Colonel Robert Hugh Wallace, CB, CBE, PC(Ire) (14 December 1860 – 23 December 1929) was a British soldier and a lawyer and politician in Northern Ireland. Wallace was born in Downpatrick,

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 was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by the Inner Temple in 1886 and admitted 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 ...

of the High Court of Justice of Ireland in 1890. He was Grand Master of the Belfast

Orangemen Orangemen or Orangewomen can refer to: *Historically, supporters of William of Orange *Members of the modern Orange Order (also known as Orange Institution), a Protestant fraternal organisation *Members or supporters of the Armagh GAA Gaelic foot ...

for twenty years and a prominent

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and member of the Ulster Unionist Council. In November 1879 he was commissioned into the Royal South Down Militia (later the 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles). He was promoted lieutenant in August 1880,

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in December 1882,

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in December 1892, and lieutenant-colonel in January 1898. He commanded the battalion in the Second Boer War, and was promoted honorary colonel in February 1900. The war ended with the Peace of Vereeniging in late May 1902, and the following month Wallace returned home with most of his battalion in the SS ''Avondale Castle'', arriving at Southampton in late July. For his war service, he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

, and appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) in the South Africa honours list of 26 June 1902, receiving the actual decoration from King Edward VII after his return, during an investiture at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

on 24 October 1902. He resigned his commission in January 1913, but returned to command the 19th (Reserve) Battalion of the regiment from 1915 to 1917, when he became camp commandant of

Donard Lodge Camp Donard (historically ''Dunard'', from ) is a small village in County Wicklow, Ireland, located at the northern end of the Glen of Imaal, in the western part of the Wicklow Mountains. Donard takes its name from Dún Ard - High Fort - the rui ...

Newcastle, County Down Newcastle () is a small seaside resort town in County Down, Northern Ireland, which had a population of 7,672 at the 2011 Census. It lies by the Irish Sea at the foot of Slieve Donard, the highest of the Mourne Mountains. Newcastle is known fo ...

. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1920 and was appointed to the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

in the honours for the opening of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in July 1921, entitling him to the style "The Right Honourable".

Footnotes

References

*Obituary, '' The Times'', 24 December 1929

External links

* 1860 births 1929 deaths People from Downpatrick Military personnel from County Down People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple Irish barristers Irish solicitors British colonels 19th-century Irish lawyers British Militia officers Royal Ulster Rifles officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Ulster Unionist Party politicians Politicians from County Down {{UK-law-bio-stub