Clark was elected M.P. for South Derry in July 1960 and Prime Minister in May 1969. From retired soldier to Prime Minister in under 9 years is a rapid rise to fame. Even in as talentless a body as the Ulster Unionist Party one would expect the new Prime Minister to be something of an intellectual whizz-kid.
In fact Major Chichester-Clark* is a man of few words and not very sparkling ones. He was elected in July 1960 and did not make his maiden speech unti February 1961. After that he spoke occasionally until 1963 when he became Chief Whip and from then till May 1967 his contributions to Stormont were limited to one-line interjections. In 1967 he became Minister for Agriculture and had to speak in agricultural debates.
Why the rapid promotion and swift rise to the top this undistinguished back-bencher? Major Chichester-Clark • was born in 1923 and educated at Eton, like Terence O'Neill, and most of the English ruling class. In 1942 he joined the Irish Guards and retired in 1960. In 1955 his brother Robert had M.P. for Derry County Westminster - - a seat held by their grandfather in the 1920's. The Major's grandmother, Dame Dehra Parker; was M.P. for South Derry at Stormont and Minister for Health. She had held the seat since 1921 except for a short break from 1929-33 when she let her son-in-law, the Major's father, take over. In April 1960 Major James retired from the army. In June Dame Dehra suddenly resigned. in July the Major was elected. Asked by a journalist if she had resigned in order to hand over to her grandson, Dame Dehra said: "Well I wanted to give him a chance." It was all very convenient but not for R. A. Brown, Chairman of Magherafelt Rural Council, who was defeated by the Unionist nomination by the young Major just 3 months home from his travels.
The South Derry seat was kept in the family, as it had been since 1921, and an even older family tradition was maintained. On the Dawson side there had been an M.P. in every generation of the Major's family since 1695. Asked why he had decided to go into politics the Major said. "I was a man with a bit of spare time and I hoped I could do something useful." The spare time was after he had looked after his 570 acre estate at Castledawson. Still, his constituents didn't seem to mind a spare-time M.P.
The new M.P. was well connected. On the Clark side he was related to Henry Clarke, M.P. for North Antrim at Westminster. On the Chichester side to Phelim O'Neill, now Minister for Education, and Capt. Terence who was soon to become Prime Minister. A Chichester relative of the Major's was even married to Capt. John Warden Brooke, foolish son of a famous father. For what little it was worth his estate agent was an M.P. - Joe Burns from North Derry.
It was hardly surprising 21031 the new M.P. became Prime Minister, and, as Chief Whip for 3 years, advanced rapidly especially when Capt. Terence the Major stood loyally by his aristocratic relation. But as things got worse for Terence the Major began to get ambitions of his own and in April 1969 when O'Neill won the last and narrowest of his votes of confidence Chichester-Clark stabbed him vigorously in at the back by resigning from the Cabinet. Inside a week O'Neill had resigned and Chichester-Clark was Prime Minister.
In the frantic attempt to preserve Unionist unity Chichester-Clark has tried to appear, simultaneously a liberal and a reactionary. Where do his sympathies really lie?
As the P.D. march from Belfast to Derry left Toome for Hillhead it was stopped at the junction of the Hillhead and Bellaghy roads. The marchers "were informed by the police that they could not proceed by way of Hillhead and Knockloughtim to Maghera as there was likely to be trouble with Loyalists.
On the side of the junction about 50 loyalists M.P.s, Major J. D. Chichesterolark drawn across the TOTE. The Local and his brother Mr. Robin Chichester-Clark M.P. for County Derry at Westminster spoke to the Loyalists. While this was going on an Ulster Television camera team, who moved in to take shots of the loyalists and the police, were attacked by the loyalists."
Mid-Ulster Mail, Jan. 4th 1969.
What did the Prime Minister and his brother say to the "loyalists? Why did they not ensure that the police did their duty and cleared a passage for the lateners J.D. Chichester-Clark at his Moyola Park home. asked him to contact Home Affairs Minister Mr. W. J. Long to have the rest of the march banned. Mr. Chichester-Clark phoned Mr. Long and later told the crowd outside his home that the Minister could do nothing without first consulting his advisers. Some consulation to the crowd for this fobbing-off was a promise by Mr. Chichester-Clark to be with them when they meet at Beagh cross-roads at 9.00 a.m. thi morning. ' Irish News, January 3rd 1969 next morning where they intended to block the • march? Is it true that he was there with a stout walking stick?
We can only judge the Major's views by his own words. Though the Major's words in the House of Commons have been few and far between, the summer sunshine makes him wax more eloquent. Speaking at Garvagh on July 12th 1966 he said: "1 can assure you that, as far as the Government is concerned, there is no weakness towards our enemies and there will be none. We have not forgotten the Boyne, we have not forgotten the 13 Apprentice Boys, we have not forgotten the Ulster Covenant and we intend to preserve our heritage and our Protestant faith. There will be no surrender on any of these scores to-day or at any other time."
Major Chichester-Clark is of course a member of Castle-dawson LOL No. 97 and Bellaghy Scarlet Line R.B.P. No. 573. In the 1969 election he was seconded by the Rev. H. C. Conn, Deputy County Grand Chaplain of the Orange Order for County Derry. In an election circular which unaccountably reached only sections of the electorate he pledged himself to uphold the position of the Orange Order in public life Aristocrat, landlord, old Etonian Orangeman - this is N. Ireland's New Prime Minister. He became an M.P. because it ran in the family. He was rapidly promoted because he was well-connected. He was in the running for Prime Minister because he stabbed O'Neill in the back at the right time. He won the election because he'd said so little at Stormont that he'd antagonised nobody. What can the Civil Rights movement expect from him... nothing!
reprinted from PD Voice No. 2.
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That night in Maghera an armed mob wrecked the town. Meanwhile "followers of Major R. Bunting met
Why did the Major not tell these people to leave the marchers alone? Why did he agree to join them