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George Harvie-Watt

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Sir
George Steven Harvie-Watt
Sir George Steven Harvie-Watt in 1945
Member of Parliament
for Keighley
In office
27 October 1931 – 25 October 1935
Preceded byHastings Lees-Smith
Succeeded byHastings Lees-Smith
Member of Parliament
for Richmond (Surrey)
In office
25 February 1937 – 18 September 1959
Preceded byWilliam Ray
Succeeded byAnthony Royle
Majority12,837 (45.4%)
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office
1941–1945
Prime MinisterWinston Churchill
Preceded byBrendan Bracken
Succeeded byGeoffrey de freitas
Personal details
Born(1903-08-23)23 August 1903
Died18 December 1989(1989-12-18) (aged 86)
Political partyConservative
SpouseJane Elizabeth Taylor (m. 4 January 1932)
Children3
EducationGeorge Watson's College
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow
University of Edinburgh
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
RankLieutenant-Colonel
Brigadier
UnitTerritorial Army Royal Engineers
AwardsEfficiency Decoration (TD)

Sir George Steven Harvie-Watt, 1st Baronet, QC, TD, DL, FRSA (23 August 1903 – 18 December 1989) was a British barrister and Conservative Party politician.

Harvie-Watt studied at George Watson's College in Edinburgh, then at the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh. In 1924, he was commissioned into the Territorial Army Royal Engineers. In 1930, he became a barrister at Inner Temple, while at the 1931 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Keighley. He lost his seat in 1935, but re-entered Parliament by winning a by-election for the seat of Richmond (Surrey) in 1937. He immediately became Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Board of Trade, and was also promoted in the Territorial Army: to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1938, and Brigadier in 1941.[1]

From 1941 to 1945, Harvie-Watt served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Winston Churchill. He was awarded the Efficiency Decoration (TD) in 1942 for 20 years service in the Territorial Army. At the end of World War II, he became a Queen's Counsel and was created a baronet (see Harvie-Watt baronets).[2] In 1948 he became an aide-de-camp to George VI; on the king's death, he filled the same position for Elizabeth II, also acting as a member of the Queen's Body Guard for Scotland. He left Parliament at the 1959 general election, becoming the chairman of Consolidated Gold Fields.[1] By 1969, he was one of the highest paid people in the United Kingdom.[3]

He was Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London from 1966 to 1989 and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1973.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b The Papers of Sir George Harvie-Watt, Churchill Archives Centre
  2. ^ "No. 37292". The London Gazette. 2 October 1945. p. 4862.
  3. ^ Lumsden, Andrew; O'Connor, Gillian (8 September 1969). "The pay, the power and the wealth at the top of British industry". The Times. p. 21.
  4. ^ Sir George Steven Harvie-Watt, 1st Bt.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Keighley
19311935
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Richmond (Surrey)
19371959
Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
1941–1945
Succeeded by
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baronet
(of Bathgate)
1945–1989
Succeeded by
James Harvie-Watt