HL Deb 14 January 1985 vol 458 cc767-70
Viscount Whitelaw

My Lords, the retirement of Sir David House is a sad occasion for me and indeed for all of your Lordships. But I am delighted that it is my privilege to pay tribute to Sir David's outstanding service to the House during his seven years as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. The duties of Black Rod are, to say the least, diverse. I am told that the office can be traced back to the 14th century, when it was Black Rod's duty to carry his rod in processions of the Knights of the Garter.

Nowadays participation in Garter ceremonies remains one of Black Rod's duties, but it has become one of many. In addition he is responsible for the regulation of the admission of visitors to the House of Lords, and for the maintenance of order in the Chamber and within the precincts of the House. He also holds office as Serjeant-at-Arms attending the Lord Chancellor. As the Agent of the Administration Sub-Committee, he has responsibility for accommodation and security in the House of Lords' part of the Palace of Westminster. As Secretary to the Lord Great Chamberlain, he is closely involved in the arrangements for the State Opening of Parliament, and in the control of the Royal Apartments of the Palace of Westminster and of Westminster Hall. As a Gentleman Usher to Her Majesty The Queen, he is a member of the Royal Household. And it is on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen that he performs what must be the best known of his duties, the summoning of the Commons on the occasion of a State Opening or a Royal Commission.

Sir David came to all these duties after a distinguished career in the Army, culminating in his appointment as GOC in Northern Ireland from 1975 to 1977. The contrast between his work in Northern Ireland and his duties in the House of Lords must have been a striking one, as I perhaps can equally confirm. But Sir David has shown his adaptability by the way in which he has discharged his varied duties with such unflustered efficiency and good humour. Many of your Lordships will remember the occasion, which I do not, on which an ornamental boss fell from the ceiling of the Chamber one evening and a working replica of the House was almost miraculously created in the Royal Gallery by Prayers on the following day.

During my own short time in the House Sir David has been called on to demonstrate his mastery of his duties in several ways. He has laid the foundations for the implementation of your Lordships' decision to allow experimental televising of our proceedings. The restoration of the ceiling of this Chamber has been completed. He has made the arrangements for the addresses to both Houses by President Mitterrand and (before I came to your Lordships' House) by President Reagan. And last but by no means least, he has had responsibility for security matters at a time when security has assumed special importance. I am sure that no one could have bettered the combination of charm and military efficiency with which Sir David House carried out all these duties.

One aspect of Sir David's service as Black Rod which may not be known to all your Lordships is the high regard in which he has been held by his staff. I know that he has always cared deeply about the welfare of those working for him, and as I personally know very well, he has worked extremely hard in their interest. That fact perhaps exemplifies best of all Sir David's qualities. Your Lordships have indeed been lucky to have had the benefit of his service as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod.

I am sure that all your Lordships would wish to join me in offering Sir David our warm congratulations on the KCVO which he so fittingly received in the New Year Honours list, and in sending both him and Lady House our best wishes for a long and happy retirement.

I should also like to take this opportunity to welcome Air Chief Marshal Sir John Gingell and to wish him well as he takes over Black Rod's duties. I know that he will be able to count on the help and support of all your Lordships.

2.43 p.m.

Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos

My Lords, on behalf of my noble friends I warmly endorse the well-deserved tribute which the noble Viscount has paid to Sir David House. It is a tradition of this place that the office of Black Rod should be filled by a senior officer of the armed services. It speaks highly of them that time after time they produce for the service of Parliament men of the calibre, and with the distinguished military record, of Sir David House.

It is an advantage that they come from a non-party political profession, but also that they have had the most extensive administrative experience with constant responsibilities relating to men and affairs. The only difference is that they come from a life which is sustained by discipline to the only institution in Britain where imposed discipline is non-existent.

Some may think that the office of Black Rod is something of a sinecure. Far from it: the duties are onerous, and, as the noble Viscount has reminded us, in recent years they have been increased substantially. Our day-to-day life here is dependent upon the competence and sensitivity of Black Rod, and Sir David has brought his great experience to bear on our affairs with dignity and understanding. He has been both effective and unobtrusive. We are all most grateful to him for the service he has rendered to us. We wish him and Lady House a happy retirement.

To follow Sir David we most warmly welcome Air Chief Marshal Sir John Gingell. He, I believe, is the first Royal Air Force officer to occupy the post of Black Rod. We wish Sir John very well, and look forward to the pleasure of working with him.

Baroness Seear

My Lords, we on these Benches would of course also wish to join in the tribute to Sir David House and to thank him for all that he has done for this House during his period of office. The many aspects of his work have already been referred to by the noble Viscount the Leader of the House. I think that I should particularly like to pick out two contributions he has made. It was a most remarkable achievement, to which he must have contributed very considerably, that our ceiling, so grievously concealed from us after the fall of the boss some years ago, was restored so admirably and beautifully. We must be very glad that this was finished and opened to all of us before Sir David's retirement. We are grateful for the large contribution he must have made to that great achievement.

I should also like to remind the House—and to thank Sir David—that this is, after all, a House in which ceremony plays an important part. It is a very historic House, and Black Rod is a very historic office. Ceremony helps to sustain this House and, through it, Parliament; but unless ceremony is carried out to perfection it can he a snare and a delusion. The efficiency with which the ceremonial of this House has been carried out owes a great deal to the extreme competence of Black Rod, and for that we must be very grateful to him.

We, too, should like to join in welcoming Air Chief Marshal Sir John Gingell as his successor, and look forward with confidence to the continuation of the very high standard that Sir David has set.

Lord Diamond

My Lords, the reason why on behalf of my colleagues on these Benches I seek to detain your Lordships for but a moment is not that I could add anything to the well-deserved tributes that have already been paid, but that we would, naturally, want Sir David to know, and to feel assured, that all of us on these Benches are also deeply indebted to him. Many of us have had first-hand experience of the benefits to be gained from his many and varied duties. The Leader has referred especially to the variety of duties—and, indeed, that is the case—ranging from such an impossibly difficult task as finding additional accommodation where none exists to the comparatively easy task, I should have thought, of keeping order in your Lordships' House.

The one thing which has struck me about the seven years during which Sir David has carried out his office with such excellence in all respects is that this has seen a substantial increase in the respect with which the House is regarded throughout the country, in the power that it has gained to influence the Government of the day, and in its representative capacity. I would hope that inasmuch as such an advance is due to the efforts of every one of us, Sir David will feel that he, too, has himself made a real contribution to the advance in the last seven years of the standing of your Lordships' House.

I, as do others, warmly welcome the appointment of his successor and wish him extremely well.

Baroness Hylton-Foster

My Lords, this is an occasion when those sitting on the Cross-Benches are more than happy to support the tributes already paid to Sir David and to add our own appreciation of the calm and competent way in which he has looked after his extensive kingdom, including housemaids, attendants, doorkeepers, police, security and many other matters, as well as your Lordships. His caring for welfare was especially appreciated on these Benches. I myself valued, and shall miss very much, the whispered consultations between Black Rod's Box and the Cross-Benches about whether the temperature in the House was too hot or too cold.

We wish him and Lady House a long and happy retirement in their Yorkshire home. Also, we should like to extend our welcome and best wishes to Sir John Gingell, our new Black Rod.

The Lord Bishop of Oxford

My Lords, on behalf of the Bishops I beg leave to associate myself warmly with the tributes paid to Sir David House, to welcome his successor and to wish both of them all blessing in the future.