Sir William Ivan Cecil Ewart, 6th Baronet (18 July 1919 – 29 November 1995) was a decorated

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 ...

naval officer, businessman and charity worker. He succeeded his cousin as

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 ...

in 1959.

Early years

Sir Ivan was the son of Major William Basil Ewart (the son of Oxford educated barrister F. W. Ewart) and Rebe Annette Grindle. Born into an Irish family of

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

industrialists, their firm employed over 2,500 people, making it one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of Irish linen in the western world. Born at Derryvolgie House,

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

, where he resided until 1970, he was educated at

Radley Radley is a village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfor ...

. He took over the running of the family business after the war. Families such as the Ewarts were referred to colloquially as the "Linenocracy" or "Linen barons."

War years

Sir Ivan served 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 ...

as Lieutenant in the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

. He served on a Motor Torpedo Boat which he commanded which on 17 January 1942 this came under German fire and, in the ensuing explosions etc., He lost an eye and severely injured his right arm. He was, distinctively, to wear an

eye patch An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...

for the rest of his life. He was later captured by the Germans and sent to

Colditz Castle Colditz Castle (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance architecture, Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the States of Germany, state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns o ...

, a camp for "incorrigible" Allied officers who had repeatedly escaped from other camps, where he spent the remainder of the war. In 1945 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Business and charity work

In 1948 Sir Ivan married Pauline Preston. He took on the running his family's linen business, William Ewart & Son Ltd., in 1954. Other business interests included William Ewart Investments Ltd, Belfast (1973–77); chairman and Ewart New Northern Ltd, Belfast (1973–77). Ten years later his wife died and, in the wake of this, Sir Ivan went to

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

to work with Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind (for which he was East Africa's Resident Representative) and later at the Freda Carr Hospital in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. Sir Ivan was also president of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The papers of Enoch Powell
, a Northern Ireland Delegate to ''the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

's Study Conference on the Human Problems of Industrial Communities within the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

and Empire'' at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in 1956, President of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

's Young Men's Society, 1951–61 and Chairman of the Flax Spinners Association. In 1976, he was appointed

High Sheriff of Antrim The High Sheriff of Antrim is the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Antrim. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the high sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besides his judi ...

. He was President of Oldpark Unionist Association and 1950–68.

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 ...

Harbour Commissioner A port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure. ...

from 1968 to 1977 and High Sheriff for

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) Officers 1939–1945
. Several weeks before his death he travelled to Germany to meet with an officer who had participated in the attack upon his MTB. This was an event he had been waiting fifty years for, he held no animosity toward the enemy, regarding them as honourable adversaries. He had one son, his heir, Sir Michael Ewart, 7th Baronet, and two daughters; Susan Eveleen and Patricia Rebe. He lived at Hill House,

Hillsborough, County Down Royal Hillsborough (Irish: ''Cromghlinn'', meaning 'Crooked Glen'Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 81. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.), more commonly known simply as ...

References

External links

ObserverBurke's Peerage & Baronetage 107th Edition
*''Who's Who'', 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ewart, Sir Ivan 1919 births 1995 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle High sheriffs of Antrim Anglicans from Northern Ireland People educated at Radley College Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Navy officers of World War II Linen industry in Ireland Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Military personnel from Lisburn Irish officers in the Royal Navy