self-regulatory agency for advertising matters. From 1973 to 1980 he was chairman of the Council on Tribunals , a permanent body to oversee and comply with the 1992 Tribunals and Inquiries Act .

He has also served on the boards of British Overseas Airways Corporation , Dalgety plc and Sun Alliance . In 1975 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh .

He was also the author of several books. In 1951 he published Hudson Bay Trader , in 1953 Always a Countryman appeared . One Man's Happiness is one of his books .

From 1994 he had health problems. He returned to Scotland and lived in North Berwick . He died on June 20, 1996 at the age of 84. His title was inherited by his brother, William Buchan, 3rd Baron Tweedsmuir .

family

Buchan's ancestors were sheep farmers and lawyers on one side and educated members of the English upper class on the other.

He married on July 27, 1948 Priscilla Buchan, Baroness Tweedsmuir of Belhelvie († 1978), the daughter of Brigadier General Alan Fortescue Thomson and Edythe Mary Unwin, who in 1970 was raised to Life Peeress . Together they enforced the Protection of Birds Act in 1954 . The couple lived in Balmedie in Aberdeenshire . They later moved to Oxfordshire , where Tweedsmuir had lived as a child.

They spent 15 years at Carolean Kingston House in Kingston Bagpuize .

Buchan had a daughter with her, Priscilla Susan Buchan (* 1949). Two years after the death of his first wife, he married Jean Margherita Tollemache, the daughter of Captain Humphrey Douglas Tollemache.

Works

• 1951: Hudson Bay Trader
• 1953: Always a Countryman
• 1968: One Man's Happiness

Web links

• John Buchan at Hansard (English)
• Priscilla Jean Fortescue Thomson, Baroness Tweedsmuir of Belhelvie on thepeerage.com , accessed August 12, 2015.
• Obituary in the Independent

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Fellows Directory name. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed October 13, 2019 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
John Buchan	Baron Tweedsmuir 1940–1996	William Buchan