William Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree

William Warrender Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree, GBE, PC, KC (19 August 1860 – 5 May 1942), known as Sir William Mackenzie between 1918 and 1929, was a British barrister, public servant and Labour (later National Labour) politician. He served as Secretary of State for Air under Ramsay MacDonald between 1930 and 1931.

The Right Honourable The Lord Amulree GBE PC KC
Secretary of State for Air
In office 14 October 1930 – 5 November 1931
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	Ramsay MacDonald
Preceded by	The Lord Thomson
Succeeded by	The Marquess of Londonderry
Personal details
Born	William Warrender Mackenzie 19 August 1860
Died	5 May 1942 (aged 81)
Nationality	British
Political party	National Labour
Other political affiliations	Labour
Spouse(s)	Lilian Bradbury ​ ​ (m. 1897; died 1916)​
Children	Basil
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh

Background and education

Amulree was the son of Robert Robyn, of Scone, Perthshire, and Jean, daughter of Basil Menzies. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh and was called to the Bar, Lincoln's Inn, in 1886.[1]

Public career

Mackenzie published The Overseer's Handbook in 1889 and became a King's Counsel in 1914.[2] He was appointed to the Order of the British Empire as a Commander (CBE) in 1917 and promoted in the same Order to a Knight Commander (KBE) in 1918.[3] The latter year he became Chairman of the Committee on Production, a position he held until 1919. He was then President of the Industrial Court between 1919 and 1926 and Chairman of the National Wages Board for Railways between 1920 and 1926, of the Industrial Delegation to Canada and the USA between 1926 and 1927 and of the Departmental Committee on the Shop Hours Act 1927. He was promoted within the Order of the British Empire to be a Knight Grand Cross (GBE).[4]

Political career

In 1929 Mackenzie was raised to the peerage as Baron Amulree, of Strathbraan in the County of Perth.[5] In October 1930 he was appointed Secretary of State for Air[6] in Ramsay MacDonald's second Labour government (succeeding the deceased Lord Thomson), with a seat in the cabinet, and was sworn of the Privy Council at the same time.[6] He was one of the few Labour politicians to follow MacDonald into the National Government, where he retained his post until the reconstruction of the government after the November 1931 general election, although not as a member of the Cabinet.

Lord Amulree also chaired the Newfoundland Royal Commission in 1933, which prepared a report on the future of Newfoundland as a dominion in the British Empire.[1]

Family

Lord Amulree married Lilian, daughter of W. H. Bradbury, in 1897. She died at Cheam, Surrey, in June 1916. Amulree died in May 1942, aged 81, and was succeeded in the barony by his son, Basil, who became a distinguished physician.[1]

Coat of arms of William Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree

Crest A dexter cubit arm charged with a thistle leaved and slipped and grasping in the hand a sword point upwards Proper pommel and hilt Or. Escutcheon Azure a stag's head caboshed Or on a chief Ermine a rose Gules barbed and seeded Proper between two millrinds of the second. Supporters On either side an eagle reguardant Proper collared Or that on the dexter holding in the beak a sprig of mountain ash fruit Proper and that on the sinister a sprig of myrtle also fruited Proper. Motto I To The Hills [7]

References

1. "William Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree". The Peerage. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
2. "No. 28935". The London Gazette. 13 October 1914. p. 8125.
3. "No. 30730". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1918. p. 6686.
4. "No. 33179". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 July 1926. p. 4409.
5. "No. 33519". The London Gazette. 23 July 1929. p. 4850.
6. "No. 33654". The London Gazette. 21 October 1930. p. 6397.
7. Burke's Peerage. 1959.