William Shepherd Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil (10 August 1893 – 3 February 1961), was a British politician. He was a long-serving cabinet minister before serving as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1951 to 1959. He was then appointed as the 14th governor-general of Australia, in office from 1960 until his death in 1961.

Morrison was the son of a Scottish farmer, born at Torinturk farm by Loch Nell near Oban, Argyll. He attended George Watson's College and then went on to the University of Edinburgh; his studies were interrupted by World War I, where he served with the Royal Field Artillery and won the Military Cross. Training as a lawyer, Morrison was called to the bar in 1923 and began working as a private secretary to Sir Thomas Inskip, the Solicitor-General. After several previous attempts, he was elected to the House of Commons in 1929, representing a constituency in Gloucestershire for the Conservative Party.

In 1936, after several years as a junior minister, Morrison was made Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries by Stanley Baldwin. He also served as a minister under Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill, including as Minister of Food (1939–1940), Postmaster General (1940–1943), and Minister of Town and Country Planning (1943–1945). Morrison was elevated to the speakership following the 1951 general election. He was praised for his impartiality, especially during the heated debate on the Suez Crisis, and was raised to the viscountcy when his term ended. Lord Dunrossil became governor-general in 1960, on the nomination of Robert Menzies, but served only a year before dying in office.

Early life and career

Morrison was born at Torinturk farm by Loch Nell near Oban, Argyll, Scotland, the son of Marion (née McVicar) and John Morrison. His father was a farmer who had previously spent time working in South Africa's diamond industry. Morrison was educated at George Watson's College and the University of Edinburgh. He joined the British Army as an officer in the First World War and served with an artillery regiment in France, where he won the Military Cross. However, as noted in the diaries of Chips Channon, he was part of the Insurgents, the faction of the Conservative party that worked in secret against appeasement, to oust Chamberlain and replace him with Churchill ahead of the war.

Campaigning during the general election of 1945, Morrison attacked Socialism and claimed that Hitler and Mussolini began as Socialists. He further claimed that although Labour objected to the Conservatives calling themselves 'National', the Conservatives had no objection in their opponents labelling themselves National-Socialists. In 1947 he attacked identity cards which had been introduced during the war because he believed they were a nuisance to law-abiding people and also because the cards were ineffective.

Speaker of the House of Commons

In 1951, when the Conservatives returned to power, Morrison was elected Speaker of the House of Commons. He was opposed by Labour MP Major James Milner, who said it was his party's turn to have a Speaker of the House. It was the first contested election for the post in the twentieth century. Morrison was elected in a vote on party lines.

Governor-General of Australia

thumb|right|Dunrossil and his wife in Canberra, 1960

Morrison held the post of Speaker until 1959, when he announced that he would not be contesting the forthcoming general election but retiring for reasons of health. As was customary for former Speakers, he was made a viscount, taking the title Viscount Dunrossil, of Vallaquie in the Isle of North Uist and County of Inverness.

Given his health, it surprised many when it was announced shortly thereafter that he had been chosen to succeed Sir William Slim as Governor-General of Australia, leading to 155 MPs voting against the customary bill granting him the traditional pension of £4,000 per annum. He was also appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) that year.

Dunrossil was succeeded in the viscountcy by his son, John Morrison, 2nd Viscount Dunrossil, who was a career officer in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, holding several senior diplomatic appointments, including serving as Governor of Bermuda. He was proud to wear his father's vice-regal hat on formal occasions on the island colony.

Honours, decorations and arms

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{| class="wikitable"

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|50px || Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) || 1959

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|50px || Military Cross (MC) ||1915

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|50px || Knight of the Order of St John (KStJ) ||1960

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|50px || 1914-15 Star ||

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|50px || British War Medal ||

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|50px || Victory Medal || with palm for Mentioned in Dispatches

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|50px || King George V Silver Jubilee Medal || 1935

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|50px || King George VI Coronation Medal || 1937

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|50px || Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal || 1953

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Morrison was unusual in having separate, and entirely different, grants of arms from both the College of Arms in England and the Lyon Court in Scotland.

Notes

  • ADB Entry