J. C. C. Davidson

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For other people named John Davidson, see John Davidson (disambiguation).

George VI
Prime MinisterRamsay MacDonald
Stanley Baldwin
Preceded byThe Marquess of Lothian
Succeeded byThe Earl Winterton
Personal details
Born23 February 1889
Died11 December 1970(1970-12-11) (aged 81)
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
SpouseHon. Frances Dickinson (1894–1985)
Children4, including Andrew
Alma materPembroke College, Cambridge

John Colin Campbell Davidson, 1st Viscount Davidson,

House of Commons and was ennobled as Viscount Davidson. Despite being only 48, he never took any further active part in politics. His wife Frances, Viscountess Davidson, succeeded him as MP for Hemel Hempstead
. Lord Davidson died in London in 1970.

Background and education

Davidson was born at

called to the Bar, Middle Temple, in 1913.[2]

Civil service career, 1910–1920

After leaving Cambridge in 1910, Davidson joined the Colonial Office, where he became unpaid private secretary to

First World War, but Harcourt considered him so valuable that he managed to convince him to stay at the Colonial Office. In 1915 Bonar Law replaced Harcourt as head of the Colonial Office, and was urged to retain Davidson as private secretary. They became close friends and Law came to rely as heavily on Davidson as Harcourt had done.[2]

In December 1916 Bonar Law was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons and insisted on taking Davidson with him as private secretary. Davidson managed to persuade Bonar Law to employ Stanley Baldwin as his Parliamentary Private Secretary, a move that would have far-reaching consequences for Davidson himself and for the nation's history. Baldwin had up until then been an obscure back-bench MP, but his appointment as PPS to Bonar Law was his first move on the ladder of promotion. Davidson and Baldwin developed a close friendship which lasted until Baldwin's death in 1947. In 1918 he was responsible for the final draft of the "coupon" endorsing parliamentary candidates in the general election as representatives of the coalition government. In 1919 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).[2]

Political career, 1920–1937

Davidson entered parliament unopposed for

Carlton Club meeting in October 1922. Austen Chamberlain resigned as party leader and was succeeded by Bonar Law. Shortly afterwards Bonar Law was asked to form a government and once again appointed Davidson as his Parliamentary Private Secretary and unofficial unpaid private secretary.[2]

Bonar Law resigned in May 1923 after his health collapsed. Davidson was appointed a

Sir Ronald Waterhouse, another of Bonar Law's secretaries, at the same time as his official resignation as Prime Minister. Stamfordham had noted on the memorandum that it "practically expressed the views of Mr. Bonar Law". According to Blake, there was nothing in the memorandum to substantiate that claim. Davidson subsequently said that he had dictated the note after being asked by Stamfordham about the opinion of back-bench MP's. However, Blake argued, "In any case, the result [Baldwin as Bonar Law's successor] was affected only marginally. The King's decision was firmly based on his own good sense and the powerful arguments of Balfour against the choice of a peer as prime minister".[2]

After the appointment of Baldwin as prime minister, Davidson entered the government as

1924 Labour government, and made Davidson Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty. In this post he was forced to deal with cuts in naval expenditure proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Churchill, especially regarding the construction of new cruisers. He served as deputy chief civil commissioner during the general strike of 1926, with responsibility for publicity. He also managed the short-lived British Gazette during the strike and arranged for the broadcasting of official bulletins.[2]

In 1926 Davidson left the government to take up the post of

Privy Council.[2][6] According to Blake, Davidson "left a lasting imprint on the organization of the party, including the creation of the Research Department, and many of the changes attributed to his successor, Neville Chamberlain, were in fact his". However, Davidson came under criticism after the defeat at the 1929 general election and resigned in 1930.[2]

In November 1931 Davidson was once again appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the National Government headed by

House of Commons after Neville Chamberlain became Prime Minister in May 1937.[2] The following June he was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Davidson, of Little Gaddesden in the County of Hertford.[9] He was succeeded as MP by his wife, Frances, Viscountess Davidson (see below).[2]

Later career, 1937–1970

Despite being only 48 at the time of his elevation to the peerage, Davidson took no further active part in political life. He remained involved with Ashridge and his business affairs. During the

Second World War he was with the Ministry of Information between 1940 and 1941 and made an official tour of South America in 1942. This was followed in 1943 with his foundation of Canning House, an important centre for Latin American culture and education. Blake writes of Davidson: "A man of much charm and geniality, bespectacled and ruddy complexioned, Davidson could be very tough. He was essentially one who operated behind the scenes rather than on the front of the stage. A streak of Scottish puritanism put him emphatically on the side of the 'respectable'. He had no sympathy with the buccaneers – Lloyd George, Churchill, Birkenhead, Beaverbrook. He was deeply devoted to Baldwin who owed a great debt to his advice, companionship, and support."[2]

Family

Lord Davidson married Frances Joan "Mimi" Dickinson, daughter of Sir Willoughby Dickinson, later Lord Dickinson of Painswick, in 1919. They had two sons and two daughters (Margaret, Jean, Andrew and Malcolm).

Lady Davidson remained MP for Hemel Hempstead until 1959, and was created a life peer as Baroness Northchurch in 1963. Lord and Lady Davidson thereby became one of the few couples who both held titles in their own right.[2]

Lord Davidson died in London in December 1970, aged 81, and was succeeded by his eldest son Andrew, 2nd Viscount Davidson, who also became a Conservative government minister. Andrew died in 2012 and the title passed to his brother Malcolm, 3rd Viscount Davidson.

The Viscountess Davidson died in November 1985, aged 91. Their second daughter Jean Elizabeth married the Hon. Charles Strutt, son of

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington
.

In popular culture

Davidson was featured prominently in Jack Thorne's 2023 play When Winston Went to War with the Wireless, played by Ravin J Ganatra.[10]

Arms

Coat of arms of J. C. C. Davidson
Crest
A lion passant Gules charged on the shoulder with a pheon Or and holding in the dexter paw a torch inflamed Proper.
Escutcheon
Argent on a fess Sable between in chief two pheons Azure and in base a boar’s head erased of the second a portcullis chained Or.
Supporters
On the dexter side a horse Argent charged on the shoulder with a rose Gules barbed and seeded Proper and on the sinister side a horse Sable charged on the shoulder with a martlet Or.
Motto
Lux Ex Tenebris [11]

References

  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "H" (part 2)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r William, E. T.; Nicholls, C. S. (editors). The Dictionary of National Biography, 1961–1970. Oxford University Press, 1981.
  3. ^ "No. 32122". The London Gazette. 12 November 1920. p. 10974.
  4. ^ "No. 32827". The London Gazette. 25 May 1923. p. 3739.
  5. ^ "No. 32828". The London Gazette. 29 May 1923. p. 3741.
  6. ^ "No. 33354". The London Gazette. 7 February 1928. p. 831.
  7. ^ "No. 33771". The London Gazette. 13 November 1931. p. 7311.
  8. OCLC 922196089
    .
  9. ^ "No. 34410". The London Gazette. 22 June 1937. p. 4010.
  10. ^ "Donmar Warehouse reveals complete cast for "When Winston Went to War with the Wireless"". WhatsOnStage.com. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  11. ^ Burke's Peerage. 1949.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead
1920–1923 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead
1924–1937 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1923–1924 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
1924–1926 		Succeeded by
Cuthbert Headlam
Preceded by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1931–1937 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the Conservative Party
1926–1930 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Viscount Davidson
1937–1970 		Succeeded by
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