John Morrow Simms

Who was John Morrow Simms?

John Morrow Simms was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.

Born in Newtownards, Simms studied at the Old Academy, Belfast, the Coleraine Academical Institution, Queen's University, Belfast, the University of Edinburgh and Leipzig University. In 1882, he was ordained as a Church of Ireland clergyman, becoming a British Army chaplain in 1887. He was elected for the Ulster Unionist Party at the North Down by-election, July 1922, and when the seat was abolished later in the year, won a seat in Down, serving until the 1931 UK general election. From 1914 to 1920, he was Principal Chaplain to the Forces, and held the rank of Major-General. He subsequently became Honorary Chaplain to George V of the United Kingdom.