Major David Graham Shillington PC(NI) (10 December 1872 – 22 January 1944) was an

Ulster Unionist The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the I ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Early life

Shillington was a son of Thomas Primus Shillington (1831-1889), of Tavanagh House,

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

, of a prominent Methodist mercantile family, by his wife Mary Jane (d. 1915), née Graham. His cousin was the factory owner and politician

Thomas Shillington Right Hon. Thomas Shillington (9 May 1835 – 24 January 1925) was an Irish factory owner and politician. The son of Averell Shillington (1802-1897), of a prominent Methodist family of Portadown, County Armagh, by his wife Mary (d. 1838), daught ...

. Shillington was educated at

Methodist College Belfast God with us , established = 1865 , type = Voluntary grammar , religion = Interdenominational , principal = Jenny Lendrum , chair_label = Chairwoman , chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth , founder ...

and Rydalmount School,

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

. He was the proprietor of a general merchant's shop in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. In April 1895 he married Sarah Louisa Collen of Killicomaine, Portadown and they had six children. He served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a Major in the 9th

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in ...

Political career

In 1921, he was elected to the

House of Commons of Northern Ireland The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the ''Government of Ireland Act 1920''. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished wit ...

as Unionist member for

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

, and then for Armagh, Central in 1929 until he resigned on medical advice in February 1941. He served as

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

from 1937–38.

Personal life

Shillington and his wife Sarah Louisa (née Collen) lived at Ardeavon, Killycomain Road, Portadown, and had six children. The youngest was (Robert Edward)

Graham Shillington Sir Robert Edward Graham Shillington CBE (2 April 1911 – 14 August 2001) was a senior Northern Irish police officer. He served as Chief Constable of Royal Ulster Constabulary from 1970 to 1973. Early life Shillington was born on 2 April 1911 i ...

, who would become the Chief Constable of Royal Ulster Constabulary. Son Thomas Graham Shillington served with the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers, and was killed in action in 1917 aged 19, during the

. Victoria Cross recipient Lieutenant

Geoffrey St. George Shillington Cather Geoffrey St. George Shillington Cather (11 October 1890 – 2 July 1916) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

was the son of Shillington's sister.A Call to Arms- Portadown and the Great War, Richard Edgar, 2014, pp. 238-239

References

Sources

* http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/biographies.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Shillington, David Graham 1872 births 1944 deaths Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1925–1929 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1929–1933 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1933–1938 Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1938–1945 Members of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Cabinet ministers (Parliament of Northern Ireland) People educated at Methodist College Belfast Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for County Armagh constituencies