George Mathers
Encyclopedia
George Mathers, 1st Baron Mathers KT
, PC, DL
(28 February 1886 – 26 September 1965) was a Scottish
trade unionist and Labour Party
politician. He served as Comptroller of the Household
from 1944 to 1945 in Winston Churchill
's war-time coalition government and as Treasurer of the Household
(Deputy Chief Whip) from 1945 to 1946 in Clement Attlee
's post-war Labour administration.
, the son of George Mathers, JP
, and Annie, daughter of James Barclay. He was educated at the Newtown St Boswells School.
. He was active in the trade union and labour movement from 1908, becoming President of the Carlisle Trades Council and Labour Party from 1917 to 1920. He was elected a member of Carlisle
City Council in 1919, before transferring to Edinburgh in 1921.
Independent Labour Party
and President of the Edinburgh Branch of the Scottish Home Rule Association. He unsuccessfully contested Edinburgh West
in 1923 and 1924 before being elected as Member of Parliament
(MP) for the seat in 1929. He lost his seat in 1931 but was returned for Linlithgowshire
in 1935. He continued to hold the seat (renamed West Lothian
in 1950) until he stood down at the 1951 general election
.
Mathers was Parliamentary Private Secretary
(PPS) to the Under-Secretary of State for India
from July 1929, and transferred to same position with the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies
in November of that year (Drummond Shiels
held both positions). From 1935 to 1945 he was a Scottish Labour Whip. He entered the government under Winston Churchill
as Comptroller of the Household
in October 1944, a post he held until the coalition government was disbanded in May 1945. When Labour came to power under Clement Attlee
in July 1945, he was appointed Treasurer of the Household
(Deputy Chief Whip), which he remained until April the following year. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1947 and raised to the peerage as Baron Mathers, of Newton St Boswells in the County of Roxburgh, in 1952, in recognition of his "political and public services".
Mathers was also Lord High Commissioner
to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1951, and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant
of Edinburgh
in 1946. In 1956 he was appointed a Knight of the Thistle
.
Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
, PC, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(28 February 1886 – 26 September 1965) was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
trade unionist and Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician. He served as Comptroller of the Household
Comptroller of the Household
The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...
from 1944 to 1945 in Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
's war-time coalition government and as Treasurer of the Household
Treasurer of the Household
The position of Treasurer of the Household is theoretically held by a household official of the British monarch, under control of the Lord Steward's Department, but is, in fact, a political office held by one of the government's Deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons...
(Deputy Chief Whip) from 1945 to 1946 in Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
's post-war Labour administration.
Background and education
Mathers was born in Newtown St Boswells, RoxburghshireRoxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfries to the west, Selkirk to the north-west, and Berwick to the north. To the south-east it borders Cumbria and Northumberland in England.It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...
, the son of George Mathers, JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, and Annie, daughter of James Barclay. He was educated at the Newtown St Boswells School.
Early working life and trade unionism
From 1899 Mathers served as a clerk with the North British RailwayNorth British Railway
The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.-History:...
. He was active in the trade union and labour movement from 1908, becoming President of the Carlisle Trades Council and Labour Party from 1917 to 1920. He was elected a member of Carlisle
County Borough of Carlisle
Carlisle was, from 1835 to 1974, a local government district in the northwest of England, coterminate with Carlisle. In 1835, following the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, Carlisle was constituted a municipal borough of Cumberland, but was promoted to county borough status in 1914, within its...
City Council in 1919, before transferring to Edinburgh in 1921.
Political career
Mathers was Chairman of Edinburgh CentralEdinburgh Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh Central was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
and President of the Edinburgh Branch of the Scottish Home Rule Association. He unsuccessfully contested Edinburgh West
Edinburgh West (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh West is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , first used in the 1885 general election...
in 1923 and 1924 before being elected as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for the seat in 1929. He lost his seat in 1931 but was returned for Linlithgowshire
Linlithgowshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Linlithgowshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 to 1945. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system....
in 1935. He continued to hold the seat (renamed West Lothian
West Lothian (UK Parliament constituency)
West Lothian was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post voting system....
in 1950) until he stood down at the 1951 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
.
Mathers was Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
(PPS) to the Under-Secretary of State for India
Under-Secretary of State for India
This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the period of British rule between 1866 and 1948, and for Burma from 1858-1948....
from July 1929, and transferred to same position with the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State....
in November of that year (Drummond Shiels
Drummond Shiels
Sir Drummond Shiels MC was a Scottish Labour politician.The son of James Drummond Shiels and Agnes Campbell of Edinburgh, he was educated at Edinburgh University where he graduated MB ChB....
held both positions). From 1935 to 1945 he was a Scottish Labour Whip. He entered the government under Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
as Comptroller of the Household
Comptroller of the Household
The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...
in October 1944, a post he held until the coalition government was disbanded in May 1945. When Labour came to power under Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
in July 1945, he was appointed Treasurer of the Household
Treasurer of the Household
The position of Treasurer of the Household is theoretically held by a household official of the British monarch, under control of the Lord Steward's Department, but is, in fact, a political office held by one of the government's Deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons...
(Deputy Chief Whip), which he remained until April the following year. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1947 and raised to the peerage as Baron Mathers, of Newton St Boswells in the County of Roxburgh, in 1952, in recognition of his "political and public services".
Mathers was also Lord High Commissioner
Lord High Commissioner
Lord High Commissioner is the style of High Commissioners, i.e. direct representatives of the monarch, in three cases in the Kingdom of Scotland and the United Kingdom, two of which are no longer extant...
to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body[1] An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland, A Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition .-Church courts:As a Presbyterian church,...
in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1951, and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in 1946. In 1956 he was appointed a Knight of the Thistle
Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
.