Jack Browne, Baron Craigton Explained

Honorific Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Lord Craigton
Honorific Suffix:CBE PC
Office2:Minister of State for Scotland
Monarch2:Elizabeth II
Primeminister2:Harold Macmillan
Alec Douglas-Home
Term Start2:22 October 1959
Term End2:20 October 1964
Predecessor2:The Lord Forbes
Successor2:George Willis
Office3:Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
Monarch3:Elizabeth II
Primeminister3:Winston Churchill
Harold Macmillan
Term Start3:7 April 1955
Term End3:22 October 1959
Predecessor3:Thomas Galbraith
Successor3:The Lord Strathclyde
Office4:Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Term Start4:3 November 1959
Term End4:28 July 1993
Life Peerage
Office5:Member of Parliament for
Glasgow Craigton
Term Start5:26 May 1955
Term End5:8 October 1959
Predecessor5:Constituency created
Successor5:Bruce Millan
Office6:Member of Parliament for
Glasgow Govan
Term Start6:23 February 1950
Term End6:26 May 1955
Predecessor6:Neil Maclean
Successor6:John Rankin
Birth Date:3 September 1904
Party:Conservative

Jack Nixon Browne, Baron Craigton CBE PC (3 September 1904 – 28 July 1993) was a Scottish Conservative politician.

Early life

The son of Edwin Gilbert Izod, he adopted the surname Browne in 1920 as his family felt his more unusual surname a handicap.[1]

Educated at Cheltenham College, Browne served in World War II as an Acting Group Captain in Balloon Command of the Royal Air Force. He was awarded the CBE in 1944.

Browne managed the Carntyne Greyhound Stadium, Glasgow, in the later 1920s. Whilst there he tried to "cash-in" on the new craze of 1928, dirt track racing. He built a racetrack inside the greyhound track. The venture was not successful, but as Jack Nixon-Browne he raced in both meetings he staged. He won most of his races in the second meeting as he had unlimited time to practice.

Political career

He unsuccessfully contested the working-class constituency of Glasgow Govan in 1945, but was elected as Member of Parliament for the seat in 1950, holding it until 1955. He was then elected as Member for Glasgow Craigton in 1955, holding that seat until September 1959 at which point he was elevated to the House of Lords.

He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Scotland from 1952 until April 1955, when he was appointed a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland. In November 1959 he was created a life peer, as Baron Craigton, of Renfield in the County of the City of Glasgow.[2]

In October 1959, he was promoted to Minister of State for Scotland, holding that office until October 1964. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1961. He later held a number of important business positions, including chairman of United Biscuits Holdings,[1] and was associated with environmental groups including the World Wildlife Fund.

Arms

Escutcheon:Per pale Argent and Or on a pale Sable between dexter three leopards' faces Vert and Sinister as many leopards' faces Gules a lion rampant of the first armed and langued of the fifth.
Crest:A demi-knight in tilting armour Argent garnished Vert and helmet grilled Or with wreath of these liveries Argent and Vert and thereon for crest a plume of five feathers Gules Argent Gules Argent Gules holding in his dexter hand a crossbow bolt Or feathered Argent and in his sinister hand a garb Or banded Vert across his sinister shoulder.
Supporters:Two knights in tilting armour Argent garnished Vert their helmets grilled Or and on a wreath of the liveries Argent and that on the sinister sustaining with his sinister hand a garb Or banded Vert resting upon his sinister shoulder.
Motto:Try Again[3]

Notes and References

  1. News: Tam Dalyell. Obituary: Lord Craigton. The Independent. London. 14 April 2016.
  2. Web site: Profile. Thepeerage.com. 14 April 2016.
  3. Book: Debrett's Peerage . 1985 . 292.