Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough
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| The Rt Hon. The Viscount Brookeborough, Bt., KG, CBE, MC, HML 
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| Rank | 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, Bt., KG, CBE, MC, PC, HML (June 9, 1888 – August 18, 1973) was a British Ulster Unionist politician who became the third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in 1943 and held office until 1963.
He had previously 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]
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[edit] Early life
Basil Stanlake Brooke was born on June 9, 1888 at his family's 30,0000 acre estate, Colebrooke Park, Brookeborough, County Fermanagh.[2] He was 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. Brookeborough's sister, Sheelah, married Sir Henry Mulholland; their son would succeed as Baron Dunleath. He was educated for five years at St. George's School in Pau, France and then 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.
[edit] Personal life
He married, firstly, Cynthia Mary (1897–1970), second daughter and co-heir of Captain Charles Warden Surgison, of Cuckfield Park, Sussex. They were married on 3 June 1919 at St. George's Chapel, Hanover Square, London. Their families were already close due to Miss Surgison's sister being married to Sir Basil's cousin. Following their marriage the Brookes went to live at Colebrooke.
Lady Brookeborough 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. She died in 1989.
[edit] Children
By his first wife Lord Brookeborough had the following children:
- Lieutenant Basil Julian David Brooke (18 April 1920 - March 1943 - Killed in action)
- John Warden Brooke, 2nd Viscount Brookeborough (9 November 1922 - 5 March 1987)
- Lieutenant Henry Alan Brooke (29 October 1923 - April 1945 - killed in action)
[edit] Political career
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In 1921 he was elected to the Senate of Northern Ireland, 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 the words of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography;
| “ | His thin, wiry frame, with the inevitable cigarette in hand, and clipped, Anglicized accent were to be a feature of Stormont for the next forty years. | ” |
[edit] Cabinet Minister
In 1933 he was appointed Minister for Agriculture. In 1941 he became Minister for Commerce.
Brooke 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.[3][4] | ” |
[edit] As Prime Minister
| Prime Ministers of Northern Ireland |
|---|
| Lord Craigavon (1922–1940) |
| John Miller Andrews (1940–1943) |
| Lord Brookeborough (1943–1963) |
| Captain Terence O'Neill (1963–1969) |
| James Chichester-Clark (1969–1971) |
| Brian Faulkner (1971–1972) |
In 1943 he succeeded John M. Andrews as Prime Minister.
In 1952 Sir Basil, whilst Prime Minister, was raised to the House of Lords as Viscount Brookeborough, the title taken from the village named after the Brookes. Although a peer he retained his seat in the House of Commons at Stormont and remained PM for another decade.
Lord Brookebrough resigned as Prime Minister in 1963 due to illness, he was 75 years old. He remained a member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons until the 1969 general election (when he was 81), becoming the Father of the House in 1965. During his last years in the Commons he publicly opposed the liberal policies of his successor as PM, Terence O'Neill, who actively sought to improve relationships with the Republic of Ireland and attempted to grant the civil rights demanded by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association.
[edit] 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 and was Custos Rotulorum of County Fermanagh between 1963 & 1969.
[edit] 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.
In 1971, following Lady Brookeborough's death in 1970 Lord Brookeborough married Sarah Eileen Bell, he was 83.
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
[edit] References
- ^ Walker, G, A history of the Ulster Unionist Party (Manchester 2004) p 150
- ^ Barton, Brian, Brookeborough: The Making of a Prime Minister, 1988, p. 15
- ^ Ryan, Alan (1999). The Reader's Companion to Ireland. Harvest Books, p. 226. ISBN 978-0156005593.
- ^ Coogan, Tim Pat (2004). Ireland in the Twentieth Century. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 299-300. ISBN 978-1403963970.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Further reading
Brian Barton, Brookeborough: the making of a Prime Minister, The Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University, Belfast, 1988.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Harry Mulholland |
Assistant Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (Assistant Chief Whip) 1929 – 1933 |
Succeeded by Alexander Wilson Hungerford |
| Preceded by Edward Mervyn Archdale |
Minister of Agriculture 1933 – 1941 |
Succeeded by Lord Glentoran |
| Preceded by John Milne Barbour |
Minister of Commerce 1941 – 1943 |
Succeeded by Himself as Minister of Commerce and Production |
| Preceded by Himself as Minister of Commerce |
Minister of Commerce and Production 1943 – 1945 |
Succeeded by Roland Thomas Nugent |
| Preceded by John Miller Andrews |
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland 1943 – 1963 |
Succeeded by Terence O'Neill |
| Parliament of Northern Ireland | ||
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Lisnaskea 1929 – 1968 |
Succeeded by John Brooke |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by John Miller Andrews |
Leader of the Unionist Party 1946 – 1963 |
Succeeded by Terence O'Neill |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Enniskillen |
Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh 1963–1969 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Thomas Patrick David Scott |
| Preceded by Cahir Healy |
Father of the House 1965 – 1968 |
Succeeded by Sir Norman Stronge |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Arthur Brooke |
Brooke Baronets 1907 – 1973 |
Succeeded by John Brooke |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Viscount Brookeborough 1952 – 1973 |
Succeeded by John Brooke |
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