Roland Kitson, 3rd Baron Airdale
Encyclopedia
Captain Roland Dudley Kitson, 3rd Baron Airedale (19 July 1882-20 March 1958), businessman, was born in Leeds, son of Sir James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale
and his second wife, Mary Laura daughter of Edward Fisher Smith.
He served in the 1914-1918 war with The West Yorkshire Regiment winning a DSO
and an MC
.
Roland Kitson was born in Leeds, his family had a long association with Yorkshire. His father and grandfather both served as Lord Mayor of Leeds. His father was MP for Colne Valley 1892-1907.
His grandfather James had founded Airedale Foundry in Hunslet in 1835. Under Roland's father, also James Kitson and uncle, Frederick Kitson, and known as Kitsons of Leeds this business became the manufacturer of about 5,400 locomotives in its first century.
Roland Kitson worked for a time in the Airedale Foundry and in the Monk Bridge Iron and Steel Company's works.
His directorships included:
After the death of his first wife in 1935 he married Dorothy Christabel Rowland Pelly, widow of Capt H M Rowland, on 16 September 1937.
He died in London aged 75.
, of Gledhow
, and 3rd Baronet on the death of his elder half-brother, 11 March 1944.
James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale
James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale PC, DSc , known as Sir James Kitson, Bt, between 1886 and 1907, was a British peer and Liberal Party politician....
and his second wife, Mary Laura daughter of Edward Fisher Smith.
Career
Kitson was educated at Westminster and Trinity College Cambridge.He served in the 1914-1918 war with The West Yorkshire Regiment winning a DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
and an MC
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
.
Roland Kitson was born in Leeds, his family had a long association with Yorkshire. His father and grandfather both served as Lord Mayor of Leeds. His father was MP for Colne Valley 1892-1907.
His grandfather James had founded Airedale Foundry in Hunslet in 1835. Under Roland's father, also James Kitson and uncle, Frederick Kitson, and known as Kitsons of Leeds this business became the manufacturer of about 5,400 locomotives in its first century.
Roland Kitson worked for a time in the Airedale Foundry and in the Monk Bridge Iron and Steel Company's works.
His directorships included:
- director of the Bank of EnglandBank of EnglandThe Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
1923-1947 - director of Ford Motor Company LimitedFord of BritainFord of Britain is a British wholly owned subsidiary of Ford of Europe, a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. Its business started in 1909 and has its registered office in Brentwood, Essex...
from its incorporation in 1928,
he succeeded Lord PerryPercival Perry, 1st Baron PerryPercival Lea Dewhurst Perry, 1st Baron Perry KBE , English motor vehicle manufacturer, was chairman of Ford Motor Company Limited for 20 years from its incorporation in 1928 completing almost a lifetime's work with Henry Ford...
as chairman in 1948, until 1954 - director of North-Eastern RailwayNorth Eastern Railway (UK)The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...
before its amalgamation - director of London Assurance Corporation
- director of John Dickinson and Company LimitedJohn Dickinson StationeryJohn Dickinson Stationery Limited was a leading British stationery company founded in west Hertfordshire, that was later merged to form Dickinson Robinson Group. In the 19th century, the company pioneered a number of innovations in paper-making.-History:...
Family
He married Sheila Grace, daughter of F E Vandeleur in 1913. They had a daughter and a son:- Oliver James Vandeleur Kitson (1915-1996)Oliver Kitson, 4th Baron AiredaleSir Oliver James Vandeleur Kitson, 4th Baron Airedale , "an able and devoted" politician, member of the Liberal Party and later of the Liberal Democrat Party, was a British peer.-Career:...
Oliver assumed the additional name of Vandeleur by deed poll in 1935.
After the death of his first wife in 1935 he married Dorothy Christabel Rowland Pelly, widow of Capt H M Rowland, on 16 September 1937.
He died in London aged 75.
Title
He succeeded to the titles of 3rd Baron AiredaleBaron Airedale
Baron Airedale, of Gledhow in the West Riding of the County of York, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 17 July 1907 for the Liberal politician Sir James Kitson, 1st Baronet, who had previously represented Colne Valley in the House of Commons and served as Lord...
, of Gledhow
Gledhow
Gledhow is a suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, situated east of Chapel Allerton and west of Roundhay. A major feature of the area is Gledhow Valley, a strip of mixed deciduous woodland with a beck and lake. A bathhouse dating from 1671, the Gipton Spa, is in the woods...
, and 3rd Baronet on the death of his elder half-brother, 11 March 1944.