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[[Sir]] '''Walter Stuart James Willson''' (1876 – 16 April 1952) was an English-born business man and banker in [[British India]] who became a member of the [[Central Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly of India]].

He retired to England, but maintained close links with India until his death in 1952.

==Life==
Willson was the eldest surviving son of Albert Willson (1843–1922), of Waldegrave Park, Twickenham, by his marriage to Mary Elizabeth, a daughter of William Latimer CE, of [[Drogheda]], Ireland.<ref name=fox>{{cite book|last=Fox-Davies|first=Arthur Charles|title=Armorial Families|edition=7th|year=1930|publisher=Hurst & Blackett|location=London|page=2014|volume=2|url=http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/arthur-charles-fox-davies/armorial-families--a-directory-of-gentlemen-of-coat-armour-volume-2-dxo/page-262-armorial-families--a-directory-of-gentlemen-of-coat-armour-volume-2-dxo.shtml}}</ref> He was educated at [[St Paul's School, London| St Paul's School]].<ref name=pirie>Bernard Burke, Charles Harry Clinton Pirie-Gordon, ''A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry'', Vol. 3 (Shaw, 1937), p. 2455</ref>

In 1921, Willson was a director of Turner Morrison, & Co., Ltd. and a member of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.<ref>''The Indian Year Book'', Volume for 1922 (Bennett, Coleman & Company, 1921), p. 399</ref> In 1924, he was appointed to the Legislative Assembly of India,<ref name=pirie/> as a Nominated Non-Official representing Commerce,<ref>''The Legislative Assembly Debates'' (Official Report), Volume 4, Part 3 (Legislative Assembly, Government Central Press, India, 1924), p. 1631</ref> and served until 1928.<ref name=pirie/>

On 3 July 1926, it was announced that Willson was to be [[Knight bachelor|knighted]], and this was carried out by [[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|Lord Irwin]], Viceroy of India, at [[Rashtrapati Bhavan|Viceregal Lodge]], Delhi, on 18 January 1927.<ref>''[[The London Gazette]]'' issue no. 33249 dated 18 February 1927, [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33249/page/1111/data.pdf p. 1111]</ref>

In 1928, he presented a portrait by [[Tilly Kettle]] of [[Elijah Impey]], First Chief Justice of the [[Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William|Supreme Court at Fort William]], to the [[Victoria Memorial, Kolkata|Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta]].<ref>''Calcutta, 1690-1930: A Catalogue of Objects on Calcutta in the Collection of the Victoria Memorial'' (Calcutta, Victoria Memorial, 1976), p. 39: “IMPEY, ELIJAH First Chief Justice of Supreme Court, 1774-1791 Painted by Tilly Kettle Presented by Sir W. S. J. Willson, 1928”</ref>

He was later a director of the [[Imperial Bank of India]].<ref>W. G. C. Frith ''Royal Calcutta Turf Club: Some Notes on Its Foundation, History, and Development'' (Royal Calcutta Turf Club, 1976), p. 120: “Mr. W. S. J. Willson's (later Sir Walter Willson of the Imperial Bank) CAIRO”</ref>

Willson had houses at 2, Hastings Park Road, [[Alipore]], [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], Bengal, and Kenward, Tonbridge, Kent, and was a member of the [[Oriental Club]], the [[Ranelagh Club]], the [[Royal Bombay Yacht Club]], and the [[Royal Calcutta Turf Club]].<ref name=fox/>

In October 1921, Willson received a [[grant of arms]], blazoned “Sable, in the dexter canton a sun, issuant therefrom seven rays or, upon the sun an albatross wings elevated proper. Crest — On a wreath of the colours,
upon a cannon sable, an albatross as in the arms. Badge — A portcullis chained, surmounted by a sun in splendour or.”<ref name=fox/>

After retiring to Kent, Willson was a member of the Tunbridge Wells Corporation from 1932 to 1935.<ref name=pirie/>

==Personal life==
In 1919, Willson married Ethel Winifred, a daughter of J. J. Morris, and they had a son, Walter James Latimer (born 1921) and three daughters, Winifred Latimer, Rachel Mary Latimer, and Margaret Naomi Latimer. <ref name=fox/> In 1942 their son, by then Major W. J. L. Willson of the [[Grenadier Guards]], married Anne Mildred Curzon (born 1923), one of the daughters of [[Richard Curzon, 2nd Viscount Scarsdale]], and they had two sons and a daughter.<ref>[[Burke's Peerage]], volume 3 (2003), p. 3540</ref> In 1943, their daughter Rachel Mary married Mervyn Christopher Thursby-Pelham, a young [[Welsh Guards]] officer who was later a [[brigadier]]. They had a son and a daughter.<ref> [http://www.owl3404.org/distinguished-brethren-n-z/m-c-thursby-pelham/ M C Thursby-Pelham] at owl3404.org, accessed 5 April 2020</ref>

Willson died on 16 April 1952 at a nursing home in Tonbridge, leaving an estate valued for probate at £140,035, {{Inflation|UK|140035|1952|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}.<ref> [https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=Willson&yearOfDeath=1952&page=2#calendar ”WILLSON sir Walter Stuart James”] in Probate Index for 1952 at probatesearch.service.gov.uk, accessed 5 April 2020; “WILLSON Walter S J 75” in Deaths for Tonbridge, vol. 5b (1952), p. 802</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willson Walter Stuart James}}
[[Category:1876 births]]
[[Category:1952 deaths]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Members of Central Legislative Assembly of India]]
[[Category:People educated at St Paul's School, London]]

Walter Willson - Revision history

imported>Charles Matthews: /* Life */ format ref