| GENERAL NOTES |
| To view the 1901 Ireland Census record for Frederick see 1901 Census
[RFSS Jul 2011] FREDERICK LUCIUS O'BRIEN (1896 - 1974) Data source: Thomas O'Brien Baker (1962) "He had been an active member of the Young Friends Association and came from a Belfast Quaker family who owned the Franklin Laundry. He left the family business to become the first Chief Welfare Officer of the Belfast Civil Defence Authority. After the air raids, he and Herbert Bryson, dealt with the feeding problems of the time. Several commercial sized kitchens were built and in co-operation with the Ministry of Food, they set up the 'British Restaurants,' which provided cheap wholesome meals, later expanding to school dinners. O'Brien and Bryson then established information offices for those dislocated by the bombing. The staff of these offices were later to become the first members of the Citizens Advice Bureau. After the war Lucius O'Brien was asked to become the first chairman of the independant but state funded Housing Trust. Prior to this Herbert Bryson had done a survey of the appalling housing conditions in Belfast and he and O'Brien had submitted a report to the government. The Housing Trust, when it was set up in 1945, was said to be the brainchild of Ronald F Green who had already done some work in this area. He was Assistant Secretary to the Minister of Health, later Permanent Secretary with responsibility for housing. It was also his idea that Lucius O'Brien and Herbert Bryson should be chairman and vice chairman. Although they would have indignantly denied acting as a Quaker pressure group, two were members of Belfast Meeting and Bryson was married to a Quaker (Rosemary Sinton). Also all three had been (though not together) at Bootham School, York. Lucius O'Brien was knighted for his voluntary services in 1949. In December 1961 he became chairman of the Belfast Charitable Society (Clifton House) where he had succeeded his father on the committee in 1934. He was also on the board of management of the Belfast Savings Bank where there had been family links dating back a hundred years. He was a member of the Senate of Queens University and Ulster's member of the Independent Television Authority as well as several other charitable projects. He also had the distinction of being mentioned several times in the letters of C. S. Lewis, the reason being that he was a cousin of Arthur Greeves, the close friend and life-time correspondent of the well-known author." History of the Religious Society of Friends Frederick Street, Belfast. Published in 1999 by Sandra King, c/o 45-47 Frederick St. Belfast, BT1 2LW ISBN: O 9535330 O X. Pages 50 - 51. Known by aunt Anna O'Brien (1853-1916) and her son George O'Brien Baker (1890-1945) and his family: see letters in possession of Audrey Faith Baker (1928); recorded in birthday book of Catherine Winifred Baker (1913-1986). Knighted Member of City Council Redeveloped housing in Belfast A big man; hail-fellow-well-met; friend of Trevor Eves |
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