John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, (1 September 1867 – 2 June 1947) was a British businessman and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician. Gretton won two gold medals in the 1900 Olympic Games. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 46 years, representing three constituencies in that period.

Life and career

Gretton was the eldest son of John Gretton of

Stapleford Park Stapleford Park is a Grade I listed country house in Stapleford, Leicestershire, Stapleford, near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England, which is now used as a hotel. It was originally the seat of the Sherard and Tamblyn families, later the Ear ...

and Marianne, daughter of Major John Molineux of Brook House, Compton in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. John Gretton was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

. He was appointed chairman of Bass, Ratcliff and Gretton Ltd, the Burton-upon-Trent brewers in 1908 and served until 1945. Gretton was a volunteer officer in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, The (Prince of Wales's) North Staffordshire Regiment, and served as lieutenant-colonel and

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

when this became the 6th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

from 1907. He was appointed a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the Reserve on 24 February 1900. At the outbreak of 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 was confirmed as temporary colonel in command of the 6th Battalion. In 1920, the War Office appointed Lord Gretton as lieutenant colonel Reserve Officer until demobilised in 1922. In 1895, he was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

as Member of Parliament (MP) for Derbyshire South, a seat he held until 1906. He then represented

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

from the 1907 by-election to 1918 and Burton from 1918 to 1943, when he was appointed an Officer of the Order of St John (OStJ). Gretton was made a CBE in 1919 and admitted to the Privy Council in 1926. In 1944, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Gretton, of Stapleford in the County of Leicester. He was a Deputy Lieutenant of Derbyshire. Lord Gretton precipitated by a speech the Carlton Club revolt that brought down the Lloyd George Coalition Cabinet in the British Parliament in 1922. In 1929, he forced the British Government to honour its pledge of compensation to the Irish Loyalists. In 1940, Lord Gretton precipitated by a speech the fall of the Neville Chamberlain Government and its replacement by a Coalition. Lord Gretton was a leading champion of the Second World War as a crusade of good versus evil, and a war against the German nation before the Winston Churchill era. He was identified by the press as "an old Tory". Lord Gretton married on 19 April 1900 The Hon. Maud Helen Eveleigh de Moleyns, youngest daughter of The 4th Baron Ventry, an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

peer. The couple had three children: * John Frederic * Kathleen Fanny married on 9 April 1929 Brigadier Sir Henry Robert Kincaid Floyd, 5th Baronet Floyd * Mary Catherine Hersey married on 19 July 1933 Capt Edward William Brook, 20th Hussars, only son of Lt-Col Charles Brook of Meltham Mills, Yorkshire and Kinmount House, Dumfries. He died in June 1947 in

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a market town in the Borough of Melton, Melton district in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, Leicestershire, River Eye, known below Melton as the Rive ...

, aged 79, and was succeeded in the barony by his son John Gretton, 2nd Baron Gretton. A noted yachtsman, Gretton won two gold medals in the 1900 Olympic Games. He is unique in winning an Olympic gold medal whilst serving as a member of the

. ( John Wodehouse, MP for

Mid Norfolk Mid Norfolk is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2010 by George Freeman (po ...

1906–10, won a silver medal at the 1908 Olympic Games.) File:John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, grave.jpg, The grave of John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, in the graveyard of St Mary Magdalene's Church, Stapleford File:John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, memorial.jpg, The memorial to John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, in St Mary Magdalene's Church, Stapleford

Arms

References

* *

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gretton, John Gretton, 1st Baron 1867 births 1947 deaths People educated at Harrow School People from Burton upon Trent British male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors for Great Britain English Olympic competitors Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in sailing Sailors at the 1900 Summer Olympics – .5 to 1 ton Sailors at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Open class Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy lieutenants of Derbyshire Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Derbyshire UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs who were granted peerages British sportsperson-politicians Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Barons created by George VI Volunteer Force officers Territorial Force officers North Staffordshire Regiment officers Military personnel from Derbyshire 19th-century British Army personnel British Army personnel of World War I Burials in Leicestershire