Basil Peto

Sir Basil Edward Peto, 1st Baronet, was born on 13 August 1862 in Westminster, London. He was the seventh son of Sir Morton Peto, 1st Baronet. Peto attended Harrow School but left at the age of seventeen due to his father's financial difficulties.

In his early career, Peto became an apprentice joiner with his family's construction business, Peto Brothers, based in Pimlico. He advanced to become a partner in the company in 1884. In 1892, he married Mary Matilda Annie Baird, and the couple had three sons.

In 1890, Peto proposed a profit-sharing scheme for his company. This initiative faced opposition from trade unions and led to a strike. The company was dissolved in 1893, resulting in Peto's financial ruin. Subsequently, he took employment with Morgan Crucible in 1892, where he worked in various capacities. By 1904, he had become managing director of Morgan Crucible and resigned from the company that same year. During his tenure, Peto traveled extensively supervising the mining and procurement of plumbago in regions including the United States, Canada, India, and Ceylon.

Peto entered politics as a member of the Conservative Party. He contested the January 1910 general election and was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Devizes in Wiltshire, reclaiming the seat that had been lost to the Liberals in the 1906 general election. He served as MP for Devizes until the 1918 election.

During the First World War, Peto held a temporary commission in the British Army and served as the Chief Commissioner for Belgian Refugee Affairs. He was awarded the Commander of the Order of Leopold by King Albert I of Belgium for his services. Later, Peto served as MP for Barnstaple, representing the constituency from 1922 to 1923 and again from 1924 to 1935.

In January 1927, Peto was created a Baronet, of Barnstaple in the County of Devon. During his parliamentary career, he experienced opposition to some policies of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's Conservative government, which led to him losing the party whip in April 1928. However, following a vote of confidence from his local party, he was readmitted to the Conservative parliamentary party in November of the same year.

In June 1934, Peto announced his intention to retire from Parliament at the next general election, which took place in 1935. Aside from his political career, he served as chairman of the National Society for the Prevention of Venereal Disease from 1926 until 1939.

Sir Basil Peto died on 28 January 1945 at his residence, Iford Manor, near Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire. He was 82 years old. He was succeeded by his elder son, James Michael Peto (1894–1971). His younger son, Christopher Peto (1897–1980), also served as MP for Barnstaple.