Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Alan John McKibbin (2 February 1892 – 2 December 1958) was a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

company director and politician. After serving in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he later took charge of the

Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and the British Army. Along with the Sea Cadet Corps and the Air Training Corps, the ACF mak ...

in Northern Ireland, and also ran the family estate agency firm. He was also 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 m ...

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

from 1950 until his death.

Wartime service

McKibbin was the son of John McKibbin, who ran John McKibbin & Son Ltd. He was born 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 Kingdom ...

and was sent to

Campbell College Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a ...

, a leading grammar school in the city. He went to work in the family firm, but on the outbreak of the

he enlisted in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

. He served throughout the war. In 1922 he married Kathleen Laura Brennan, and they had a son together. After working in the family firm, McKibbin joined the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. He was commissioned into the Northern Ireland Army Cadet Force in December 1943, becoming commandant of the Third Cadet Battalion of

The Royal Ulster Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County ...

,"The Times House of Commons, 1950", p. 266. and was awarded the OBE in 1949.

Member of Parliament

At the 1950 general election, McKibbin was elected as an

member to the

United Kingdom Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...

from the constituency of Belfast East. His

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

on 20 March 1950 highlighted the disparity in pay between Army soldiers and munitions factory workers, arguing that it explained the scarcity of army recruits."Parliament", ''The Times'', 21 March 1950. In March 1951 he initiated a debate calling for additional recruitment of soldiers from British dominions and colonies overseas, on the ground that it allowed the build-up of a voluntary force which could relieve British troops."Parliament", ''The Times'', 17 March 1951.

Aircraft industry

In the early 1950s he tried to defend

Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...

from the loss of work due to the suspension of work on the

de Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four d ...

airliner, which had suffered a series of disasters. The Minister of Supply agreed to try to bring forward other contracts."Parliament", ''The Times'', 4 May 1954. Support for the local aircraft industry became a regular subject for him to raise. He also pressed for an increase in pensions payable to the disabled, saying that anything less than 90 s. per week would be regarded as an instalment by

the Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ...

in Northern Ireland."Parliament", ''The Times'', 1 December 1954. In the 1955 budget, he put down an amendment to exempt vehicles used by limbless ex-servicemen from purchase tax."Amendments To Finance Bill", ''The Times'', 11 November 1955. McKibbin was appointed a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

and a deputy lieutenant for Belfast in 1955. Early the next year, he began a campaign to prevent civilian airliners from colliding with military aircraft, after an incident in which disaster was only narrowly avoided. He obtained a pledge to review the rules."Parliament", ''The Times'', 15 May 1956. McKibbin caused amusement in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in 1957 when arguing for a reduction in taxation on musical instruments, he reported that a

euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...

had been described to him as "the brass band's revenge for the

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, ...

"."Parliament", ''The Times'', 8 May 1957.

Army Cadet Force

In 1957 McKibbin was made hon. Colonel of the

in Belfast, Antrim and North Down, and also became Chairman of the Army Cadet Force Association. He signed a motion critical of the conduct of the press after the Munich air disaster in 1958."32 M.P.S Back Press Conduct Motion", ''The Times'', 15 February 1958. McKibbin died suddenly in a London hospital in December 1958.

References

*M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981) *"Who Was Who",

A & C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing '' Who's Who'' since 1849. It also published popular travel guides and novels. History The firm was founded in 18 ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKibbin, Alan 1892 births 1958 deaths Army Cadet Force officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II British Army soldiers Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (since 1922) People educated at Campbell College Businesspeople from Belfast UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959