John Dewar, 2nd Baron Forteviot (17 March 1885 – 24 October 1947) was a Scottish businessman and soldier, notable as being head of the whisky giant

John Dewar & Sons John Dewar & Sons, Ltd. is a Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky. It is a subsidiary of Bacardi. History John Dewar was born in 1825 in the town of Ochterarder, Scotland. He began his career in the whisky trade in the early 1840s. ...

and of the

Distillers Company The Distillers Company plc was a leading Scotch whisky company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over in 1986 by Guinness & Co. and is now part of Diageo. History The Distillers Company origins lie in a trade ...

and a director of the

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial bank, commercial and clearing (finance), clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. The bank was established by the Par ...

Life

He was born on 17 March 1885 the eldest child and only son of Sir

John Dewar, 1st Baron Forteviot John Alexander Dewar, 1st Baron Forteviot (6 June 1856 – 23 November 1929) was a Scotland, Scottish businessman, elder son of the founder of John Dewar & Sons company and a Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. Career Lord Fortev ...

and his wife Johann (Joan) Tod. His uncle (his father's brother) was

Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar Thomas Robert Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar (6 January 1864 – 11 April 1930) was a Scottish whisky distiller who, along with his brother John Dewar, built their family company John Dewar & Sons into an international success. They blended their whi ...

. He was sent to

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

in England as a boarder, followed by New College at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

(but did not graduate). In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served as a colonel in the

Scottish Horse The Scottish Horse was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army's Territorial Army raised in 1900 for service in the Second Boer War. It saw heavy fighting in both the First World War, as the 13th Battalion, Black Watch, and in the World War II, S ...

Regiment, serving in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. He won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for bravery. From 1922 to 1924 he served as

Lord Provost A lord provost () is the convenor of the local authority, the civic head and the lord-lieutenant of one of the principal cities of Scotland. The office is similar to that of a lord mayor. Only the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Stirlin ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and was also Deputy Lieutenant of

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

. On the death of his father in 1929 he succeeded to the title of Baron Forteviot. He also held the title of brigadier in the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a pers ...

, the monarch's official bodyguard in Scotland. In 1943, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were James Watt, Sidney

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle ...

, James Pickering Kendall, and

John Edwin MacKenzie John Edwin MacKenzie FRSE OBE (1868-1955) was a Scottish chemist. Life He was born in Helensburgh on 31 August 1868. He was educated at Larchfield Academy in Helensburgh, where his father was headmaster. He studied chemistry at the University ...

. He died at his country estate of Dupplin on 24 October 1947. He is buried at

Aberdalgie Aberdalgie (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Obar Dheilgidh'', 'Confluence of the Thorn-Stream') is a small village in the Scotland, Scottish council area of Perth and Kinross. It is southwest of Perth, Scotland, Perth, and lies between the B9112 roa ...

slightly south-west of

. The grave lies attached to the church within the family enclosure to the rear of the church.

Family

He married twice, firstly in 1919 to Marjory Winton Isobel Heaton-Ellis (d.1945), secondly in 1946 to Marjory's sister, Mrs Muriel Cecil Harriette Cavendish (then a widow). They had no children, however John, during his marriage to Marjory had an illegitimate daughter in 1924. When John died, the barony passed to his younger half brother, Henry Dewar.

References

1885 births 1947 deaths Nobility from Perth and Kinross People educated at Rugby School Whisky distillers Scottish bankers 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Deputy lieutenants of Perthshire Officers of the Order of the British Empire

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Recipients of the Military Cross {{UK-baron-stub