Archibald White Maconochie

Archibald White Maconochie(1855 – 3 February 1926)was an EnglishLiberal Unionistpolitician and businessman who served as theMember of Parliament(MP) forEast Aberdeenshirefrom 1900 to 1906.He was proprietor of the food manufacturer Maconochie Brothers.
Maconochie was born inWigan, Lancashirein 1855. His mother, Elizabeth (née Richardson) (1819–1896), was fromStoney Stratford, Buckinghamshire, while his father, also Archibald (1815–1895), was fromEdinburgh. He was the seventh of nine children, including his older brother and future business partner James (1850–1895).
After leaving school, Maconochie intended to join thearmybut instead joined his brother James'sfishmongersbusiness inLowestoft, Suffolk,c.1870. Three years later the two founded Maconochie Brothers, packing and selling cannedherring. In 1877 the brothers opened a factory in Lowestoft,and a second factory inFraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, followed in 1883. ALondonfactory, based inMillwall, opened in 1897. By the mid-1880s the business had expanded to include an assortment of canned and bottled goods, including fruits, meat and soup.
In 1895 Archibald became the sole proprietor of the business, following the death of his brother James. By this time Maconochie Bros had started producing military rations, including theMaconochie, which was a vegetable stew containingpotatoes,turnipsandcarrotsinbroth. The rations were frequently used during both theSecond Boer WarandWorld War I. Despite this, many soldiers detested the ration, and it was infamously described as being "man-killers" by soldiers.
The business continued to grow into the 20th century, with around 100,000 tins of food produced daily by 1900. In 1903 the popular "Pan Yan pickle" was first registered, and quickly became one of the company's staple products.
In 1900, Maconochie stood for election in East Aberdeenshire, as aLiberal Unionist. Maconochie was popular in the constituency, which was home to the Maconochie Bros Fraserburgh factory, and he was elected to the seat, defeating theLiberalcandidate,Thomas Buchanan, who had held the seat since 1892. Upon his election, Maconochie Bros was incorporated as a limited company, due to laws regarding MP's receiving government contracts. Maconochie served as a member ofThe Tariff Commissionin 1904.
During his time as an MP, he was noted to take several trips to theUSA, including three lengthy stays abroad whileParliamentwas sitting between March 1902 and March 1903. It was noted that he attended the fewestparliamentary divisionsin comparison to MP's for Aberdeen's other constituencies, and the Aberdeen Peoples Journal subsequently called Maconochie's role as MP into question. Maconochie later attempted to defend himself, saying that the trips were "soley in the best interests of East Aberdeenshire".
He was subsequently defeated at the1906 general electionby theLiberal Partycandidate, newspaper-editorJames Annand.He made two further attempts at election, first at the general elections inJanuaryandDecember 1910in thePartick division of Lanarkshire,and then again at the1918 general electionin theWednesburyconstituency in theBlack Country.
In September 1903, Maconochie married Jean Webb Mills (1879–1958) inManhattan, New York. The couple had 4 children, including Archibald Benn Duntley Maconochie (1907–1962), who succeeded his father at Maconochie Bros after his death. 2 other children, Vera and Margaret (Margi), went onto become a professional singer and racing driver, respectively. His youngest daughter Jean went to RADA.
In his final years, Maconochie suffered from anenlarged prostate glandand he died at a nursing home in Wesminster in February 1926 of aheart attackfollowing surgery for the ailment, aged 70.
In the years following his death, Maconochie Bros suffered several setbacks including the closures of several factories between the 1920s and 1950s, and export restrictions on New Zealand and Australia caused the company to collapse in 1953. The company later ended up being acquired several times, first toH. S. Whitesidein 1958, thenRowntree Makintoshin 1967.Products like the Pan Yan pickle continued to be sold under the new owners untilc.2000, includingNestlé, following its acquisition of Rowntree in 1987. The final of Maconochie's original factories closed in 2005, and the recipe for Pan Yan pickle was destroyed by fire around the same time.