Gervase Beckett
Sir William Gervase Beckett, 1st Baronet | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date |
| Died | August 24, 1937 (aged 71) |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, politician |
| Known for | Conservative Member of Parliament, chairman of the Yorkshire Post, owner and editor of the Saturday Review |
Sir William Gervase Beckett, 1st Baronet (originally named William Gervase Beckett-Denison; 14 January 1866 – 24 August 1937) was a prominent British banker and a politician affiliated with the Conservative party.
Business career
The son of Member of Parliament William Beckett-Denison, Beckett received his education at Eton College before joining the family banking enterprise, Beckett & Co, based in Leeds. When this bank was absorbed by the Westminster Bank, he became a member of its board of directors. In addition, he held the position of chairman at the Yorkshire Post and took on the roles of owner and editor of the Saturday Review. Upon his elder brother Ernest's inheritance of the title 2nd Baron Grimthorpe in 1905, Beckett acquired the style and rank of "The Honourable."
Parliamentary career
Beckett secured election as a MP for Whitby during the 1906 general election. With the dissolution of this constituency in 1918, he then represented the newly formed seat of Scarborough and Whitby. He chose not to stand in the 1922 election but made a return to Parliament in 1923 as MP for Leeds North, maintaining this position until his retirement in 1929.
His military service began with a commission as Lieutenant in the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Green Howards in 1884, a post he resigned from two years later. In 1888, he was appointed Second Lieutenant in the Yorkshire Hussars, advancing to Lieutenant by 1895 and Captain by 1898 before resigning in 1901. During the First World War, he contributed as Assistant Military Secretary for Northern Command between 1914 and 1916 and later as Assistant Director at the Department of War Trade from 1918 to 1919.
Family
He was wed to Honourable Mabel Theresa Duncombe (1877–1913), daughter of William Duncombe, Viscount Helmsley. Their marriage produced four daughters:
- Marion Frances Theresa Beckett (1896–1972), who married Vice-Admiral Henry Jack Egerton in 1919
- Cynthia Maud Beckett (1900–1969), who married Captain John Arthur Davison in 1919 (divorced 1928), then German author and correspondent Kurt Baron von Stutterheim in 1929 (divorced 1952)
- Beatrice Helen Beckett (1905–1957), married politician Anthony Eden in 1923 (divorced 1950)
- Ann Prunella Beckett (1907–2001), who married Lt.-Col. Harry Rumbold Bathurst Norman in 1936
Following Mabel’s death, he remarried Lady Marjorie Blanche Eva Greville—daughter of Francis Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick and widow of Charles Duncombe, 2nd Earl of Feversham—on 1 November 1917. This union produced one son:
- Sir Martyn Gervase Beckett, 2nd Bt (1918–2001)
It has been widely speculated that publisher Sir Rupert Hart-Davis was Beckett’s biological son.
In recognition of his status, Beckett was created a baronet during the 1921 Birthday Honours, becoming Sir Gervase Beckett, 1st Baronet, of Kirkdale Manor, Yorkshire.