Joss Cardwell

Joshua Cardwell, JP (1910–1982) was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.

Early life and career

Born in Belfast and educated locally, Cardwell worked as the manager of a coal importing firm.[http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/biographies.html Biographies of Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons] In 1952 he was elected to Belfast Corporation for Victoria Ward and later became an Alderman. During the 1960s Cardwell chaired the committee which was responsible for children's homes in the city.[http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/headlines/kincora-file-conspicously-absent-from-government-records-1-4630077 "Kincora file conspicuously absent from government records"], Sam McBride, News Letter 3 January 2013 In 1969 he was elected to the Parliament of Northern Ireland for Belfast Pottinger{{Cite web |url=http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/belfast.html |title=Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: Belfast |access-date=6 October 2007 |archive-date=22 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722074311/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/belfast.html |url-status=dead }} as an 'O'Neill Unionist' supporting the reform proposals of the then Prime Minister. He remained a member until the Parliament was prorogued in 1972. In 1973 he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast East, as a Unionist pledged to support the former Prime Minister Brian Faulkner. When the Ulster Unionist Party split in 1974, Cardwell became a founder member of the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland and was returned for Belfast East in the 1975 Constitutional Convention election.

He remained a member of Belfast City Council until his death, representing 'Area B' equivalent to the current Victoria area.[http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/73-81lgbelfast.htm The Local Government Elections 1973–1981: Belfast] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401081813/https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/73-81lgbelfast.htm |date=1 April 2019 }}, Northern Ireland Elections

He was unmarried.

Kincora Boys' Home abuse scandal

In March 1982, Cardwell was questioned by police in relation to his visits to Kincora Boys' Home, which had seen a child sex abuse scandal. The Hughes report into the scandal noted that Cardwell told the police of one conversation with the Belfast Town Clerk, who had mentioned an imprecise allegation of homosexual conduct (which at that time would have been illegal in Northern Ireland), but he said that no formal complaint had ever come his way.Hughes, W.H. (1986) Report of the Inquiry into Children's Homes and Hostels, Belfast: HMSO, p70 Shortly after the police interview Cardwell's body was found in a car in the garage of his home in Belfast, and he was found to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning; the coroner stated that the death was "inexplicable".[http://www.8bitmode.com/rogerdog/lobster/lobster01.pdf Lobster magazine, September 1983] Others regarded it as suicide.Ivan Lyttle

[https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/kincora-time-we-knew-full-truth-of-belfasts-house-of-horrors/30416227.html 'Kincora: Time we knew full truth of Belfast's house of horrors']. Belfast Telegraph, 9 July 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2025Margaret Scanlan, Plotting Terror: Novelists and Terrorists in Contemporary Fiction

The Hughes report concluded "There is no evidence that Councillor Cardwell took steps to prevent an investigation or suppress the matter." It mentioned that, as a member (and chairman) of the Welfare Committee, Cardwell had statutory visiting responsibilities in relation to homes.Hughes, W.H. (1986) Report of the Inquiry into Children's Homes and Hostels, Belfast: HMSO, p93

The Joss Cardwell Centre, providing rehabilitation services in East Belfast, was named in his honour but closed in 2007.[http://www.belfasttrust.hscni.net/pdf/Annual_Report_Legacy_Trusts_2007.pdf Annual Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205211141/http://www.belfasttrust.hscni.net/pdf/Annual_Report_Legacy_Trusts_2007.pdf |date=5 December 2013 }}, Green Park Healthcare Trust It burned down in a fire on 9 May 2017.

[https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/derelict-former-stroke-centre-destroyed-in-blaze-was-on-cusp-of-sale-says-jim-rodgers-1123833 'Derelict former stroke centre destroyed in blaze was on cusp of sale, says Jim Rodgers']. News Letter, 11 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2025[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-39865876], BBC Northern Ireland