Thomas Galbraith, 1st Baron Strathclyde

The Right Honourable
The Lord Strathclyde
PC
Minister of State for Scotland
In office
7 April 1955  23 October 1958
Preceded by The Earl of Home
Succeeded by The Lord Forbes
Chairman of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board
In office
Late 1950s  May 1967
Preceded by Lord Cooper
Succeeded by Tom Fraser
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Pollok
In office
30 April 1940  26 May 1955
Preceded by Sir John Gilmour
Succeeded by John George
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
1955  12 July 1985
Hereditary Peerage
Succeeded by Thomas Galbraith
Personal details
Born 20 March 1891
Partick, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died 12 July 1985(1985-07-12) (aged 94)
Mauchline, Ayrshire

Thomas Dunlop Galbraith, 1st Baron Strathclyde, PC (20 March 1891 – 12 July 1985) was a Scottish Unionist Party politician.[1]

After serving in the Royal Navy, he became a chartered accountant and practised, 1925–70. He was elevated to the peerage in 1955 as Lord Strathclyde of Barskimming in the County of Ayr, and died three decades later. As his eldest son, Sir Tam Galbraith, died in 1982, the barony was inherited by his grandson Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde.

Early life and education

Galbraith was born into Clan Galbraith, which traces its roots to 12th-century laird Gilchrist Bretnach, the 15x great-grandfather of King George I. He was one of eight children born to surgeon William Brodie Galbraith FRFPSGlas FRCSE (1855–1942) and Annie Jack Dunlop (sister of Sir Thomas Dunlop, 1st Baronet). He had an older brother, Walter, and younger brothers William, David, Norman, Robert, and Alexander, and a younger sister, Annie.[2]

Galbraith was educated at Glasgow Academy, Eastman's, Southsea; Royal Naval College, Osborne and Royal Naval College Dartmouth.[2]

Royal Navy

Galbraith joined the Royal Navy in 1903. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1913[3] and served aboard the battleships HMS Audacious (1869) and HMS Queen Elizabeth (1913) during the First World War. Three of his younger brothers were killed in the war while serving in the Highland Light Infantry: Capt. William Brodie Galbraith (1892–1915), David Boyd Galbraith (1894–1915) and Norman Dunlop Galbraith (1896– 1918). He left the Royal Navy in 1922 and formally retired in 1925.[1][2]

When the Second World War began, Galbraith joined the Scottish Naval Command. He was later sent to Washington, D.C. to represent the Admiralty, which was negotiating supplies prior to the enactment of Lend-Lease in 1941.[1]

Political career

Galbraith's political career began in local government where he served as a councillor on Glasgow Corporation from 1933 until 1940.[2] For part of that time he was vice-chair of the Progressive Party.[4] He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Pollok from 1940 to 1955, being originally elected at a by-election and then at the 1945, 1950 and 1951 general elections. He served as Under-Secretary of State for Scotland in Winston Churchill's caretaker government from May to July 1945.

He was made a peer on 4 May 1955,[5] shortly before the 1955 general election, and served as a Minister of State at the Scottish Office until 1958. By 1964, Strathclyde was serving as chairman of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board.[6]

He was awarded the Freedom of Dingwall in 1965 and the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen in 1966.[1]

Marriage and children

On 2 December 1915, Strathclyde married Ida Jane Galloway, daughter of Thomas Galloway of Auchendrane House, Ayrshire. They had seven children, five of whom served in the Royal Navy. Their second son was killed during the Second World War in the English Channel while captaining the French submarine chaser Chasseur 6 that was hit by a German torpedo boat.[7][1][2]

Baroness Ida Strathclyde died in June 1985. One month later, Strathclyde's died at his estate at Barskimming, in Mauchline, Ayrshire, in 1985, at which the barony passed to his grandson.[1]

Styles of address

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lord Strathclyde: Expert on Scottish Affairs". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 15 July 1985. p. 10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. pp. 3774–3776. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
  3. "No. 28747". The London Gazette. 19 August 1913. p. 5932.
  4. The Times House of Commons 1951. London: The Times Office. 1951. p. 191.
  5. "No. 40470". The London Gazette. 6 May 1955. p. 2619.
  6. Preston, Peter (1964-08-05). "Bringing electricity to the Scottish Highlands". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
  7. Kindell, Don. "Naval Events: October 1940". British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir John Gilmour, Bt
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Pollok
19401955
Succeeded by
John George
Political offices
Preceded by
Joseph Westwood
Allan Chapman
Joint Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
1945
with Allan Chapman
Succeeded by
George Buchanan
Tom Fraser
Preceded by
Tom Fraser
John James Robertson
Margaret Herbison
Joint Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
1951–1955
with William McNair Snadden
James Henderson Stewart (1952–55)
Succeeded by
Jack Nixon Browne
James Henderson Stewart
William McNair Snadden
Preceded by
The Earl of Home
Minister of State for Scotland
1955–1958
Succeeded by
The Lord Forbes
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New title Baron Strathclyde
2nd creation
1955–1985
Succeeded by
Thomas Galbraith

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