Albert Kitson, 2nd Baron Airedale

Lord and Lady Airedale at the coronation of King George V, 1911

Albert Ernest Kitson, 2nd Baron Airedale (7 October 1863 – 11 March 1944) was a British peer. He was inter alia a director of Midland Bank, now HSBC.

Family

Kitson was the son of James Kitson, an iron and steel manufacturer in Leeds. He was educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he gained a BA, before following his father into the family business.^[1]

On 23 January 1890, at Mill Hill Chapel in Leeds, Kitson married Florence Schunck (1868–1942). She was the daughter of Edward, Baron von Schunck (1816–1889) and his wife Kate (1832–1913). Her mother's family, the Luptons of Leeds, were prosperous and well-connected businesspeople and philanthropists who played an important role in the politics of the city. Her grandfather, for example, had been Lord Mayor of Leeds; Frances Lupton, the educational pioneer, and her son Francis Martineau were guests at the wedding ,^[2] as was Herbert Gladstone, M.P., son of Prime Minister William Gladstone.^[3]

The Kitsons had seven daughters.

James Kitson was elevated to the peerage in 1907. Albert Kitson succeeded to the titles of 2nd Baron Airedale of Gledhow and 2nd Baronet Kitson on his father's death on 16 March 1911.^[4] As peers of the realm, the Kitsons were invited to pay homage to King George V at his coronation at Westminster Abbey on 22 June 1911.^[5]

Career, politics and interests

Kitson was a director of Midland Bank, now HSBC.^[5] By 1918 Midland was the largest bank in the world, according to its own company history.^[6]

Kitson was president of both the Yorkshire and Leeds Liberal Federations. Prime Minister Asquith was his guest at Gledhow Hall in November 1913.^[7][8]

Like his father, Lord Airedale was a music-lover and supported the Leeds Triennial Musical Festival. He owned one the finest collections of Leeds pottery in the country.^[9][10][11] His nephew was composer Christian Darnton.

When the Prime Minister's wife, Margaret Lloyd George, visited Leeds in December 1920 for a reception for women supporters of the Liberal Coalition, she stayed with Lady Airedale at Gledhow Hall.^[12][13]

Gledhow Hall

Gledhow Hall

The Kitsons acquired Gledhow Hall in 1911. During the First World War, Lord Airedale offered the hall for use as a Voluntary Aid Detachment hospital. The hospital was managed by the Headingley Company of the St John Ambulance Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD). On 22 May 1915, 50 patients were moved to the hall from the 2nd Northern General Hospital at Becketts Park. Kitson's cousin, Edith Cliff, was the Commandant and his daughter Doris was a VAD nurse.^[14] Kitson's family maintained an interest in nursing after the Great War.^[15]

Death

Albert Kitson died on 11 March 1944 at Stansted, Essex, and the barony was inherited by his younger brother Roland.^[16] His wife had died on 8 July 1942.^[17]

References

Further reading

• Wilson, Peter (1995). War, State and Society in Württemberg, 1677-1793. Cambridge University Press. p. 131. ISBN 9780521483315.
• Edward Darnton, John (1933). The Von Schunck family : A history of the Hanau branch and connections. J. E. Darnton – Printed in England by Simpson and Co.
• Miller, Jill Ashley (2007). Call Back Yesterday. London: Strathmore Publishing London 2007. ISBN 978-0-9550887-3-5. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
• Miller, J.A. (2008). Not The Purser's Daughter. Strathmore Publishing Ltd. pp. 23, 25, 27, 28, 47, 56, 57 69, 70. ISBN 0955088763. Retrieved 23 November 2017.