James Hanna McCormick

Lieutenant Colonel[note 1] James Hanna McCormick, DSO (September 1875 – May 1955)[2][3] was a professional soldier and Ulster Unionist Party politician.

James Hanna McCormick
Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for Belfast, St Anne's
In office 1929–1938
Preceded by	Constituency created
Succeeded by	Edmond Warnock
Personal details
Born	20 September 1875 Belfast, Ireland
Died	4 May 1955 (aged 79) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Political party	Ulster Unionist Party
Spouse(s)	Evelyn Campbell ​ (m. 1922)​
Children	William McCormick Campbell McCormick[1]
Profession	Soldier

Early life

McCormick was born in Belfast, Ireland to Thomas McCormick and Elizabeth Hanna McCormick. He self-described his religion as "Irish Protestant".[2]

He moved to Canada in 1903, to take part in the colonisation of Lloydminster, Saskatchewan.[2]

By 1909, he had become the deputy mayor of Lloydminster, where he also owned 1,200 acres of land and worked as an estate auctioneer.[4]

Military career

Early career

McCormick served in the Boer War in the Imperial Yeomanry,[5] and later joined the 22nd Saskatchewan Light Horse of the Canadian militia.

First World War

At the outbreak of the First World War, McCormick enlisted as a commissioned officer in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.[6] As the deputy sheriff of Saskatchewan, he raised a band of men at his own expense - the Corps of Western Canadian Cowboys, nicknamed "McCormick's Devils". They joined the 197th Battalion (later absorbed into the 11th Battalion) and crossed the Atlantic in January 1917.

In August 1917, he led the 17th (City of Winnipeg) Battalion during the final assault on Lens. He won the Distinguished Service Order medal for his actions at Vimy Ridge. He had been recommended for the Victoria Cross and was wounded five times throughout the war.[2][7]

He returned to Canada in October 1919.

Poltitical career

After the war, McCormick returned to Belfast to pursue a political career in the newly partitioned government of Northern Ireland.

He was the chairman of the Court of Appeal from 1921 to 1924, and of the appeal courts of the Ministry of Labour from 1928 to 1929.

Member of Parliament

In 1929, McCormick campaigned as the Ulster Unionist Party candidate for Belfast St Anne's in the Northern Ireland House of Commons. Following a successful campaign, he became the new constituency's first member of parliament.[8]

Anti-Catholicism

Despite his senior position in the UUP, he became a leading member of the controversial anti-Catholic Ulster Protestant League during its formation in 1931.[9] He also travelled to Scotland to speak on behalf of its sister organisation, the Scottish Protestant League.[10]

In 1933, he complained about Protestants giving jobs to Catholics, accusing those that did of being "traitors" to their country.

McCormick was also alarmed at the rate of population growth of the Catholic demographic. At an Orangemen rally, he proclaimed that some Protestant majorities had become minorities, saying that could lead to the Catholic Church being in power.[11]

Shooting

In October 1933, McCormick was attacked by two assailants outside his home. After defending himself with his walking stick, he was shot in the arm. The press linked the incident to Irish republicanism, of which McCormick was a well-known opponent.[12][13]

Later life

In 1938, at the end of his second term, McCormick retired from political office.

He renamed his house to Vimy, after the battle in which he was decorated for gallantry.

He was nominated as an independent unionist candidate for Belfast West in the 1950 UK general election, but the seat was won by James Godfrey MacManaway of the UUP. In a column for the Londonderry Sentinel, MacManaway accused McCormick of splitting the vote, saying he wasn't a unionist "of any kind".[14]

McCormick continued to reside in Northern Ireland until his death in 1955.

Publications

McCormick authored two books about the colonisation of Saskatchewan:

• The Greater Saskatchewan (1910)[15]
• Lloydminster, or 5,000 miles with the Barr Colonists (1924)[16]

Notes

1. McCormick was varyingly described as either "Major" or "Lieutenant Colonel" during his political career.

References

1. "Surnames of Co. Down: McCormick, McCormac & variants". Retrieved 10 October 2017. of Islandvale, 19 King's Rd, Knock then Vimy, 31 Gilnahirk Rd, Knock;; a professional soldier who fought in the Boer War then went to Lloydminster, Canada in 1901 and worked as an auctioneer, estate agent & deputy mayor; joined the Winnipeg Regiment to fight in 1st World War; married Evelyn Campbell in 1922 at Knock Presbyterian Church ; became a politician & Unionist MP for West Belfast; father of William & Campbell ; shot & wounded 28 Oct 1933 in Barnett's Road; wedding photo available
2. "Canadian Orange Historical Site". canadianorangehistoricalsite.com. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
3. "Death of Former Unionist MP" (PDF). The Advocate. 21 May 1955. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
4. Peel, Bruce Braden. Peel's Bibliography of the Canadian Prairies to 1953. page 811: University of Toronto Press.CS1 maint: location (link)
5. "First Surprise In Nominations For GJB. Election". Lethbridge Herald. 7 February 1950. After serving in the Boer war with the Ulster Yeomanry
6. "Officer's Declaration Paper: Canadian Over-seas Expeditionary Force". 3 May 1916. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
7. "The historic Belfast house that was turned into a hospital for wartime". Belfast News Letter. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
8. "Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: Boroughs: Belfast". election.demon.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
9. Graham Walker, A History of the Ulster Unionist Party: Protest, Pragmatism And Pessimism
10. Gallagher, Tom (1987). Glasgow, the Uneasy Peace: Religious Tension in Modern Scotland, 1819-1914.
11. Hattersley, Roy. The Catholics.
12. "Ulster MP wounded. Perhaps by Republicans". Helena Daily Independent. 27 October 1933. Retrieved 10 October 2017. Major J. H. McCormick, a member of the Ulster parliament was shot and severely wounded tonight by two assailants. Major McCormick is well known In Canada, where he was sheriff of Lloydministor and raised a force known as McCormick's Devils in the World War.It was assumed the Belfast assault was connected with a recent outburst of republican activity. Major McCormick was conspicuous as an anti-republican.
13. "Ulster M.P. Wounded In Struggle With Two Men". The Advertiser. 28 October 1933. p. 22. Major J. H. McCormick, a member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, was held up by two men while on his way home in Belfast. He was ordered to put up his hands. Instead, he struck one of his assailants on the head with his walking stick. In the struggle which followed three shots were fired. Major McCormick was wounded in the arm, but the injury is not serious.
14. MacManaway, James Godfrey (9 February 1950). "Independent will lose his deposit,". Londonderry Sentinel. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
15. McCormick, James Hanna (1910). The Greater Saskatchewan. Lloydminster.
16. McCormick, James Hanna (1924). Lloydminster, or, 5,000 miles with the Barr colonists. London.