Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough: Difference between revisions
Again: take it to Wikquote. I've no particular like nor dislike for/of Brooke. Also, again, please observe carefully what you are reverting wholesale. |
|||
| Line 40: | Line 40: | ||
In 1929 he was elected to the Northern Ireland House of Commons as [[Ulster Unionist Party]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]] for the [[Lisnaskea]] division of [[County Fermanagh]]. In 1933 he was appointed Minister for Agriculture. In 1941 he became Minister for Commerce. In 1943 he succeeded [[John Miller Andrews|John M. Andrews]] as Prime Minister. |
In 1929 he was elected to the Northern Ireland House of Commons as [[Ulster Unionist Party]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]] for the [[Lisnaskea]] division of [[County Fermanagh]]. In 1933 he was appointed Minister for Agriculture. In 1941 he became Minister for Commerce. In 1943 he succeeded [[John Miller Andrews|John M. Andrews]] as Prime Minister. |
||
Brooke addressed an [[Orange Institution]] rally on [[12 July]] [[1933]], where he said: |
Critics of Brooke sometimes cite part of a speech he made when he addressed an [[Orange Institution]] rally on [[12 July]] [[1933]], where he said: |
||
{{Cquote|''Many in this audience employ Catholics, but I have not one about my place. Catholics are out to destroy Ulster...If we in Ulster allow Roman Catholics to work on our farms we are traitors to Ulster...I would appeal to loyalists, therefore, wherever possible, to employ good Protestant lads and lassies.''<ref>{{cite book | last = Ryan | first = Alan | title = The Reader's Companion to Ireland | publisher = Harvest Books | date = 1999 | pages = p. 226 | isbn = 978-0156005593}}</ref><ref name="coogan">{{cite book | last = Coogan | first = Tim Pat | title = Ireland in the Twentieth Century | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | date = 2004 | pages = pp. 299-300 | isbn = 978-1403963970}}</ref>}} |
{{Cquote|''Many in this audience employ Catholics, but I have not one about my place. Catholics are out to destroy Ulster...If we in Ulster allow Roman Catholics to work on our farms we are traitors to Ulster...I would appeal to loyalists, therefore, wherever possible, to employ good Protestant lads and lassies.''<ref>{{cite book | last = Ryan | first = Alan | title = The Reader's Companion to Ireland | publisher = Harvest Books | date = 1999 | pages = p. 226 | isbn = 978-0156005593}}</ref><ref name="coogan">{{cite book | last = Coogan | first = Tim Pat | title = Ireland in the Twentieth Century | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | date = 2004 | pages = pp. 299-300 | isbn = 978-1403963970}}</ref>}} |
||
In March 1934 he gave another speech to the Londonderry Unionist Association: |
|||
{{Cquote|''Thinking out the whole question carefully, I recommend those people who are Loyalists not to employ Roman Catholics, ninety-nine per cent of whom are disloyal. I want you to remember one point in regard to the employment of people who are disloyal. There are often difficulties in the way, but usually there are plenty of good men and women available, and the employers don't bother to employ them. You are disenfranchising yourselves in that way. You people who are employers have the ball at your feet. If you don't act properly now, before we know where we are we shall find ourselves in the minority instead of the majority''.<ref name="coogan"/><ref name="coogan">{{cite book | last = Elliott | first = Marianne | title = The Catholics of Ulster: A History | publisher = Basic Books | date = 2002 | pages = p. 392 | isbn = 978-0465019045}}</ref>}} |
|||
In the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1934, Brooke clarified what he meant by "disloyal": |
|||
{{Cquote|''I refer the hon. Gentleman to a quotation from his own paper which, in analysing the census figures taken a few years ago, asserted that to all intents and purposes 100 per cent, of the Roman Catholics were Nationalists.'' |
|||
''May I explain what I mean by the word "disloyalist." It has been carted about the country, and various interpretations put upon it. A disloyal man is a man who is scheming and plotting to destroy the country in which he lives. It does not mean a man who lives in that country and lives under the constitution but is opposed to the Government. That is the Nationalist point. But any man who is out to break up that constitution, which has been established by Great Britain, is to my mind disloyal. That is what I mean by disloyal.''<ref>Northern Ireland House of Commons Official Report, Vol 34 col 1114-1118</ref>}} |
|||
Brooke resigned as Prime Minister in 1963 due to illness. However he remained a member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons until the [[Northern Ireland general election, 1969|1969 general election]], becoming the [[Father of the House]] in 1965. During his last years in the Commons he publicly opposed the liberal policy of his successor, [[Terence O'Neill]], who wished for a better relationship with the [[Republic of Ireland]] and attempted to grant the [[civil rights]] demanded by the [[Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association]]. |
Brooke resigned as Prime Minister in 1963 due to illness. However he remained a member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons until the [[Northern Ireland general election, 1969|1969 general election]], becoming the [[Father of the House]] in 1965. During his last years in the Commons he publicly opposed the liberal policy of his successor, [[Terence O'Neill]], who wished for a better relationship with the [[Republic of Ireland]] and attempted to grant the [[civil rights]] demanded by the [[Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association]]. |
||
Revision as of 12:20, 15 November 2007
| The Rt Hon. The Viscount Brookeborough, KG, CBE, MC, Bt. Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
| |
| Rank | 3rd Prime Minister |
|---|---|
| Term of Office | May 1, 1943 - March 26, 1963 |
| Predecessor | John Miller Andrews |
| Successor | Terence O'Neill |
| Date of Birth | June 9, 1888 |
| Date of Death | August 18, 1973 |
| Political Party | Ulster Unionist Party |
| Profession | Army officer |
Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, KG, CBE, MC, PC, Bt. (June 9 1888 – August 18 1973) was a British Ulster Unionist politician. He held several ministerial positions in the Government of Northern Ireland, and has been described as "perhaps the last Unionist leader to command respect, loyalty and affection across the social and political spectrum of the movement".[1] He became the third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in 1943 and held office until 1963.
Early life
Basil Stanlake Brooke was born on June 9 1888 at his family's estate Colebrooke Park, Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, the eldest son of Sir Arthur Douglas Brooke, 4th Baronet, whom he succeeded as 5th Baronet on the latter's death in 1907. He was a nephew of Field Marshal Viscount Alanbrooke, CIGS during World War II, who was only five years his senior. He was educated in at Pau, France and at Winchester College (1901-05) and Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the Royal Fusiliers in 1908, but transferred to the 10th Hussars in 1911. He was awarded the Military Cross and Croix de Guerre with palm for his service during World War I. In 1920 he left the British Army to farm his large estate at Colebrooke.
He married, firstly, Cynthia Mary (1897–1970), second daughter and coheir of Captain Charles Warden Sergison, of Cuckfield Park, Sussex. They had three sons; the eldest and youngest were killed in action during the Second World War, but the second son, John Warden, also a soldier, survived the war and later entered Northern Ireland politics.
Political career
In 1921 he was elected to the Northern Ireland Senate, but he resigned the following year to become Commandant of the Ulster Special Constabulary in their fight against the IRA.
In 1929 he was elected to the Northern Ireland House of Commons as Ulster Unionist Party MP for the Lisnaskea division of County Fermanagh. In 1933 he was appointed Minister for Agriculture. In 1941 he became Minister for Commerce. In 1943 he succeeded John M. Andrews as Prime Minister.
Critics of Brooke sometimes cite part of a speech he made when he addressed an Orange Institution rally on 12 July 1933, where he said:
Many in this audience employ Catholics, but I have not one about my place. Catholics are out to destroy Ulster...If we in Ulster allow Roman Catholics to work on our farms we are traitors to Ulster...I would appeal to loyalists, therefore, wherever possible, to employ good Protestant lads and lassies.[2][3]
Brooke resigned as Prime Minister in 1963 due to illness. However he remained a member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons until the 1969 general election, becoming the Father of the House in 1965. During his last years in the Commons he publicly opposed the liberal policy of his successor, Terence O'Neill, who wished for a better relationship with the Republic of Ireland and attempted to grant the civil rights demanded by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association.
Decorations
Having been appointed CBE in 1921, Brooke was on July 1 1952 raised to the House of Lords as Viscount Brookeborough, of Colebrooke, County Fermanagh. He was appointed a Knight of the Garter in 1965. He held the office of Vice-Admiral of Ulster between 1961 and 1973. He held the office of Lord Lieutenant of County Fermanagh between 1963 and 1969. He held the office of Custos Rotulorum of County Fermanagh between 1963 and 1969.
Later Life
In his retirement Brookeborough developed commercial interests; as chairman of Carreras (Northern Ireland), a director of Devenish Trade, and president of the Northern Ireland Institute of Directors. He was also made an honorary LLD of Queen's University, Belfast.
His wife, Cynthia, had served in the Second World War as senior commandant of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and was created a DBE in 1959. She died in 1970, and the following year, aged 83, Brookeborough married Sarah Eileen Bell, daughter of Henry Healey, of Belfast, and widow of Cecil Armstrong Calvert FRCS, director of neurosurgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.
Lord Brookeborough died at his home in Colebrooke on August 18 1973, he was cremated at Roselawn cemetery, Belfast, three days later, and in deference to his wishes his ashes were scattered on the demesne. His estate was valued at £406,591.83: probate, 5 December 1975, CGPLA NIre. · £42,793 in England and Wales: probate, 7 November 1973, CGPLA Eng. & Wales
References
- ^ Walker, G, A history of the Ulster Unionist Party (Manchester 2004) p 150
- ^ Ryan, Alan (1999). The Reader's Companion to Ireland. Harvest Books. pp. p. 226. ISBN 978-0156005593.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ Coogan, Tim Pat (2004). Ireland in the Twentieth Century. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. pp. 299-300. ISBN 978-1403963970.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help)
See also
External link
Further reading
Brian Barton, Brookeborough: the making of a Prime Minister, The Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University, Belfast, 1988.
- 1888 births
- 1973 deaths
- British military personnel of World War I
- Croix de guerre recipients
- Royal Fusiliers officers
- 10th Royal Hussars officers
- Northern Irish police officers
- Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Knights of the Order of St John
- Members of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland
- Knights of the Garter
- Leaders of the Ulster Unionist Party
- People from County Fermanagh
- Prime Ministers of Northern Ireland
- Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom