History Hub Ulster friend John McCormick writes for us today on Captain J.S. Davidson, Director and General Manager of Davidson & Co. Ltd.
John is page admin of the Facebook page 36th (Ulster) Division For God and Ulster. He describes his page as “A page for anyone with a historical interest in the original: Ulster Unionist 1912; Ulster Volunteer Force 1913; 36th (Ulster) Division; Great War 1914 to 1919 and the Orange Order & the Great War.
FELL ON ANCRE SLOPES
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LATE CAPT. DAVIDSON
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KEEPING HIS MEMORY GREEN,
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MEMORIAL TABLET UNVEILED.
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An interesting function of a private nature took place on Tuesday at the Sirocco Engineering. Works, when a tablet in memory of the late Captain J. S. Davidson, director and general manager of Davidson & Co. Ltd., was unveiled in the presence of the workers. Captain ‘Davidson was the only surviving son of Mr. S.C. Davidson, founder, and managing director of the company. When the Ulster Division was formed in September, 1914, Captain Davidson, who had been an active and energetic member of the 1st Battalion North Down Regiment, U.V.F., was amongst the first to offer his services, and was given a commission in the 13th Batt. Royal Irish Rifles (1st County Down Volunteers.) His knowledge of practical engineering was speedily discovered, and he was transferred to the Machine-Gun Section, subsequently being appointed to the position of Brigade Machine-Gun Officer, in which capacity he was serving in charge of the Machine-Gun Company at the time of his heroic death on the terrible 1st of July. 1916, when on the shell-torn slopes of Thiepval he passed to his eternal reward, at the early age of thirty-eight.
Mr. A. Agar, as chairman of the Memorial Fund, in opening the proceedings, said:—The Captain J. S. Davidson Memorial Fund was conceived as the result of a general desire on the part of the employees and business associates of the firm to put in a permanent form their deep appreciation of his high qualities, together with the heroic conditions under which he met his death. In honouring him, they honoured themselves in the fact he was one of them. As an employer and associate who was straight, just, and generous, and as soldier he met his death as only a brave man can. He had left behind him a noble example and the tablet which was to be unveiled that day would be a reminder to all who passed in and out of those gates, that while he him-self was dead his example still lives. (Applause.)
Mr. H. T. Coulter (treasurer of the fund) said the spontaneity and sympathetic enthusiasm which applied to the Captain Davidson Memorial Fund was evidenced by the fact that it was voluntarily participated in, not only by the general body of employees at the works, but also by their different branches and agencies at home and abroad, as well as by some of the business associates of the concern throughout the world. Their Australian and American friends sent very generous contributions, and the total amount of the fund, including bank interest, represented in round figures some £550. (Applause.) Each section of the subscribers was represented on the committee, and the final allocation of the fund was as follows:-
A donation of £200 to the Ulster Women and Children’s Hospital, Templemore Avenue, to name two cots the Captain J. S. Davidson Cots. A donation of £100 to the U.V.F. Hospital for the equipment of a gymnasium in connection with the orthopaedic branch, Captain Davidson’s name being identified therewith.
THE MEMORIAL EXHIBITION
The founding of an engineering scholarship at the Belfast Technical institute, to be known as the “Captain J. S. Davidson Memorial Exhibition,” under which a gold medal will be awarded annually, together with a cash prize, the total value of the exhibition each year being £10, and applying in particular to the third year course in mechanical engineering. The gifts to the two hospitals had already been made, and commemorative tablets have in each case been installed by the hospital authorities, while, as regards the Engineering Scholarship, an investment was being arranged in the names of trustees in £200 War Loan stock, the income from which will furnish the necessary funds for the exhibition. The three trustees would be the chairman of the Technical Instruction Committee of the Belfast Corporation, the Principal of the Technical Institute, and a director of Davidson & Co., Ltd. The Institute authorities had already issued a prospectus giving details of the exhibition, which would be open for competition as from that year. The balance of the fund had been utilised for providing the memorial tablet, which was to be unveiled that day. It was felt by all of them that, in addition to the philanthropic and educational purposes to which the fund had been devoted, it was desirable to have some permanent memento of Captain Davidson associated with the works there seeing that his entire business career was spent in the concern, and no more appropriate site could have been chosen for the tablet than that on which it was now erected, as not only was this Captain Davidson’s own office in the years of his young manhood, but in his boyhood’s days he (Mr. Coulter) remembered that he and other members of his family received technical education from a private tutor in a small classroom of a building that stood on the same spot. The crest of the Davidson family (which is embodied in the tablet) shows the head of a phoenix, and a free translation of the family motto is “Virtue rises from ashes.” May the virtues of him who has fallen on the field of honour ever inspire us He is not dead who lives in the hearts of those he leaves behind. (Applause.)
The Chairman then called upon Mr. T. Bailie, who has been in the employment of the firm for 37 years, to address the meeting. Mr. Bailie said—In the awful crisis through which our nation is now passing one cannot help realising that, next to the protection of Providence, the barrier interposed between us and disaster is the bodies of brave men. Without them our Navy would be useless, our artillery silent, our machine-guns only so much scrap iron, and so we honour our brave defenders, and truly they are worthy of all the honour we can give them, for since the world began there hath not been done such deeds of bravery as our gallant soldiers and sailors have done and are doing by land and sea.
DAY OF SORROW AND GLORY
But of all these heroic deeds, the one which most appeals to the mind and heart of the people of Ulster was on that memorable Morn at Thiepval, 1st July, 1916, when our brave boys covered themselves with glory. But, alas, at what a cost! All over the hills and valleys of our fair province there was sorrow and sighing for the loved ones who were not. With all these we deeply sympathise, and the names and records of their fallen sons will never be forgotten. But we are met here to-day to pay tribute to the memory of Captain, J. S. Davidson, who was one of that immortal band who counted not their lives dear unto them, if so be they might help to carry the old flag to victory. Quiet, unassuming, and courteous in his manner and disposition, he won not only the respect but the deep affection of all with whom he came into contact. He had the highest principle and a strict sense of duty, and it was certain that no danger would daunt him, and no difficulties deter him from doing what he believed was right. This did not only apply to his more mature years, for I knew him from childhood; his whole life was consistent, his character clear as crystal and his honour true as steel. Such was the man, his life, and his death, and now that he has gone, it is most fitting that you and we, among whom he went in and out daily, should have decided to keep him in remembrance, not only by the beneficent schemes of which you have already been told, but also by the tablet, which is now made public and dedicated as a memorial to him. May it be a daily reminder to us and to those who come after us to follow those high ideals to which he was so devoted, and for the defence of which he gave so much, “for greater love than this hath no man that he lay down his life for his friends.” (Applause.)
The chairman then called upon Captain G. W. Matthew, a director of the firm, who was with Captain J. S. Davidson on the 1st July, 1916, at Thiepval, to unveil the tablet. This having been done, amid cheers, Mr. S. C. Davidson, managing director of the company, in accepting the tablet, said Mr. Chairman and fellow-workers, on behalf of this firm, and also on behalf of all the members of my family, I most gratefully accept this beautiful bronze tablet in memory of my only son, who patriotically gave his life in defence of the constitutional freedom and liberties not only of our own country, but also of the greater part of the whole world, against the degrading tyranny of German military autocracy. I esteem this memorial tablet, and the endowments to which the treasurer of your ‘committee has referred, as a far higher tribute to my son’s memory than any posthumous honour which the Government might have awarded him, because such honours are usually in recognition of only some single act of bravery, or merit, whereas the memorial which you have so generously contributed is based upon your appreciation of his personality and character, since he was, as a boy, serving his apprenticeship here amongst you. Your committee kindly left to myself the selection of the position in which the tablet is placed, and my reasons for choosing for it the central pier between the windows of what was my son’s office are that, after the war is ended, it is my intention to put up a roll of honour tablet on each of the adjoining piers, one of which will give the name of every man who joined the colours from these works, and also from our home and foreign branches, as well as from my own home (in all about 170 men), and the other tablet the names of those who have fallen or been wounded in the holy cause for which we and our Allies are fighting in this terrible war, the end of which, unfortunately, does not yet seem to be in sight.
Mr. G. Crawford proposed a vote of thanks to the committee of the fund for the manner in which they carried out their duties. They had not only made it a financial success, but had administered the fund to the entire approval of the subscribers. An endowment to two hospitals, an engineering scholarship, and finally this tablet would each in its own way keep green the memory of Captain J.S. Davidson, when those who knew him personally and cherished his memory were no longer here.
Mr. J. McDonald, in seconding the motion, said no permanent or other form of memorial could adequately commemorate the courage, gallantry, and resourcefulness displayed by Captain J. S. Davidson on that memorable day for the Ulster Division at ThiepvaI on 1st July, 1916, a day indelible in the memory of us all.
The motion was passed by acclamation. Mr. A. Brown hamming acknowledged the vote of thanks on behalf of the committee, the proceedings terminated.
History Hub Ulster associate member 
Henry Pierson Harland was born on 1 September 1876 at Harefield, Middlesex, England.
The London office had been opened in March 1907 and was situated at 1A Cockspur Street, a magnificent building just off Trafalgar Square, also housing the offices with the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company. Prior to this Pirrie had used Downshire House (right) his London home as his office, guarding the all important private ledgers and balance sheets relating to the business in Belfast. Henry Harland would have been a regular visitor to Downshire House to discuss strategy for the company following his move to London.
It was also in 1917, and following his appointment to the London Office of Harland & Wolff, that Henry Pierson Harland married Helen (Nellie) Reilly Andrews (1881-1966), the widow of his former management colleague at Harland & Wolff, Thomas Andrews (1873-1912). 
The family later moved to Otterspool House, a large house on the banks of the River Colne near Aldenham, Watford. The house was owned by John Pierpoint Morgan (1867-1943), son of the owner of the White Star Line, and leased to Henry under a tenancy agreement. The original house dated back to 1798, and had a succession of owners until the Harlands took up residency in the 1930s.
One of the liners, previously named the Bismark and started in 1914, was re-named RMS Majestic and launched in May 1921. The project had not been easy for Henry Harland, as there were difficulties involved in communication between Belfast, London and Germany, but Pirrie, not an easy man to please, was impressed by the way in which Wilding and Harland conquered these obstacles. Henry headed the Majestic’s guarantee group from Harland & Wolff for the maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on 10 May 1922, as had Thomas Andrews with the Titanic in April 1912. On arrival, at Ellis Island in New York, Henry described himself as a ‘shipbuilder,’ rather than being any more specific.
In 1929, Henry Harland was made a director of Harland & Wolff, and subsequently was elected onto the boards of other associated companies. He represented the interests of the subsidiary ship finishing company of Heaton Tabb & Co based in London (of which he was chairman) and later became a director of Short & Harland, following the move of Short Brothers to Belfast in 1937. This new company was 50% owned by Harland & Wolff, the idea being instigated by the then chairman Frederick Rebbeck (photographed with Henry Harland – cigar in hand – aboard the liner Capetown Castle 1938) 
James Barnes, fitter, aged 61
John Davidson McBlain, fitter, aged 26
Robert Cairns McClure, fitter, aged 25
John Redmond, fitter, aged 42
Samuel Richmond, aged 33
The first fatality on the CWGC list is Special Constable William Mould (Local Defence Volunteer, forerunner of the Ulster Home Guard) of Dunmurry who died at 4:30am on 8th September 1940 when he was struck by a vehicle with no lights when walking home whilst on duty. The car was driven by Lieutenant Ernest John Bloom, Corps of Royal Signals and reports on the inquest were carried by the Lisburn Standard and Lisburn Herald (on 13th and 14th September respectively). William Moulds had served with the Canadian Infantry during the Great War and is commemorated on the War Memorial in Derriaghy Church of Ireland. To date I have been unable to locate the burial location.
Rodden, accompanied by Frederick McMichael, was returning the bus to the depot in Ballyclare. In giving evidence, Frederick McMichael said that Albert had allowed several vehicles to pass the bus in Main Street, Dungiven before pulling out behind them – there was a further, but different car, behind the bus and the driver of the car sounded the horn and tried to overtake. At Farloe Lane, there was a wide place and Albert pulled in to let the car pass and, as the other car came along at a fast rate, McMichael heard a shot and the bus crashed into a wall. Driver De Felice said that when he tried to pass the bus, the car struck the kerb and his passenger, Sergeant Clipsham swayed with the sudden jerk and appeared to be dumbfounded as if he did not know what had happened. In giving evidence, Sergeant Clipsham reported that he was standing in the car and fell against the machine gun, which started to fire. The funeral at Ballykelly Presbyterian Church was a major affair, including representatives from the “B” Constabulary and the Ulster Home Guard, which would imply that he was providing part-time war service, yet his name is not recorded in the Books of Remembrance for civilian fatalities in the Second World War. The inquest was reported in the Derry Standard and the Derry Journal on 20th April 1942 and in the Londonderry Sentinel on 21st April 1942.
When he was 50 yards from the house, the bomb exploded and Robert John Dodd was taked to Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry, where he later died. The inquest was reported in the Newry Reporter on 30th January 1943.
Four North Down men drowned in the incident. Harry Aiken (21), William George Nelson (28, and a crew member of the Donaghadee Lifeboat) and William White (29) from Donaghadee are commemorated on the Donaghadee War Memorial and buried in the Donaghadee Church of Ireland graveyard. The body of William Sloan Anderson (28) from Bangor was washed ashore at Portpatrick in Scotland 38 days after the disaster and he is buried in the Bangor Cemetery and is commemorated on the Bangor War Memorial and on the War Memorial in the Wesley Centenary Methodist Church in Bangor. Although these men lost their lives whilst working under the direction of the Admiralty, they are not recorded as civilian war fatalities on the CWGC database. (additional material provided by Barry Niblock)
Messrs Redmond, Sons & Company, a manufacturer of packing cases, employed a night-watchman and fire-watchers at its premises on the corner of Connaught Street and Milner Street in the Village district of South Belfast. When William Elliott arrived at the works at 7:30am on the morning of 2nd December 1942, he found the night-watchman, Alexander Watson of Coolderry Street, lying on the floor in front of a gas fire and later found the four fire-watchers in their beds – two men, William Dowling of Donegall Avenue and James Campbell of Norfolk Drive, were already dead and the other two men were taken to the near-by Royal Victoria Hospital. George Leslie of Olympic Drive died in hospital but Henry Kavanagh (18) of Ross Street survived. The gas fire and the radiator in the sleeping quarters had been installed only ten days previously and, whilst William Elliott reported that he had noticed a strong smell of gas, a Corporation expert examined the radiator and reported that it was in perfect order and that there was no sign of an escape of gas. James Campbell (18) was buried in Milltown Roman Catholic Cemetery, William John Dowling (49) was buried in Dundonald Cemetery, George Leslie (37) was buried in Belfast City Cemetery and Alexander Watson (63) was buried in Lurgan Cemetery.
William and Elsie’s first son Frederick Gregory Lindsay Coates was born on 19 May, 1916 at Glynn Park. A second child, a daughter named Jean Ann Dorothy Coates, was born 3 years later – she later emigrated to Virginia following her marriage to Roland Sinclair, son of Sir Kenneth Sinclair of Windsor Park, and her descendants still live in the United States today.
James McGuigan had initially joined a reserve battalion of the Connaught Rangers but was deployed to the 8th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in France. As with Benjamin Anderson, James McGuigan died during the 1916 Battles of the Somme, being killed in action with the 16th Irish Division on 9th September 1916 during the Battle of Ginchy. James Joseph McGuigan was born at Albert Street in Belfast on 4th June 1879 to Patrick McGuigan and Catherine Ahern and he married Mary Drain at the Roman Catholic Chapel in Randalstown on 29 December 1906. James and Sarah were living at Drumsough in Sharvogues in 1911 and they had seven children, the first child (Peter) being born in May 1907 and the last child (Lizzie) being born in March 1915.
A Family History
The Cleaver family originated in Scotland where one of the earliest recorded marriages took place between William Cleaver and Elizabeth Dunstone on 2nd February 1770. William served in the army, and the couple’s children were born and raised in the parish of Kilmallie, near Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. Upon his death in 1787, the family moved to Bishopstone, a small village close to the south coast of England in East Sussex.
John Cleaver was born in Bishopstone on 23rd September 1841, the great grandson of William Cleaver of Fort William. He served his apprenticeship in retail in London, and in a bid to further his career, he crossed the Irish Sea in 1865 to manage one of the departments in the established firm of James Lindsay & Co; general drapers, silk mercers and linen merchants at the Ulster Arcade on Donegall Place. The Lindsay family had themselves made their way to Ireland from Scotland in 1678, where they played an active role in the Relief of Derry in 1689, before moving to Belfast to establish a “woollen, linen and haberdashery warehouse” at 15 Bridge Street, the then centre of commerce in the town, in 1822.
It was during his time at Lindsay Brothers, that John Cleaver met Edward Robinson, a young man from Ballymena, who had earlier secured for himself an apprenticeship with the same company. His father Alexander, was a woollen draper in the County Antrim town. Both men soon realised the enormous potential for the development of the sale of Irish linen products, and with financial assistance from their families, set up a business partnership in premises on Castle Place in 1870, styled as Robinson & Cleaver. 
The success of their business was based on the fact that until that time, it had been almost impossible to obtain locally produced goods at reasonable prices. They were quick to identify this gap in the market and within a short space of time, the business had expanded and the partnership moved to larger premises on High Street (left) in 1879. The potential for growth of such a business in Belfast at that time was phenomenal.
In addition to raising a large family, the business at High Street continued to expand. Belfast was fast becoming one of the leading manufacturing cities of the British Empire, with markets for products produced in North East Ireland opening up across the civilised world. The partners were not slow to capitalise on this phenomenal growth and soon they were supplying high quality items of Irish linen to households across the United Kingdom. Soon the company outgrew their premises on High Street and by the mid-1880s the partners began to look for larger premises. They purchased one of the last residential houses on Donegall Place (see right) which had a large garden onto Donegall Square North, and quickly commissioned one of the leading architects of the day, Young & McKenzie, to design a building that would be fitting for the business they had grown over the past 15 years. The vast majority of parcels despatched from Belfast came from the house of Robinson & Cleaver and the company pioneered overseas sales via their brochures to homes and businesses across the empire.
The ‘Royal Irish Linen Warehouse’ of Robinson & Cleaver opened for business on September 1888, the same year that Belfast received its charter as a city. With success came great wealth for the founding partners and by this time, they would have been the equivalent of millionaires in today’s money. This precipitated a move to a larger house on the Malone Road for the Cleaver family – a large Victorian terrace opposite Fisherwick Presbyterian Church.
In 1892, such was the success of Robinson & Cleaver, that John Cleaver moved residence again, this time to the estate of ‘Dunraven’ on the Malone Road. Dunraven, a large Italianate Villa, had been built for the timber magnate and shipowner, James Porter Corry in 1870. It extended over several acres with its own lake and extensive parkland. It was in this house that John and Mary would spend the rest of their lives. 
By 1900, his eldest son, (aged 29) Arthur Spencer Cleaver, in addition to becoming a director of Robinson & Cleaver, had embarked on a military career and became a second Lieutenant in the Southern Division of the Mid Ulster (Royal Field) Artillery (left) – a regiment within the British Army. He removed to London, primarily to look after the Regent Street store at the same time becoming an Honorary Lieutenant Colonel with the Royal Garrison Artillery, 1st Reserve Battery. 
It was however his wife, Adelaide, who achieved notoriety as an adventurer and women pioneer in aviation in the 1920s and 30s. She was an avid mountain climber, expert driver and skilled motor mechanic. Adelaide Franklin Pollock was born in Newtownards in 1896, the eldest daughter of the Rt Hon Hugh MacDowell Pollock, first Minister of Finance in the Government of Northern Ireland created in 1921. Having developed an important flour importing business, Pollock was independently wealthy, and as Chairman of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners had one of the docks named in his honour. Coming from such a privileged position within Ulster Society this was the type of union John Cleaver would have nurtured and encouraged for his offspring.
See thread on Rootschat here: 
Gordon Neil Spencer ‘Mouse’ Cleaver was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, in 1910, and educated at Harrow. As an accomplished skier, he was the inaugural winner of the ‘Hahnenkammrennen Combined’ in Austria in 1931. The ‘Cleaver Cup’ was subsequently named after his success on the slopes. He joined 601 Fighter Squadron (The Millionaire’s Squadron) Auxiliary Air Force in 1937, being promoted to the position of Flying Officer in October 1938. Upon the outbreak of the Second World War he was mobilised in November 1939, travelling to France with his Squadron to Merville in Northern France. He claimed 7 confirmed “kills” during the Battle of Britain before his hurricane was shot down during combat over Winchester. Although he baled out, the fragments from the Perspex canopy on his plane, shattered into his eyes and face blinding him in the right eye. For his valour, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Despite his injuries he remained in the RAF throughout the war, being released on medical grounds in November 1943, retaining the rank of Squadron Leader. Following on from the injuries he received, Cleaver underwent 18 operations on his eyes under the accomplished eye surgeon Harold Ridley. It was during work carried out during these procedures that Ridley developed the intraocular lens, a major development in repairing damage to the human eye.
His second son, (John) Martin Cleaver, born in 1871, was educated in England and Germany, gaining a BA from the Royal University of Ireland (precursor to QUB) and graduating from TCD with a law degree in 1893. He set up his own practice as a solicitor later that year at premises on Wellington Place. In 1897, he took into partnership William Fulton, whose father John Fulton, was a linen manufacturer at the firm of John Fulton & Co on Ormeau Avenue. The partnership was style as Cleaver & Fulton. Both the Cleavers and Fultons were Methodists, with John Fulton being greatly interested in Foreign Missions, in addition to being solicitor to the Board of Governors at Methodist College. Soon after the partnership was established, Martin Cleaver, influenced by Fulton’s vision, retired from the law, devoting his whole time to the Egypt General Mission of which he was one of the founders. He arrived in Alexandria, Egypt on 31st January 1898, one of a group of 7 missionaries where he met Aileen Mary White, who had also carried out missionary work in Egypt. After their marriage, they both returned to Alexandria, but after four years of travelling in North Africa, his health broke down, and he took up residence in London as Secretary to the Mission.He later went on to co-found the ‘Fellowship of Faith for the Muslims’ (1915) an international fellowship of Christians who have a concern for the Muslim world, publishing such pamphlets as “Why do the Muslims need the Gospel?”Having been at Keswick in 1915, he returned to visit his father at Dunraven in Belfast, but became ill and died during that visit in August of that year. Both J Martin Cleaver and his wife Aileen are buried at Belfast City Cemetery. The company he established in 1893, Cleaver Fulton Rankin, remains one of Northern Ireland’s leading law firms.
John Cleaver’s third son, (James) Frederick was born at Ashley Villa on 8th June 1875, and after being educated in Belfast and Germany, he travelled the world, visiting Australia and New Zealand, before following his father into the family business at Robinson & Cleaver, in 1895. The firm had developed branches throughout the UK including Regent Street, London; and Church Street, Liverpool. The importance of the company to the economy of Belfast cannot be underestimated. Robinson & Cleaver sent more parcels containing linen products of Irish manufacture out of the city of Belfast than any other business. Their store on London’s Regent Street was one of the most opulent and exclusive in the capital (right). He soon became Managing Director of the firm at its headquarters on Donegall Place (1906) and resided at a house called ‘Bishopstone’ on Deramore Park, recalling the origins of his father’s home in Essex. He married, in 1901, Sarah Hammond Fulton, eldest daughter of John Fulton and sister of the partner of his brother’s law firm, Cleaver and Fulton (see J Martin Cleaver).
Fred Cleaver was a staunch Unionist and Ulsterman. He was an active member of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce; the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society; the Belfast Harbour Board; The Belfast Chamber of Trade, and was Chairman of the Ulster Tourist Development Association. As a member of the Ulster Unionist Council, he took an active part in the Anti Home Rule campaign and he took a leading part in the organising and equipping of the Ulster Division in the run-up to the Great War of 1914-18. During the war, he led an expedition to retrieve the US crew of the SS Otranto which sank in 1918 whilst in use as an armed merchant cruiser. For his services, he was Knighted in 1927. Upon his father’s death in 1926, Sir Frederick became Chairman of Robinson & Cleaver, but such was the international reputation of the company that several approached were made to acquire the capital from the family controlled concern. The ordinary shares of the company were transferred to Edward de Stein, a merchant banker, in 1935, with Sir Frederick and his brother Arthur being retained in an advisory capacity.
Sir Frederick Cleaver died suddenly on the evening of Saturday 31st March 1936, following his decision to take a walk from his home, Marlborough Park House, to which he had moved in 1927 (left). He had reached Stranmillis Road, when he collapsed and died. He was survived by his wife Lady Sarah Cleaver who died at Broomhill Park in December 1951. Like so many other members of the family, she also took an active interest in the work of the Methodist missions.
John Cleaver’s eldest surviving daughter, Mabel, was born in March 1877 and in what was not perhaps a surprising move, she married Edward (Ned) Robinson on 12th June 1901 at University Road Methodist Church. Ned Robinson was the eldest son of Edward Robinson, one of the founders of Robinson & Cleaver and was a joint managing director of the firm at Donegall Place. They began their married life at a house on Somerton Park, but following the death of his father in 1906, they moved to a magnificent estate at Shaw’s Bridge overlooking the Lagan named Terrace Hill. It was the sale of the company to Edward De Stein in 1936, that precipitated the couple to demolish the original house of 1856. Ned and Mabel who enjoyed a fantastic social life, built a sprawling new house in an American neo-Georgian style, the design being executed by Young & McKenzie, (who designed the original store on Donegall Place in 1888) and in which they could entertain the cream of Ulster Society. Mabel had two daughters, who were brought up in a very privileged environment. Terrace Hill extended to over 9,200 sq feet, and had beautifully manicured gardens overlooking Barnett’s Demesne to Malone House on the other side of the valley. The house had tennis courts and a swimming pool. The eldest, Gwendoline, married Peter Swann, an insurance broker of the Wirral and left Northern Ireland in 1951, whilst Inez married Thomas Agnew, a land agent in Belfast. They were the last occupants to live at Macedon House at Whiteabbey, before it was taken over by Barnardo’s as a children’s home in 1950, as was Terrace Hill, after the departure of the Clokey family in 1970. Inez died in 1978 without issue
Today there are several reminders of the power and influence of the Cleaver family in Ireland, although there are no remaining family members now resident here. The site of the once magnificent family home and estate at Dunraven, is now covered in villa developments from the 1930s, when the house was sold, and is now known as Cleaver Park and Cleaver Avenue, off the Malone Road.
The magnificent department store buildings of Robinson & Cleaver still stand on the Corner of Donegall Place and Donegall Square North, as they do in London, although the family connection with the business was severed in 1936. The achievements of the company in obtaining several Royal Warrants and supplying Royal households across the world was none the less remarkable
The final resting place of the Irish branch of the family can be found at Belfast City Cemetery, where there are three separate memorials. The saddest of these is the main family memorial which has only recently been revealed having been badly damaged by vandals during the period of civil unrest in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.