Sir Richard Dawson Bates, 1st Baronet (23 November 1876 – 10 June 1949), known as Dawson Bates, was an

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a 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 Irish Home Rule movem ...

(UUP) member of 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 ...

. He was born in Strandtown,

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 ...

, the son of Richard Dawson Bates, solicitor and

Clerk of the Crown A Clerk of the Crown is a clerk who usually works for a monarch or such royal head of state. The term is mostly used in the United Kingdom to refer to the office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, though the office has undergone different title ...

, and Mary Dill. His paternal grandfather, John Bates (d. 1855), had been a minor figure in the Conservative Party in Belfast, before his duties were discharged on a Chancery Court ruling of maladministration. Bates was educated at

Coleraine Academical Institution Coleraine Academical Institution (CAI and styled locally as Coleraine Inst) was a voluntary grammar school for boys in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Coleraine Academical Institution occupied a site on the Castlerock Road, ...

. After studying at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, he became a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

in 1900, in 1908 founding a firm with his uncle – E and R.D. Bates, later R.B.Uprichard would be apprenticed, become a partner and eventually take over the firm of E and R.D. Bates and Uprichard, as Crown Solicitor. In 1906, Bates was appointed Secretary of the Ulster Unionist Council. During this time, he was instrumental in the events of Ulster Day and in the formation of the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaig ...

, organised the

Larne gun-running The Larne gun-running was a major gun smuggling operation organised in April 1914 in Ireland by Major Frederick H. Crawford and Captain Wilfrid Spender for the Ulster Unionist Council to equip the Ulster Volunteer Force. The operation involved ...

and supported the formation of the

Ulster Unionist Labour Association The Ulster Unionist Labour Association (UULA) was an association of trade unionists founded by Edward Carson in June 1918, aligned with the Ulster Unionists in Ireland. Members were known as Labour Unionists. In Britain, 1918 and 1919 were marke ...

to counter

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

."Bates, Sir (Richard) Dawson", ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' He toured Northern Ireland, working hard to build up the Unionist Party, while portraying all

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

s, thus Nationalists as traitors. Bates heavy influence in the UUP meant his reluctance to co-operate with Roman Catholics had to be heeded if the party was to avoid splits. Bates stood down as secretary on his election to Stormont in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

, where he represented first Belfast East and later Belfast Victoria. In the government of James Craig he was the first

minister for home affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

and a member of the

Privy Council of Northern Ireland The Privy Council of Northern Ireland is a formal body of advisors to the sovereign and was a vehicle for the monarch's prerogative powers in Northern Ireland. It was modelled on the Privy Council of Ireland. The council was created in 1922 as ...

. On 15 March 1922 he introduced the Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act, which permitted search, arrest/detention without warrant, flogging and capital punishment for arms offences. The Act also suspended civil liberties and opposed the

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

paramilitary group

Ulster Protestant Association The Ulster Protestant Association (UPA) were a Ulster loyalism, loyalist paramilitary group organised in Belfast in August 1920 to prevent Northern Ireland being included in an independent Irish Free State. In 1921, plumber and UPA Thomas Pentlan ...

. By July many internees were transferred to the prison ship

HMS Argenta HMS ''Argenta'' (originally the American cargo ship SS ''Argenta'') was a prison ship of the British Royal Navy. Construction The two deck steamer was laid down in July 1917 by the National Shipbuilding Company of Orange, Texas as Hull No. 245. ...

which has been described as a "floating gulag". Under his administration, he was accused of

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

, and of intervening to ensure that prison sentences were not imposed on

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

who attacked Catholics. Bates was also a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. He married Jessie Muriel Cleland, daughter of Sir Charles John Cleland. They had one son, Major Sir John Dawson Bates, 2nd Baronet (an Oxford-educated Wykehamist, 921-1998. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

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Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in 1921 and was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Magherabuoy, near

Portrush Portrush () is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart. The main part of the old town, including the Portrush railway station, railway station as well as most hote ...

, in

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

on 7 June 1937. In his retirement strained financial circumstances and security (he constantly required a police escort) led him to rent Butleigh House, near

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. It was here he died in 1949; Bates' body was flown back to Ulster for burial at Ballywillan Church of Ireland. Bates was a director and president of Glentoran Football Club.Malcolm Brodie (1981), ''The Story of Glentoran''. Belfast:Glentoran Football Club, p. 41

Sources and reading

*''Ireland since 1939'' (2006), Henry Patterson *''A history of the Ulster Unionist Party'' (2004), Graham Walker *''The Ulster Unionist Party, 1882–1973 : its development and organisation'' (1973), J F Harbinson {{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Dawson 1876 births 1949 deaths Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 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 Northern Ireland Cabinet ministers (Parliament of Northern Ireland) Members of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Deputy Lieutenants of Down Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor People educated at Coleraine Academical Institution Politicians awarded knighthoods Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Belfast constituencies