Possibly no other name is more closely tied to the Miramichi than Lord Beaverbrook’s. Lord Beaverbrook’s real name was Maxwell Aitken. He was born in 1879 at Maple, Ontario. When his father was sent to Newcastle by the Presbyterian Church, Aitken came with the family. He was only ten months old. Max lived here until he was 23 years old.
From a young age, Max Aitken was a good businessman. As a boy he sold newspapers and soap. He wrote his own four- page newspaper at age 13. Aitken was not a great student. He wanted to study law, but he was turned down by Dalhousie University in Halifax. Instead, he studied law by working with the Tweedie and Bennett Law Office in Chatham. He did this for about two years. Aitken then moved to Halifax and later to Montreal. In the following years, Aitken was active in many businesses. He sold insurance. He took part in the Montreal Stock Exchange. He was busy in other forms of finance as well.
By the time he was 27 years old, he was believed to be Canada’s leading financial person. Over the next few years, he made millions of dollars in finance. In 1906 he married Gladys Drury. They moved to England in 1910. In no time, Beaverbrook had been elected to the English government. For a number of years, he spent more time on politics than on finance.
Lord Beaverbrook died in 1964 in Surrey, England. He wished to have his remains brought back to Newcastle. They were placed at the base of his monument in the Newcastle Town Square. It was a sad day for all the people of the Miramichi.
Aitken never rose very high in the English Conservative Party. But he did have a lot of power. He used his money to make things happen. For example, he stood behind Bonar Law, who became the Prime Minister of England in the 1920’s. It wasn’t long before Aitken was honored with the title of Lord Beaverbrook. He was only 38.
Beaverbrook bought his first newspaper business in 1916. It was called the “London Daily Express.” In the years that followed, he would buy many more newspapers. He made millions of dollars from these newspapers. They made him even more powerful in the world of finance. As well, he continued to buy more businesses in all parts of Canada. During World War II, he helped build England’s Royal Air Force into a strong unit. When the war began, England had very few airplanes. Beaverbrook became Minister of Aircraft Production in 1940 and changes came quickly.
After the war, Beaverbrook often visited Canada. In his later years, he was very kind to New Brunswick and to the Miramichi. He gave large sums of money to the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. He also gave money to build the Lord Beaverbrook Arena and the Beaverbrook Civic Centre in Chatham. He had the Sinclair Rink and the Beaverbrook Town Hall built as gifts to his hometown of Newcastle. As well, he helped to rebuild the Newcastle Town Square. Finally, he paid to have his old home in Newcastle changed into the Old Manse Library. He believed in keeping the Miramichi way of life strong and alive. He was one of the people who got the Miramichi Folksong Festival started. Lord Beaverbrook will long be remembered in the people’s hearts for his many kind acts.