Joseph Paton Maclay, 2nd Baron Maclay (31 May 1899 – 7 November 1969), was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

banker, shipowner, peer and Liberal politician.

Family and education

Maclay was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Maclay, 1st Baron Maclay, and his wife Martha (née Strang), two elder brothers having died during

World War I 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 ...

John Maclay, 1st Viscount Muirshiel John Scott Maclay, 1st Viscount Muirshiel (26 October 1905 – 17 August 1992), was a British politician, sitting as a National Liberal and Conservative Member of Parliament before the party was fully assimilated into the Unionist Party in Sc ...

, was his younger brother. The family lived at

Duchal House Duchal House is an 18th-century mansion and estate near Kilmacolm, Scotland. It is located in Inverclyde, in the former county of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire. Duchal was acquired by the Porterfield family in the 16th century. The presen ...

. Lord Maclay married Nancy Margaret Greig, daughter of Robert Coventry Greig, in 1936. Their wedding was held in

Paisley Abbey Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the River Cart, White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, base ...

. He was educated at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational private boarding and day school in Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in ...

, Edinburgh, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He died in hospital in November 1969, aged 70, and a memorial service was held for him in

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral () is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Glasgow, and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Glasgow and the province of Glasgow, from the 12th ...

. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Joseph.

Business

Maclay went into the shipping business and became chairman of the company his father had established, Maclay and McIntyre of Glasgow. He was president of the Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom, 1946–47, Chairman of the General Council of British Shipping, 1946–47, and Lord Dean of Guild, Glasgow, 1952–54. In February 1947, he chaired the International Shipping Conference in London. He was a Director of the

Midland Bank Midland Bank plc was one of the Big Four (banks)#United Kingdom, Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birming ...

and Chairman of Clydesdale and North Scotland Bank.

Parliament and other public office

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 Paisley in 1931, a seat he held until the 1945 general election. In 1951, he succeeded his father in the barony and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Maclay was elected as a Liberal in support of the National Government and prime minister

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

. When the Liberal Party led by Sir Herbert Samuel withdrew from the coalition in November 1933, Maclay refused to cross the floor into opposition with Samuel. However he never seems to have taken the

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

of the Liberal National Party, the group in Parliament led by

Sir John Simon John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954) was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of three people to ...

. At the 1935 general election he was re-elected in Paisley as a Liberal, although as in 1931 he had no

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 ...

opponent. This was because he generally tended to support the government. In the crucial vote after the Norway debate on 8 May 1940 which led to the downfall of Neville Chamberlain he was one of only two Liberals to support the government (the other was

Gwilym Lloyd George Gwilym Lloyd George, 1st Viscount Tenby, , later hyphenated Lloyd-George (4 December 1894 – 14 February 1967), was a Welsh politician and cabinet minister. The younger son of David Lloyd George, he served as Home Secretary from 1954 to 1957. ...

). Despite this, his relations with Herbert Samuel must have remained cordial as he was invited by Samuel to accompany him to a conference of the Institute of Pacific Relations held in Banff in Canada during the summer recess of 1933 to act as an honorary private secretary and before the conference they enjoyed some walking together in the forested countryside around Lake Louise. During the Second World War, Maclay followed similar footsteps to those his father had trod in the Great War, when he was appointed Head of the Convoy and Admiralty Liaison, in the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transpor ...

between 1943 and 1945.''Who was Who'', OUP 2007.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maclay, Joseph Maclay, 2nd Baron 1899 births 1969 deaths Nobility from Inverclyde 2 Maclay, Joseph Maclay, Joseph Maclay, Joseph Maclay, Joseph Maclay, Joseph Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Fettes College 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish bankers Younger sons of barons