Iain Macleod

They moved to Skipton in 1907.

Iain Norman Macleod (11 November 1913 – 20 July 1970) was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister.

Iain Macleod was born at Clifford House, Skipton, Yorkshire, on 11 November 1913.

His father, Dr. Norman Alexander MacLeod, was a well-respected general practitioner in Skipton, with a substantial poor-law practice (providing medical services for those who could not afford to pay); the young Macleod would often accompany his father on his rounds.

His parents were from the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles of Scotland, belonging to the branch of the Macleods of Pabbay and Uig.

Macleod grew up with strong personal and cultural ties to Scotland, as his parents bought in 1917 part of the Leverhulme estate on the Isle of Lewis, where they often used to stay for family holidays.

He was educated at Ermysted's Grammar School in Skipton, followed by four years (beginning in 1923) at St Ninian's Dumfriesshire, followed by five years at the private school Fettes College in Edinburgh.

Macleod showed no great academic talent, but did develop an enduring love of literature, especially poetry, which he read and memorised in great quantity.

In order to placate his father he joined the Inner Temple and went through the motions of studying to become a barrister, but in the late 1930s he was essentially living the life of a playboy from his bridge earnings.

In his final year at school Macleod appears to have blossomed a little, standing for Oswald Mosley's New Party in the mock election in October 1931; he came third, behind the Unionist and Ian Harvey who stood as a Scottish nationalist and came second.

He won the School History Prize in his final year.

In 1932, Macleod went up to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he read History.

His only recorded speech at the Cambridge Union Society was in his first term against the Ottawa agreement – his biographer comments that although not too much should be made of this, it suggests a lack of sentimental attachment to the Empire.

He took no other part in student politics, but spent much of his time reading poetry and playing bridge, both for the University (he helped to found the Cambridge University Bridge Society) and at Crockfords and in the West End.

He graduated with a Lower Second in 1935.

A bridge connection with the chairman of the printing company De La Rue earned him a job offer.

However, he devoted most of his energies to bridge and, by 1936, was an international bridge player.

He was one of the great British bridge players.

He won the Gold Cup in 1937, with teammates Maurice Harrison-Gray (Capt), Skid Simon, Jack Marx and Colin Harding.

His biographer comments that he "might have stayed" had he found the work more interesting, but after tolerating him for a number of years De La Rue sacked him in 1938.

In September 1939, upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Macleod enlisted in the British Army as a private in the Royal Fusiliers.

On 20 April 1940, he was commissioned as an officer with the rank of second lieutenant in the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (DWR), with the service number 129352.

A playboy and professional bridge player in his twenties, after war service Macleod worked for the Conservative Research Department before entering Parliament in 1950.

He was noted as a formidable Parliamentary debater and—later—as a platform orator.

He was quickly appointed Minister of Health, later serving as Minister of Labour.

He later wrote a book that contains a description of the Acol system of : Bridge is an Easy Game, published in 1952 by Falcon Press, London.

He was still earning money from playing and writing newspaper columns about bridge until 1952, when his developing political career became his priority.

He served an important term as Secretary of State for the Colonies under Harold Macmillan in the early 1960s, overseeing the independence of many African countries from British rule but earning the enmity of Conservative right-wingers, and the soubriquet that he was "too clever by half".

Macleod was unhappy with the "emergence" of Sir Alec Douglas-Home as party leader and Prime Minister in succession to Macmillan in 1963 (he claimed to have supported Macmillan's deputy Rab Butler, although it is unclear exactly what his recommendation had been).

He refused to serve in Home's government, and while serving as editor of The Spectator alleged that the succession had been stitched up by Macmillan and a "magic circle" of Old Etonians.

Macleod did not contest the first ever Conservative Party leadership election in 1965, but endorsed the eventual winner Edward Heath.

When the Conservatives returned to power in June 1970, he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in Heath's government, but died suddenly only a month later.

He was posted to the 2/7th Battalion, DWR, which was then serving as part of the 137th Infantry Brigade of the 46th Infantry Division, a second line Territorial Army (TA) formation, then commanded by Major-General Henry Curtis.

Macleod's battalion was sent overseas to France in time to see action in the Battle of France in May, where he was injured in the leg by a flying log when a German armoured car burst through a road block which his men had just erected.

He was treated in hospital in Exeter and left with a lifelong slight limp.

In later life, besides his limp he suffered pain and reduced mobility from the spinal condition ankylosing spondylitis.

At the age of 27, Macleod was already considered somewhat too old to be a platoon commander.

At a time when average male earnings were around £200 per annum (around £11,000 at 2016 prices) and he was earning around £150 per annum at De La Rue, Macleod sometimes made £100 in a night gambling, but on another occasion had to borrow £100 from his father to pay his debts.

Macleod was often too tired to work in the mornings after gambling for much of the night, although he tended to perk up as the day went on; he was popular with colleagues and on at least one occasion mucked in to work overtime for a last-minute order for Chinese banknotes.

He was winning up to £2,500 per annum tax free (around £140,000 at 2016 prices).