William Douglas, known as Billy Douglas, was a prominent unionist activist in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

Douglas served in the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, under Herbert Dixon

Herbert Dixon, 1st Baron Glentoran

Herbert Dixon, 1st Baron Glentoran OBE PC was a Northern Ireland Unionist politician.He was born in Belfast, the fourth son of Sir Daniel Dixon, 1st Baronet, and educated at Harrow and Sandhurst, being commissioned into the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, with which regiment he served in the Second...

. When Dixon was elected for Belfast Pottinger

Belfast Pottinger (UK Parliament constituency)

Pottinger, a division of Belfast, was a UK parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1922.-Boundaries and Boundary Changes:...

 at the UK general election, 1918, he appointed Douglas as his secretary. On the establishment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland

Parliament of Northern Ireland

The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...

, Dixon became the first Unionist Chief Whip, and he arranged Douglas' appointment as Superintendent of the Whip's Office. Douglas used the post to liaise between the whip's office and Unionist Party Headquarters.

While Wilson Hungerford

Wilson Hungerford

Sir Alexander Wilson Hungerford , known as Wilson Hungerford, was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Born in Belfast, Hungerford was employed by the Irish Unionist Party from 1912. In 1921, he became Secretary of the Ulster Unionist Council, serving until 1941, and was also Secretary of the...

 was serving as Secretary of the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC), he devoted little time to the post, allowing Douglas to take a leading role in the organisation, working alongside James Craig

James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon

James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, PC, PC , was a prominent Irish unionist politician, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland...

, Dixon and Dawson Bates

Dawson Bates

Sir Richard Dawson Bates, 1st Baronet, OBE, PC, JP, DL , also known as Sir Dawson Bates , was an Ulster Unionist Party member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons....

 to make policy and decide tactics. In 1941, he finally became Secretary to the UUC, where he focussed on maximising the Unionist Party vote, using every possible method. He resigned from the post in 1963, and was succeeded by his assistant, James O. Bailie.