Sir Basil Alexander Talbot McFarland, 2nd Baronet,

CBE 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 ...

ERD ERD or Erd may refer to: * The IATA code for Berdiansk Airport in Ukraine * Economic Relations Division (Bangladesh), of the Bangladeshi Ministry of Finance * Elastic recoil detection * Emergency repair disk * Emergency Reserve Decoration, a Briti ...

(18 February 1898 – 5 March 1986) was a

Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...

soldier, businessman and

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

politician. The son of Sir John McFarland, 1st Baronet, he was a businessman, a Senator of Northern Ireland,

Mayor of Derry The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council is an honorary position bestowed upon a Citizen of Derry City & Strabane District in Northern Ireland, who is in practice a member of Derry and Strabane District Council, chosen by their peer ...

(1939–1940 and 1945–1950), Lord Lieutenant of the County Borough of Londonderry (1939–1975) and an Ireland

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

international (1920–1922). He succeeded to his father's title in 1926. Born in Derry, McFarland was educated at

Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...

and also in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and Neuwied-on-Rhine,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Public service

McFarland was

High Sheriff of Londonderry City The High Sheriff of Londonderry City, or High Sheriff of Derry, is the sovereign's judicial representative in the city of Derry. High Sheriff of Londonderry is a title and position which was created in 1900 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act ...

, 1930–1938 and 1952,

High Sheriff of County Londonderry The High Sheriff of County Londonderry is King Charles III's judicial representative in County Londonderry. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the ruling monarch, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford ...

, 1952. He served in 1918 with the

Artists Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles, is a regiment of the British Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, ...

, and in 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 ...

served overseas, in North Africa, Sudan, Palestine and Italy with 9th Londonderry HAA Regiment RA (SR) and was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) 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 of t ...

when his battery (25 HAA Battery) was redeployed as infantry in the Salerno beachhead in September 1943. He was Commanding Officer of the Londonderry City Battalion of 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 ...

, 1952–1956, Chairman of the Territorial Army and Auxiliary Force Association (Co. Londonderry), 1947–1962, and a member of its national Council. McFarland was Hon. Colonel of 9th Londonderry HAA Regiment of the Royal Artillery (SR), Hon. Colonel of 246th (Derry) (M) HAA Regiment RA (TA)and President of the Northern Ireland TA and Volunteer Reserve Association, 1968–1971. He was a Commissioner of Irish Lights, an original member of the Northern Ireland Unemployment Assistance Board (to 1939), a Senator in the

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

as Mayor of Derry, 1939-1940 and 1945–1950, a member of the Northern Ireland Air Advisory Council, 1946–1965, Chairman of Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners, 1952–1967, a member of the London Midland Area Board of the British Transport Commission, 1955–1961, and a trustee of

Magee University College The Ulster University Derry~Londonderry campus, better known as Magee College, is one of the four campuses of Ulster University. It is located in Derry, Northern Ireland, and was opened in 1865 as a Presbyterian Christian arts and Seminary, the ...

, Derry, 1962–1965.

Businesses

His directorships and business interests included directorships of the

Belfast Banking Company The Belfast Banking Company was a bank in Northern Ireland. It was established in 1827 by a merger of Batt's (also known as The Belfast Bank) and Tennant's (The Commercial Bank). The Belfast Banking Company operated primarily in Ulster and sold ...

Ltd, 1930–1970, the Belfast Bank Executor & Trustee Company, and the

Donegal Railway Company The Donegal Railway Company (DR) was a gauge railway in Ireland. History The company was formed via the ( 55 & 56 Vict. c. clxi) on 27 June 1892 by a merger of the Finn Valley Railway and the West Donegal Railway. One of the first acts of ...

, a local directorship of the Commercial Union Assurance Co., and the chairmanship of Sir Alfred McAlpine & Son (Northern Ireland) Ltd, the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company, Lanes (Derry) Ltd, Lanes (Fuel Oils) Ltd, Lanes (Business Equipment) Ltd, John W. Corbett & Sons, R.C. Malseed & Co. Ltd, Alexander Thompson & Co. Ltd and the Londonderry Gaslight Co.

Personal life

McFarland was married to Annie Kathleen Henderson (d. 1952), daughter of Andrew Henderson JP of Parkville,

Whiteabbey Whiteabbey () is a townland (of 406 acres) in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The original village of Whiteabbey stood at the foot of the Three Mile Water, on the shore of Belfast Lough. In 1958, it and six othe ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. McFarland had two children, including Sir John McFarland, 3rd Baronet, who lives at Dunmore House in Carrigans in the east of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

. His second marriage took place in 1955 to Mary Eleanor Dougan. He lived at Aberfoyle House, a small mansion that overlooks the Strand Road in the City of Derry (now part of the 'Magee Campus' of the

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

). He was Given the Freedom of the City of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

in 1944.

References

Sources

proni.gov.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarland, Basil 1898 births 1986 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom High sheriffs of Londonderry City High sheriffs of County Londonderry Lord-lieutenants of the City of Londonderry Mayors of Derry Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1937–1941 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1945–1949 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1949–1953 People educated at Bedford School British Army personnel of World War I Royal Artillery officers British Home Guard officers Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ulster Unionist Party members of the Senate of Northern Ireland Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire