Sir John Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet


Sir John Sinclair Wemyss Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet, MBE, TD was a British Conservative politician.
Arbuthnot was born in Kittybrewster, the son of Major Kenneth Wyndham Arbuthnot, who was the son of William Reierson Arbuthnot and Janet Elspeth Sinclair Wemyss. Kenneth had served with the Seaforth Highlanders since 1893, fighting in the Chitral Expedition in 1895, in the Mahdist War in the Sudan in 1898, and in the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1902. He was brigade major of the Gordon Infantry Brigade when his son was born, but was killed in action in the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915.
John Arbuthnot was educated at Eton College, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in 1933. He received his MA in 1938. He worked in the tea industry and was a Director of Folkestone and Dover Water Company and other companies. He served in World War II in the Royal Artillery, rising to the rank of Major. In 1940, he was seconded to work with explosives and was appointed MBE for his scientific work in 1944. He was decorated with the Territorial Decoration in 1951.
Arbuthnot stood for election in Don Valley in 1935 and Dover in 1945, losing to Labour candidates both times. He was elected as MP for Dover in 1950, serving until 1964. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary for the Minister of Pensions from 1952 to 1955 and for the Minister of Health from 1956 to 1957. He was member of the Public Accounts Committee from 1955 to 1964. He also served as Second Church Estates Commissioner, the spokesman for the Church of England in the House of Commons, and as a Deputy Speaker.
On 26 February 1964, he was created a baronet, of Kittybrewster in the County of the City of Aberdeen.

Family

Arbuthnot married Jean Duff, daughter of Alexander Gordon Duff on 3 July 1943. They
had five children, two sons and three daughters.