Ivison Macadam

Early life

Born 18 July 1894 at Slioch, Lady Road, Edinburgh, he was the second son of Colonel William Ivison Macadam, (1856-1902), and Sarah Maconochie MacDonald (1855-1941). He was the grandson of Stevenson Macadam.

Educated privately in Scotland, he was the second King's Scout to be invested in Scotland, and the first Silver Wolf Scout in Scotland, awarded for "services of the most exceptional character by gift of the Chief Scout". In both cases he was invested by Chief Scout and founder Sir Robert Baden-Powell.

World War One

Macadam served in World War I, attached to the City of Edinburgh (Fortress) Royal Engineers. He was the youngest major in the British Army as Officer Commanding Royal Engineers, Archangel, North Russian Expeditionary Force, the ill-fated British invasion of Russia following the armistice with Germany, and the final major military action of WWI (dispatches thrice). He was awarded the OBE in 1919 at the age of 24 for his service there..

Education, NUS

Ivison, like many of his generation who served in World War I, attended university at a later age than normal after his wartime service. He was educated at Melville College, Edinburgh; King's College London and Christ's College, Cambridge.

He was the founder President of the National Union of Students, being elected their first President in 1922 when the Inter-Varsity Association and the International Students Bureau merged at a joint meeting held at the University of London. He was the then President of King's College London Students' Union.

In 1927 he spearheaded a successful fundraising appeal to endow the Union and place it on a sound footing. He was one of the original trustees of the National Union of Students and remained as such until the end of his life.

The main students' union building and Faculty of Engineering at King's College's Strand campus is named the Macadam Building in his honour (opened 1975).

In 2004, KCLSU President Michael Champion instituted the Macadam Cup, a day of sporting excellence between medical and non-medical students at the College.

In 2013 the new NUS National Headquarters was named Macadam House (275 Gray’s Inn Road, London, WC1X 8QB).

Ivison was elected a Fellow of King's College in 1939, and served as a member of the King's College Council 1957-74; its Delegacy 1960-74; a member of its Finance Committee, and on many special sub-committees both to the Delegacy and Council and vice Chairman 1971-74,.

Career

Macadam was the first Secretary and Director-General of the Royal Institute of International Affairs between 1929 and 1955, based at Chatham House.

In this capacity he travelled to the then British Dominions and helped the independent establishment of the various Commonwealth Institutes of International Affairs or where such bodies had earlier been established in both Australia and Canada to generate financial support from benefactors there for them to have their own full-time secretariats (The Canadian Institute of International Affairs funding 1932; the Australian funding 1934. The formation of the Institutes in New Zealand 1934; The South African 1934: The Indian 1936: The Pakistan 1947).

He was also responsible for numerous international conferences around the world e.g. the Institute of Pacific Relations Conference, Banff Canada 1933, the Commonwealth Relations Conference, Capstone near Sydney, Australia 1938.

“He was the institute’s chief executive for a period of 25 years during which it grew from a promising pioneering experiment int a well established and internationally respected centre for the study and discussion of world affairs.

“When asked who founded Chatham House, Ivison would reply with a list of distinguished people, among whom Lionel Curtis took pride of place, and would empasize the great amount of time that they devoted in shaping the instute’s policy in the early days. This no doubt was true, but it was Ivison who had to carry their ideas into practice, raise the money and recruit the staff.

"He was a gifted promoter of Chatham House and its objectives, obtaining endowments in Britain and the Commonwealth and also gaining the support of the great American foundations, Carnegie, Rockefeller and later Ford. In this important American connection he was greatly helped by his American wife, Caroline, whose numerous friends in her own country opened many doors."

“ …he was a most efficient organaizer, but an organizer not only of administration and action but also of men and women, who worked with him and for him as loyally as he worked for their common enterprise. … He was essentially a practical man, who saw what needed to be done and did it, or saw that it was done.”

During World War II he was Assistant Director General and Assistant Secretary to the Ministry of Information between 1939 – 41.

After his work in establishing the Ministry, he returned to the Royal Institute to continue war work there.

He also became the chairman and editor of The Annual Register of World Events 1947-72, the world’s oldest annual reference book founded by Edmund Burke.

He was a member of the governing body (the Moot) of The Round Table: A Quarterly Review of the Politics of the British Commonwealth 1930-1974. Britain’s oldest international journal. (Now published as The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs). He was the Round Table's honorary Secretary in the post war years.

Other offices included:

Royal service

Macadam was a founding member of the Council, King George’s Jubilee Trust on which he served from 1935-74, first under the Chairmanship of the Prince of Wales, until he ascended to the throne as Edward VIII; then under chairmanship of Duke of York, until he ascended to the throne on the abdication of his brother as George V and then under the chairmanship of the King's brother, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, under whom he served as Vice-Chairman (1972-74) until Prince Charles had finished his naval service and was able to take over as Chairman. It is now run under the umbrella of the Royal Trusts under the Chairmanship of HRH the Prince of Wales.

He was responsible for the official royal programs under the auspices of the King George’s Jubilee Trust for the processions and services for King George V and Queen Mary’s Jubilee, 1935; The Coronation of their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, 1937; The wedding of the Princess Elizabeth and Lt. Philip Mountbatten, RN, 1947; The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953; the wedding of the Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones,1960 and the wedding of Princess Alexandra of Kent and Angus Ogilvy, 1963. These were sold on behalf of King George’s Jubilee Trust mainly along the parade routes by the Boy Scouts but also in news agents and bookshops. The substantial additional funds thus raised helped supplement King George's Jubilee Trust’s work in support of young people, youth organizations and youth projects.

Personal life

His father was shot and killed by a mentally disturbed gunman in an Edinburgh tragedy In 1902 when Ivison was seven.

Macadam married an American, Caroline Ladd Corbett, who was born and raised in Portland, Oregon (Born 20 September 1910 at Portland, Dunthorpe, Multnomah Co.,Oregon USA. Died on 28 August 1989 in East Runton, Norfolk), her parents being Elliott Ruggles Corbett (1884-1963) and Alta Rittenhouse Smith (1886-1976). She was the great-granddaughter of two of Portland's pioneers (Henry W. Corbett and William S. Ladd). Before their marriage, she was Assistant to the then US Secretary of State, Henry L. Stimson, and the couple met at the international conference Macadam had arranged at Banff, Canada in 1933.

After their marriage, she was of invaluable support to her husband in opening doors both through her wide contacts in the US and her American family in assisting him to raise the substantial funding required for the operations of the RIIA. She was later Chairman of the Eastern Counties Women’s Conservative Associations.

The couple had four children: Helen Ivison Taylor, William Ivison Macadam, Elliott Corbett Macadam and Caroline Alta Macadam (who is married to Francesco Colacicchi and writes under name Alta Macadam). The couple lived in London and at Runton Old Hall, East Runton, Norfolk. Macadam was a keen sportsman, shot and fly fisherman.

He died on 22 December 1974, at his London home at 16 Upper Belgrave Street, London.

He is buried next to his father in Portobello Cemetery in Edinburgh.

Decorations and Honours