Thomas McKinnon Wood

Born in Stepney, Wood was the only son of Hugh Wood, a merchant and shipowner, by his second wife Jessie McKinnon, daughter of Reverend Thomas McKinnon.[1][2] His father had been born in Orkney, where his father was a farmer, but had later settled in London.[2] Wood was educated at the Brewers' Company School, Aldenham, Hertfordshire, Mill Hill School, and University College, London. He graduated in 1875 with honours in logic and moral philosophy.[1][2] After graduating, he worked briefly on the 9th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica,[2] before joining the family business in 1878, after his father lost his sight.[2] Although "McKinnon" was officially his middle name, as an adult he generally used "McKinnon Wood" as a double-barrelled surname.[5][6][7]

McKinnon Wood was a member of the London County Council for Central Hackney from 1892 to 1909.[1] From 1897 to 1908 he was leader of the Progressive Party and also served as Chairman of the council from 1898 to 1899.[1][2] In 1907 he was appointed alderman, a post he held until 1909.[2] He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of London in 1899.[2]

McKinnon Wood stood unsuccessfully as a parliamentary candidate for East Islington in 1895,[1] Glasgow St. Rollox in 1900[1] and Orkney and Shetland in 1902.[1] However, in 1906 he was elected for Glasgow St Rollox as a Liberal, a seat he held until 1918.[8] In April 1908 McKinnon Wood was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education in the administration of H. H. Asquith, a post he held until October of the same year, when he became Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.[2]

In 1911 he was made Financial Secretary to the Treasury and admitted to the Privy Council.[9] The following year he was promoted to Secretary for Scotland[10] with a seat in the cabinet. He continued in this post also when the war-time coalition was formed in May 1915. His integrity was called into question over the 1908 -1919 Oscar Slater case and inquiries into his false conviction for murder. In July 1916 he was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Financial Secretary to the Treasury. The latter post was considered very important in the war-time situation, and was not seen as a demotion.

However, when Lloyd George became Prime Minister in December 1916, McKinnon Wood was not offered a post in the government.[2] By the time the general election of December 1918 was held, McKinnon Wood was an anti-coalition Asquith Liberal. In common with most of the Liberals who did not receive the "Coalition Coupon" he lost his seat, which was gained by Gideon Oliphant-Murray of the Conservative Party.[2] He made one attempt to re-enter the Commons when he stood unsuccessfully for Hackney Central in 1922.[1][2]

Family vault of Thomas MacKinnon Wood in Highgate Cemetery

McKinnon Wood married Isabella Sandison, daughter of Alexander Sandison, in 1883.[1] They had eight children, six sons and two daughters. Two sons and one daughter predeceased him.[1] McKinnon Wood died in South Kensington two weeks after his wife in March 1927, aged 72.[1][2][3] Following a funeral service at Whitefield's Tabernacle, Tottenham Court Road, McKinnon Wood was buried in a family vault on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery[3] (plot no.31039), opposite the grave of George Eliot. He left an estate valued at £130,372.[2]

• Torrance, David, The Scottish Secretaries (Birlinn 2006)

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Thomas McKinnon Wood