Sir Emerson Crawford Herdman KBE (2 January 1869 – 10 February 1949) was a unionist

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 ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Herdman studied at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson (rector), Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oa ...

and the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

before becoming the director of a linen company in Northern Ireland.John F. Harbinson, ''The Ulster Unionist Party, 1882-1973'', p.207 From 1920 to 1922, he served as

Lord Lieutenant of Donegal This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of County Donegal. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreated on 23 August 1831 ...

, and he was knighted in 1921. He was elected as a member of the

Senate of Northern Ireland The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. Powers In practice the Sen ...

in 1923 and served until his death in 1949.Members of the Northern Ireland Senate, 1921-1972
Northern Ireland Elections At the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Herdman spoke to

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...

about obtaining "unity of command" and to ask if Éire would enter the war in return for an end to partition. Herdman appears to have been acting on behalf of

Craigavon Craigavon may refer to: * Craigavon, County Armagh, a planned town in Northern Ireland ** Craigavon Borough Council, 1972–2015 local government area centred on the planned town * Viscount Craigavon, title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom ** ...

, but de Valera rebuffed him.Fisk P.243 - 244.

References

HERDMAN, Major Sir Emerson Crawford
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herdman, Emerson Crawford 1869 births 1949 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Lord-Lieutenants of Donegal Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1925–1929 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1929–1933 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1933–1937 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1937–1941 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1941–1945 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1945–1949 People educated at Uppingham School Ulster Unionist Party members of the Senate of Northern Ireland Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire