Cynthia Mary Brooke, Viscountess Brookeborough, (''née'' Sergison; 10 May 1897 – 2 March 1970), was a British peeress and the first wife of Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough,

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland (1921–1972), Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the L ...

from 1943 to 1963. Cynthia was born in

Cuckfield Cuckfield ( ) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Mid Sussex District, Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, on the southern slopes of the Weald. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east northea ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, to Captain Charles Warden Sergison and Florence Emma Louise Hanbury-Tracy, daughter of Charles Hanbury-Tracy, 4th Baron Sudeley. In 1919, she married the then Sir Basil Brooke, 5th

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 ...

(9 June 1888 – 18 August 1973), son of Sir Arthur Douglas Brooke, 4th Bt., and Gertrude Isabella Batson, on 3 June 1919. Sir Basil was created the 1st

Viscount Brookeborough Viscount Brookeborough, of Colebrooke in the County of Fermanagh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1952 for the Ulster Unionist politician and Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Captain The Rt. Hon. Sir ...

in 1952. The future Lord and Lady Brookeborough had three sons, two of whom were killed in action during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Only one son of the three survived his parents. They were: *Lieutenant Basil Julian David Brooke (18 April 1920 – March 1943 (

Killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

) * John Warden Brooke, 2nd Viscount Brookeborough (9 November 1922 – 5 March 1987) *Lieutenant Henry Alan Brooke (29 October 1923 - April 1945) (

) During the Second World War, she was Senior Commandant of the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the World War II, Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existe ...

. Lady Brooke was styled as Viscountess Brookeborough from 1 July 1952, when her husband was created Viscount Brookeborough. In the 1959 Birthday Honours, she was invested as a Dame Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE), for public services in Northern Ireland.

Death

Lady Brookeborough died on 2 March 1970, aged 72. After her death, Lord Brookeborough married Sarah Eileen Bell, daughter of Henry Healey, of Belfast, and widow of Cecil Armstrong Calvert, former director of

neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...

at the

Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast The Royal Victoria Hospital commonly known as "the Royal", the "RVH" or "the Royal Belfast", is a hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is managed by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. The hospital has a Regional Virus Centre, which ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookeborough, Cynthia Brooke, Viscountess 1897 births 1970 deaths British Army personnel of World War II British viscountesses Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Auxiliary Territorial Service officers Place of death missing