LAING, Mrs Alexander (Graeme Elizabeth nee DALRYMPLE-HAMILTON) 1926-2018

[Richard R]

From the Telegraph and Times of 3 May 2018: LAING Graeme Elizabeth, on 27th April 2018. Much loved widow of Sandy, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Funeral Service at 2 p.m. on Friday 18th May at Edinkillie Church. Donations, in lieu of flowers, to Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team and cancer research.

She was d of Adm Sir Frederick Hew George DALRYMPLE-HAMILTON of Bargany KCB (1890-1974, gs of 10th Earl of STAIR) and Gwendolen (1890-1974, d of Sir Cuthbert Edgar PEEK 2nd Bt (1855-1901) and Hon Augusta Louisa BRODERICK (1854-1934, d of 8th Viscount MIDLETON & gd of 1st Baron COTTESLOE)). She m 1948 Alexander Grant MC (1924-88) s of Hector Stanley LAING and Margaret Norris GRANT (1893-1949), scion of the Bts of that name of Forres cr 1924 (ext 1947), and had 2 sons and 2 daus.

[G. Willis]

A few notes: Hector Stanley Laing was of Edinburgh, and worked at McVitie & Price- his father-in-law, Sir Alexander Grant, 1st Bt, having created the digestive biscuit; his eldest son, Hector (1923-2010), chairman of United Biscuits (following mergers of McVitie & Price 1972-1990) , was cr. 1991, (l.p.) Baron Laing of Dunphail.

Some of Alexander Grant Laing and Graeme Elizabeth (née Dalrymple-Hamilton)'s children married into titled families- elder son Alasdair North Grant Laing (1949-) m. 1979, Hon. Lucy Ann Anthea, dau. of Toby Austin Richard William Low, 1st Baron Aldington; younger daughter Fiona Mary Grant Laing (1954-) m. 1979, Hon. Jonathan James Warrender, s. of John Robert Warrender, 2nd Baron Bruntisfield. Elder dau. Carolyn Margaret Grant Laing m. 1981, Maj. James Melville John Balfour, Royal Green Jackets, son of Cmdr Colin James Balfour (1924-2009), D.L., R.N., of Wintershill Hall, Durley, nr Southampton. His father, Maj. Melville Balfour, had married Margaret Mary, dau. of Cmdr Lord Frederick Canning Lascelles, R.N., son of Henry Lascelles, 4th Earl Harewood. Unclear if related to any of the notable Balfour families/ branches of the Scottish family.

Alexander Grant Laing's younger brother was Robert ('Robin') Douglas Grant Laing (1929-2005), of Turks and Caicos; his elder son, Nicholas Alexander Grant Laing (1952), a travel agent, late Scots Guard, was father (by his second wife, Penelope Ruth Heale) of Made in Chelsea TV personality and businessman Jamie Laing (James Robin Grant Laing 1988-), and married 2002, as his third wife Princess Katya (Catherine, 1964-), dau. of Prince George Vladimirovich Galitzine (1916-1992), diplomat and businessman, late Maj., Welsh Guards.

[Richard R]

Thanks for the builds. I couldn't find dates for Hector Stanley Laing and assume you had the same problem?

[G. Willis]

My existing notes lack dates for him, and a search online just before I posted annoyingly yielded nothing. I'll try and have a more in-depth look around, but I feel like I'm going to be unlucky this time!

[G. Willis]

No, sadly it seems the best I can do, off an anecdote about the biscuit company, which states to the effect of  'even Grant's son-in-law, Hector Laing, on his return from serving in World War I, had to stoke the ovens- on his wedding day he still had to put in a shift at work'. The only record I came across for a Hector Laing in that context was one with the 6th Battalion, Cameron Highlanders, which gives year of birth as 1898; that would make him younger than his wife, but that's not impossible. Additionally, I checked the 1949 probate record for Margaret Norris Laing, which stated 'confirmation of Hector Laing company director'- this could pertain to either her husband or her son. Looking around on Google books, several biographical accounts of Baron Laing of Dunphail state 'son of Hector Stanley Laing and the late Margaret Norris (née Grant)'- this to me would imply that at some point H. S. Laing outlived his wife, or is an error. Other biographies of Baron Laing give 'the late Hector Stanley Laing and Margaret' etc etc, but that could of course mean they had both died by that point. Unclear, is my verdict, unfortunately!

[Richard R]

What are we to make of this?

From the Times of 15 Sept 1921

LAING : GRANT - On the 10th Sept., at Morningside Parish Church, Edinburgh, by the Rev A Brown, HERBERT STANLEY, youngest son of Mr and Mrs HECTOR LAING, Dean Bank Lodge, Edinburgh, to ELIZABETH, elder daughter of Mr and Mrs ALEXANDER GRANT, Glenmoriston, Hermitage-drive, Edinburgh, and of Moray House, Redington-gardens, Hampstead, London.

[Richard R]

And of this:

Biography Details

Reference No.:	NM059275
Surname:	LAING
Forename(s):	ELIZABETH
Maiden Name:	GRANT
Occupation:
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Father's Name:	SIR ALEXANDER GRANT BARONET FORRES
Mother's Name:	ELIZABETH LADY GRANT
Biography:	SISTER OF AGNES & SIR ROBERT MCVITIE & MARGARET GRANT

Marriage Details

Spouse's Name:	HERBERT STANLEY LAING
Date of Marriage:
Place of Marriage:
Married by:
Marriage Narrative:

Death Details

Date of Death:	11 DEC 1927
Age:
Headstone Ref:	Fc477
Place of Death:	EASTBOURNE
Parish Register:
Death Narrative:	INTERRED IN WEST HAMPSTEAD CEMETERY LONDON

http://libindx.moray.gov.uk/people/people_report_view.asp?REF_ID=NM059275

[G. Willis]

That's a very, very useful find, Richard, thanks very much!

My initial thoughts were as follows: 1) 'Hector Laing of Dean Bank Lodge' married, perhaps, a 'Miss Stanley' (or a woman whose father was, perhaps, named Stanley?) and had two sons, Hector Stanley and Herbert Stanley (not implausible given some Scottish naming conventions), each of whom married a daughter of Sir Alexander Grant, 1st Bt (wikipedia, at least, states 'a son and two daughters', which, given the second record above, would be 'three'- Agnes, Margaret and Elizabeth; the announcement does say 'elder', implying only two; maybe Agnes died young? At any rate, those two records you found seem fairly comprehensive and- although error can always creep in- seems unlikely to be wrong). Alternatively,

2) 'Hector Laing of Dean Bank Lodge' WAS 'Hector Stanley Laing' and had married previously, with 'Herbert Stanley' the 'youngest son' of that previous marriage, with Hector Stanley, on returning from WWI, then marrying Sir Alexander Grant, 1st Bt's daughter Margaret Norris. Given that Herbert Stanley Laing would presumably be at least of a comparable age to Elizabeth Grant, who based on her siblings might be supposed to have been b. 1890s, this would mean Hector Stanley Laing, if the same person as he of Dean Bank Lodge, and if the father of Herbert Stanley, would probably have been born at the very latest 1870s, making him not inconsiderably older than his wife Margaret Norris Grant.

This site http://digital.nls.uk/rolls-of-honour/archive/100546133?mode=transcription has a record of a Herbert Stanley Laing, former student at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, as serving in WWI with the Lovat Scouts, Royal Garrison Artillery, and with the R.A.F. Is it possible even official family-sourced records of 'Hector Stanley Laing' were in error, and he was Herbert all along? Perhaps went by 'H. Stanley Laing', leading descendants to misconstrue the initial as his father and son's name, Hector?

EDIT: looking for Elizabeth (Grant) Laing's will post-1927 (which I can't find), I came across the following in 1928:

'LAING, Hector of Deanbank Lodge Deanbank-lane Edinburgh died 2 December 1927 at London Confirmation of Agnes Yule or Laing widow.' Presumably this is the 'elder' Hector Laing (mentioned in your first record above), father of Herbert Stanley (and possibly also Hector Stanley) Laing, as the Hector (Stanley) Laing who married Margaret Norris Grant had a second son, Robert, b. 1929, which would of course not be possible had he died in 1927 (notwithstanding, of course, the presence of the new name 'Agnes Yule or Laing', which clearly indicates he's a different individual) This puts paid pretty solidly to my option 2) above, at least (albeit it was a stretch from the start!) FreeBMD has the Dec 1927 record of the death of Hector Laing at Hampstead, aged 69.

Additionally, on Ancestry under 'public member stories', is a file entitled 'Hector Laing Yule marriage 1881' and attached to 'Agnes Yule (born 1864)'- a cross-check gives it also as attached to 'Hector Laing (1860-1927)- given the age of Hector Laing, this would be a plausible year of birth for his wife, and the shared attachment of the file is strongly suggestive.

A look at familysearch gives a Hector Laing, b. 21 July 1860, Edinburgh, Midlothian, s. of Hector Laing and Mary Liston (several other children also appear in records), and a Hector Laing b. 1860 resident at 'St George, Midlothian)- I had to check (geography not being my strongest suit), but this is a registration district of Edinburgh, which is corroborative I think- in the Scottish Census 1861, 71, 81 and 91.