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Sir John Rees, 1st Baronet

Sir John David Rees, 1st Baronet, KCIE, CVO (16 December 1854 – 2 June 1922[1]) was a colonial administrator in British India and subsequently a Member of Parliament at Westminster.

John David Rees, circa 1906
"Montgomery District"
Rees as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, February 1907

Biography

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He was educated at Cheltenham College and joined the Indian Civil Service in 1875. He served mostly in the south of India where he was Under-Secretary in the Madras Government, and later the British Resident in Travancore and Cochin. He also served as an Additional Member of the Governor-General's Council in the 1890s.

In 1901, Rees retired from the Civil Service. He was an active proponent of the Raj and wrote a number of books on British India. The Real India, first published in 1908, went through a number of editions. In 1902, he had even contributed a number of columns to the Times Literary Supplement on Indian matters.

Parliament

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He served two terms as Member of Parliament (MP): from 1906 to 1910 as the Liberal MP for Montgomery constituency, and from 1912 to 1922 as the Unionist MP for Nottingham East.

He also unsuccessfully contested Kilmarnock Burghs at a by-election in 1911.[2]

Family

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He married Mary Catherine Dormer in 1891,[3] and was created a baronet on 8 May 1919. Lady Rees was a correspondent of George Orwell.[4]

Their daughter Rosemary Rees, later Lady du Cros (1901-1994) was an aviator and one of the first eight female pilots appointed to the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War. She was also a qualified flight instructor and was one of the few pilots to receive an MBE for her work in this field.[5]

He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, Richard Rees, the inspiration for Ravelston in Orwell's Keep The Aspidistra Flying.

Selected works

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  • Tours in India
  • The Mahommedans
  • The Real India
  • Modern India
  • Current Political Problems

Arms

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Coat of arms of Sir John Rees, 1st Baronet
 
Crest
A demi-lion rampant erased Azure charged on the shoulder with a plate thereon a cross Gules.
Escutcheon
Argent a chevron Sable between three ravens Proper on a chief of the second between two plates each charged with a cross Gules a like plate charged with a demi-lion rampant erased Azure.
Motto
Deus Alit Eos (God Nourishes Them)[6]

References

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  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 3)
  2. ^ Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
  3. ^ "Rees, John David". Who's Who. Vol. 59. 1907. pp. 1465–1466.
  4. ^ "Letter from Orwell to Mary Catherine Rees". UCL Library Services.
  5. ^ "Rosemary Theresa (nee Rees), Lady du Cros (1901-1994)". National Portrait Gallery, London.
  6. ^ Debrett's Baronetage. 1921.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Montgomery
1906 – December 1910 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Nottingham East
1912–1922 		Succeeded by
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baronet
(of Aylward's Chase)
1919–1922 		Succeeded by


 

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