Archibald Williamson, 1st Baron Forres

Archibald Williamson, 1st Baron Forres PC (13 September 1860 – 29 October 1931), known as Sir Archibald Williamson, 1st Baronet, from 1909 to 1922, was a British businessman and Liberal Party politician.

Early life

The eldest son of Stephen Williamson MP, and Annie Guthrie, Williamson was educated at Craigmount School,^[1] Edinburgh and at Edinburgh University.

Career

He was Liberal Member of Parliament for Elginshire and Nairnshire from 1906 to 1918 and then for Moray and Nairn until June 1922. He entered parliament in the aftermath of the 1906 Liberal landslide election, taking a seat from the Conservatives.

He was created a Baronet in 1909.^[2] He sought re-election 4 years later at the General Election and was returned with a reduced majority.

At the General Election in December 1910 in Elginshire and Nairnshire he was re-elected unopposed.^[3]

He was Chairman of a number of Home Office, Board of Trade and parliamentary committees and was a member of the Mesopotamia Commission of Enquiry in 1916. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1918. For the 1918 General Election his constituency was abolished and a new constituency Moray and Nairn was created for which he was adopted by the Liberals as candidate. As a supporter of David Lloyd George and his Coalition Government, he was endorsed as their candidate. As no other candidate came forward, he was again returned unopposed. Williamson held junior ministerial office as Financial Secretary to the War Office from 1919 to 1921. In June 1922, before the next general election, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Forres, of Glenogil in the County of Forfar. His recommendation for a peerage during the Lloyd George honours scandal created a public uproar when it was revealed that his oil firm, Williamson, Balfour and Co, had been accused of trading with the enemy during the war.^[4]^[5] He was defended by F. E. Smith, Lord Birkenhead.

Outside Parliament, he was a director of the Central Argentine Railway, Balfour Williamson & Co, and of several other companies.^[6]

Lord Forres was twice married, first in 1887 to Caroline Maria Hayne (died 1911), and second in 1912 to Hon. Agnes Freda Herschell, daughter of Farrer Herschell, 1st Baron Herschell.^[7] He died in October 1931, aged 71, and was succeeded in his titles by his son Stephen.

Election results

General election 1906: Elginshire and Nairnshire^[8] Electorate 5,757
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Archibald Williamson	3,006	66.0
	Conservative	Harry Hope	1,546	34.0
Majority			1,460	32.0	35.8
Turnout				79.1
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

General election Jan 1910: Elginshire and Nairnshire^[3] Electorate 5,748
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Archibald Williamson	2,917	62.7	−3.3
	Liberal Unionist	Ralph Glyn	1,734	37.3	+3.3
Majority			1,183	25.4	−6.6
Turnout				80.9	+1.8
	Liberal hold		Swing	-3.3

Notes

^ George Edward Cokayne, Vicary Gibbs, The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom: extant, extinct, or dormant, Volume 13, page 375 Editors: Vicary Gibbs, Baron Thomas Evelyn Scott-Ellis Howard de Walden; (The St. Catherine press, ltd.) 1940
^ "No. 28271". The London Gazette. 16 July 1909. p. 5457.
^ ^a ^b Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
^ Middlemas, K.; Barnes, A.J.L.; Barnes, J. (1970). Baldwin: A Biography. Macmillan.
^ Bryant, C. (2014). Parliament: The Biography (Volume II – Reform). Transworld. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-4481-7107-1.
^ Gilbert, Martin (1975). "43: The Genoa Conference". The Stricken World 1916–1922. Winston S. Churchill. Vol. IV. London: William Heinemann Ltd. p. 787. ISBN 0434130109.
^ University of Glasgow History of Art / HATII (2011). "Lady (Agnes) Freda Forres OBE". Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain & Ireland 1851–1951. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1907

References

Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, ^{[page needed]}
Rayment, Leigh. "Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page". Archived from the original on 24 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Rayment, Leigh. "Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs". Archived from the original on 25 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by John Gordon	Member of Parliament for Elginshire and Nairnshire 1906–1918	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Moray and Nairn 1918–1922	Succeeded by Thomas Maule Guthrie
Political offices
Preceded by Henry Forster	Financial Secretary to the War Office 1919–1921	Succeeded by George Frederick Stanley
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baron Forres 1922–1931	Succeeded by Stephen Williamson
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baronet (of Glenogil) 1909–1931	Succeeded by Stephen Williamson

[1] George Edward Cokayne, Vicary Gibbs, The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom: extant, extinct, or dormant, Volume 13, page 375 Editors: Vicary Gibbs, Baron Thomas Evelyn Scott-Ellis Howard de Walden; (The St. Catherine press, ltd.) 1940

[2] "No. 28271". The London Gazette. 16 July 1909. p. 5457.

[Debrett-3] Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916

[Middlemas_Barnes_Barnes_1970_p.108-4] Middlemas, K.; Barnes, A.J.L.; Barnes, J. (1970). Baldwin: A Biography. Macmillan.

[Bryant_2014_p._229-5] Bryant, C. (2014). Parliament: The Biography (Volume II – Reform). Transworld. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-4481-7107-1.

[6] Gilbert, Martin (1975). "43: The Genoa Conference". The Stricken World 1916–1922. Winston S. Churchill. Vol. IV. London: William Heinemann Ltd. p. 787. ISBN 0434130109.

[MappingAFF-7] University of Glasgow History of Art / HATII (2011). "Lady (Agnes) Freda Forres OBE". Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain & Ireland 1851–1951. Retrieved 27 March 2020.

[8] Whitaker's Almanack, 1907

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