Royal Horseguards Hotel Royal Horseguards Hotel The Royal Horseguards Hotel is a 5-star London hotel situated in the area of Whitehall. It is operated by Guoman Hotels, a subsidiary of Thistle Hotels. Whitehall Court was constructed as a block of luxury residential apartments in 1884 by the Liberal MP and property developer Jabez Balfour. The building's construction was the centrepiece of an elaborate pyramid scheme for fraud by Balfour, through the Liberator Building Society which he controlled. In 1892 the Society collapsed, leaving thousands of investors penniless. Instead of advancing money to home buyers, the Society had advanced money to property companies to
John Paton (British politician) John Paton (British politician) John Paton (8 August 1886 – 14 December 1976) was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom, and a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1945 to 1964. He was born in Aberdeen; his father James Paton was a master baker and his mother Isabella Bruce was a seamstress. After leaving school at 13 he became a printer's devil in what is now the "Aberdeen Press and Journal". He then became a barber, running his own establishment until the war years. His socialist views repelled his wealthy customers and the shop failed soon after the war.