Victoria Cross for Lieutenant Colonel  Blair Mayne

Part of Private Members’ Business – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 5:00 am on 10 June 2008.

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Photo of Michelle McIlveen Michelle McIlveen DUP 5:00, 10 June 2008

I thank my fellow party colleagues from the Strangford constituency for securing the debate. Northern Ireland is such a small country, but it is particularly blessed with iconic heroes, whether in sport: David Healy or George Best; in music: Van Morrison; in science: Lord Kelvin: or, indeed, the inventor of milk chocolate, another Strangford old boy, Sir Hans Sloane. We can be proud of our mark on the world.

In the military world, there are few who could match the exploits of Blair Mayne. Given his almost unimag­inable bravery and ability during the Second World War, it is hard to believe that he did not receive the Victoria Cross during an already heavily decorated career.

When one reads about Blair Mayne, it is like reading about a fictional hero in a ‘Boy’s Own’ comic. Sometimes, there seems a need to double-check the books to ensure that it is not some work of fiction. Blair Mayne was honoured with a DSO with three bars, the Légion d’Honneur and the Croix de Guerre, and, as my colleague has stated, his denial of a Victoria Cross was queried by King George VI.

We have heard about the incident for which Blair Mayne was recommended for the Victoria Cross in 1945. The tales of bravery that accompany the awards of the Victoria Cross always astound me, displaying as they do amazing selflessness in the face of enemy onslaught.

I have read and heard about our own Blair Mayne, and his exploits surely rank among the acts of other recipients. He was, allegedly, denied the highest military honour as a result of the military establishment’s prejudice against him — that transgression must be rectified.

After taking out a farmhouse full of enemies and avoiding heavy enemy gunfire three times, Blair Mayne, without concern for his own safety, risked his life to single-handedly rescue a squadron of his troops by lifting them individually into his jeep — how can such bravery not merit the highest possible military honour? Throughout the Second World War, he continually redefined bravery and is credited with assuring the SAS’s future and consolidating its position as a permanent part of the UK defence forces.

Even if the motion does not result in a posthumous award to this Ulster icon, it is appropriate that the House considers his exploits and bravery and that it acknowledge his place in the pantheon of the heroic. Flawed as he was, Blair Mayne was a true leader of men and an outstanding soldier. I support the motion. Lieutenant Colonel Blair Mayne should take his rightful place among Northern Ireland’s 11 other recipients of the Victoria Cross.