Lord William Montagu Douglas Scott

Lieutenant-Colonel Lord William Walter Montagu Douglas Scott was born on 17 January 1896 and died on 30 January 1958. He was a member of the British aristocracy and engaged in political service during his lifetime.

He was the second son of John Montagu Douglas Scott, the 7th Duke of Buccleuch. His familial relationships included a sister, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (1901–2004). Lord William was a godfather to her son, Prince William of Gloucester (1941–1972).

For his education, Lord William attended Eton College and subsequently studied at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

In his military career, he was commissioned into the 10th Hussars. During the First World War, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1915. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1918 for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during a heavy enemy attack in a wood. According to the citation published in The London Gazette in September 1918, he displayed bravery by pushing forward to the wood amid heavy shell and machine-gun fire, entering an unoccupied area, observing enemy dispositions, and later providing valuable information upon his withdrawal.

Between 1925 and 1926, Lord William served as an aide-de-camp (ADC) to the Governor-General of Canada. He retired from active military service in 1927 but rejoined the military during the Second World War. During this latter period, he served in Italy and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

In his political career, Lord William was a Unionist Member of Parliament representing Roxburgh and Selkirk from 1935 until 1950. He succeeded his elder brother Walter in this seat following their father's death. Additionally, he held the position of Deputy Lieutenant of Roxburghshire starting in 1945.

In his personal life, Lord William married Lady Rachel Douglas Home in 1937. She was his second cousin once removed, being the younger daughter of Charles Douglas-Home, the 13th Earl of Home. Both spouses had ancestral ties to James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, and Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch. The couple resided at Eildon Hall in St Boswells, Roxburghshire. They had one son and four daughters.

External links related to Lord William include contributions he made in Parliament, documented in the Hansard archives from 1803 to 2005.