John Stewart-Murray, 8th Duke of Atholl

Colonel John George Stewart-Murray, 8th Duke of Atholl KT GCVO CB DSO PC ADC (15 December 1871 – 16 March 1942), styled Marquess of Tullibardine until 1917, was a Scottish soldier and Conservative politician.

Early life
Styled Marquess of Tullibardine from birth, he was born at Blair Castle, Perthshire, the second but eldest surviving son of John Stewart-Murray, 7th Duke of Atholl, by Louisa, daughter of Sir Thomas Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 7th Baronet. He learned to speak Gaelic before English and was subsequently educated at Eton.

Service in the Royal Horse Guards
He commissioned into the rank of Second Lieutenant in 1892 in the service of the Royal Horse Guards and to Lieutenant a year later. He served in Kitchener's expedition to the Sudan, fighting at the Battle of Khartoum, the Battle of Atbara. He was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 15 November 1898, and rose to the rank of Captain a year later.

Boer War
In November 1900 he was given the rank of brevet Major in the Royal Horse Guards, and asked by Lord Kitchener, who he had served under on the Omdurman Campaign, to raise a Regiment of Scotsmen in South Africa, called The Scottish Horse. The Regiment was raised quickly and soon saw active service the Western Transvaal. A Second Regiment of Scottish Horse was raised from troops recruited by 7th The Duke of Atholl and a permanent headquarters was set up to supply both of these regiments with Atholl in Command but with subordinate Commanding Officers in the field in charge of each of the Regiments. This success continued until the Scottish Horse was a whole brigade by the end of the Second Boer War. In August 1901 Lord Tullibardine received the local rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in South Africa whilst commanding the Scottish Horse, and in 1903 he was promoted to the substantive rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army. The following year he was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO).

First World War
In the Great War Atholl commanded a Brigade of a Yeomanry Regiments and took them to fight dismounted (with-out horses) in the Dardanelles campaign against the Turks. He gained the rank of Temporary Brigadier-General in 1918.

Further service
During the Second World War despite being seventy years old, Atholl joined the Home Guard and reportedly took turns as sentry officer on duty in Whitehall. He remained closely involved with the Scottish Horse, remaining in the post of Colonel Commandant until 1919 and Honorary Colonel from 1920 then until his death in 1942. He was key in establishing a Scottish National War Memorial after World War I in Edinburgh Castle and his papers relating to this are retained by the National Library of Scotland.

Political career
Atholl was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for West Perthshire at the January 1910 general election, and served until 1917 when he succeeded his father and took up his seat in the House of Lords as the 8th Duke of Atholl. In 1918 he was made a Knight of the Thistle and then served as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland between 1918 and 1920. In November 1921 he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Lord Chamberlain of the Household by David Lloyd George, a post he held until the coalition government fell in October the following year.

Apart from his military and political careers Atholl served as Grand Master of Scottish Freemasons between 1908 and 1913 and as an Aide-de-camp to King George V between 1920 and 1931. He was granted the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh. According to his wife's book "Working Partnership" (1958), Atholl was considered for the Crown of Albania after a chance meeting with a delegation in Florence who were impressed with his personality.

Lottery
In 1932 Atholl came to national attention when he launched a lottery in an attempt to stop money going abroad to the Irish Free State Hospitals Sweepstakes. The money his scheme raised was given to British charities, mainly hospitals, but in 1933 he was prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Edward Hale Tindal Atkinson, for running an illegal lottery. Despite this, his actions were seen by the public as being patriotic, and he was admired by many.

Family life
Atholl married Katharine Ramsay, daughter of Sir James Ramsay, 10th Baronet, at St Margaret's Church, Westminster, on 20 July 1899. The Duchess has a long political career in her own right as an MP and parliamentary secretary. They had no children. He died March 1942, aged 70, and was succeeded by his youngest brother, James Stewart-Murray. The Duchess of Atholl died in October 1960, aged 85.