Gervase Beckett

Sir William Gervase Beckett, 1st Baronet, was born William Gervase Beckett-Denison on 14 January 1866. He died on 24 August 1937. He was a British individual known for his careers in banking and politics, affiliated with the Conservative Party.

Family Background and Education:

He was the son of William Beckett-Denison, who served as a Member of Parliament. Beckett was educated at Eton College. His family background linked him to prominent social and political circles.

Business Career:

Beckett joined the family banking enterprise, Beckett & Co, located in Leeds. Following the acquisition of the bank by Westminster Bank, he became a member of Westminster Bank's board of directors. He also served as chairman of the Yorkshire Post newspaper and was the proprietor and editor of the Saturday Review publication. His elder brother, Ernest, succeeded their uncle as the 2nd Baron Grimthorpe in 1905. As a result, Beckett was granted the social precedence of a baron's son and was entitled to use the style "The Honourable."

Parliamentary Career:

Beckett was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Whitby in the 1906 general election. When the Whitby constituency was abolished in 1918, he was elected for the newly formed Scarborough and Whitby constituency. He did not stand in the 1922 general election but returned to Parliament in the 1923 general election as the MP for Leeds North. Beckett served as MP for Leeds North until he retired from Parliament at the 1929 general election.

Military Service:

In 1884, Beckett was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Green Howards. He resigned this commission in 1886. In 1888, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Yorkshire Hussars cavalry unit. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1895 and Captain in 1898. He resigned from his military commissions in 1901. During the First World War, Beckett returned to military service as Assistant Military Secretary of Northern Command from 1914 to 1916. He later served as Assistant Director of the Department of War Trade from 1918 to 1919.

Family:

Beckett married the Honourable Mabel Theresa Duncombe (1877–1913), daughter of William Duncombe, Viscount Helmsley. They had four daughters:

- Marion Frances Theresa Beckett (8 November 1896 – 2 February 1972), married Vice-Admiral Henry Jack Egerton in 1919.

- Cynthia Maud Beckett (15 December 1900 – 25 December 1969), married Captain John Arthur Davison; divorced in 1928. She later married Kurt Hermann Paul Otto Valerio Baron von Stutterheim in 1929 and divorced in 1952.

- Beatrice Helen Beckett (26 July 1905 – 29 June 1957), married Anthony Eden in 1923 and divorced in 1950.

- Ann Prunella Beckett (16 September 1907 – 17 March 2001), married Lt.-Col. Harry Rumbold Bathurst Norman in 1936.

In 1917, Beckett married Lady Marjorie Blanche Eva Greville, daughter of Francis Richard Charles Guy Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick, and widow of Charles Duncombe, 2nd Earl of Feversham. This second marriage produced one son:

- Sir Martyn Gervase Beckett, 2nd Baronet (born 6 November 1918, died 5 August 2001).

Notably, Sir Rupert Hart-Davis (1907–1999), a publisher, was believed by Hart-Davis to potentially be Beckett's illegitimate son, given their connection and Hart-Davis's circumstances at the time.

Honors:

Gervase Beckett was created a baronet in the 1921 Birthday Honours, styled as Sir Gervase Beckett, 1st Baronet, of Kirkdale Manor in Yorkshire.

References and External Links:

The information is supported by sources including Leigh Rayment's lists of baronets and MPs, an obituary published by The Times in 1937, and parliamentary records such as Hansard.