James Archibald Morrison

Major James Archibald Morrison DSO (18 September 1873 – 27 October 1934) was a British Conservative politician.

Morrison was the son of Alfred Morrison, of Fonthill House. A rower and expert shot, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 4th (Eton Volunteer) Battalion, Oxfordshire Light Infantry on 12 December 1891, [LondonGazette | issue=26232 | startpage=6843 | date=11 December 1891] and transferred to the 4th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps on 15 May 1895. [LondonGazette | issue=46224 | startpage=2779 | date=14 May 1895] He transferred to the Grenadier Guards on 5 February 1895, [LondonGazette | issue=26706 | startpage=646 | date=4 February 1895] and subsequently fought in the Second Boer War.

From 1900 until 1906, he was Member of Parliament for Wilton. In 1910, he inherited Basildon Park from his uncle Charles (son of James Morrison, and was elected MP for Nottingham East. He resigned the seat in 1912 by accepting the Manor of Northstead.

Morrison made major improvements to the Basildon estate, building new cottages and pumping stations to supply it with water. When World War I broke out, he returned to the Grenadier Guards. Harold Macmillan served as a lieutenant under his command. Badly wounded at the Battle of the Somme, he was invalided out of the Army and turned over Basildon Park for use as a Guards' convalescent home.cite web | url=http://www.basildon-berks.net/local_history/local_history.html | title=A brief history of Basildon, Berkshire | accessdate=2008-08-26] He was awarded the DSO in 1916. [LondonGazette | issue=29608 | startpage=5569 | date=2 June 1916]

Morrison sold off the Basildon estate to Sir Edward Iliffe in 1929 and died in 1934.

References

*Rayment-hc