The Ulster Special Constabulary (B Specials 1921-1971) On the afternoon of August 14 1969, after days of continuous rioting in Belfast, Londonderry and Newry the Government authorised a general mobilisation of the Ulster Special Constabulary. The police force was near to exhaustion and the Province was on the brink of Civil War. The order for the men to report to their local police stations for duty was broadcast on radio and on television. In some towns particularly in North Down, crowds gathered on the streets to cheer the men as they reported in for duty. It was apparent that the call out was being interpreted as a sign that the Stormont Government had at long last come to its senses and the spirits of the men and the law abiding community were high with hope that the new found courage of the Government would restore law and order. Hopes were soon to be dashed and the courage was found to have little substance. By 6.30pm that evening the mobilisation was complete and 10,000 men were standing by in their stations ready to be briefed prior to moving forward into riot areas to restore law and order. From the middle of July '69, the riots and civil disturbances had gained momentum. The Staff Officer of the USC had asked the Security Committee presided over by the Minister for Home Affairs to authorise the use of the USC in riot areas and for general security duties throughout the province. The committee would not concede that the USC should be used in that way and the request of the Staff Officer was repeatedly refused until the August 14th, by which time the situation was beyond containment by the RUC alone. County Inspectors of the RUC were given discretionary powers as to the use of the USC and platoons were placed at their disposal. In the IRA strongholds of Dungiven, Dungannon and Coalisland the Specials were moved in to restore order and in each of those areas hostile Roman Catholics intent on taking life and destroying property attacked them with petrol bombs. The USC, who were not issued with riot shields were in an extremely perilous situation and with all other measures having failed they were obliged to fire warning shots over the heads of the rioters. This, coupled with determined baton charges, succeeded in dispersing the mobs. Shortly after 9pm on the August 14th, the USC in Newry were detailed for anti-riot duty in the town and were instructed to lay aside their firearms and to re-equip with batons, helmets and riot shields. Their first duty was to restrain a very angry Protestant assembly who were threatening to attack IRA rioters in violent confrontation with the RUC. The Special Constabulary managed, by force of argument and more than a little flexing of its muscles to reinforce the strength of that argument, to get the Protestants to disperse. They were then detailed to give assistance to the RUC, who up until then were no more than holding the IRA supporters at arms length. Side by side with the RUC and the USC gave a much needed fill-up to the now tiring regular force and together they succeeded in pushing the rioters back with the USC taking the brunt of the attack in the vanguard of repeated baton charges. Eventually the rioters were driven into a cul-de-sac from which there was no escape. Finally succumbing to the type of vigorous treatment, which they had been dispensing for days to the RUC. After a time a white flag appeared and after consultation with the District Inspector they were allowed out of the cul-de-sac on condition that they disperse. They were permitted to leave without molestation but immediately they reformed again and attacked the USC. It was not until 4am that peace was restored. The USC had been engaged along side the police from 9pm the night before. The Special Constabulary in Newry proved the capability of the USC in giving support to the RUC but regrettably circumstances prevented that example being repeated. In Belfast, armed with revolvers and batons, the USC faced inflamed Protestant mobs on the Shankill, at the same time trying to stop incursions by IRA supporters from the Falls and the Ardoyne. In Londonderry the USC were similarly engaged, facing on the one hand enraged Protestants in the Waterside and on the other trying to drive back rioting IRA thugs who were attacking the RUC. In Armagh City riots had reached fever pitch and when the Tynan sub district reached the RUC Station in the evening the situation was far from being under control. The 17 men were given an instant direction by the County Inspector to "Follow me in your cars". Soon after leaving the station the men lost sight of the County Inspector's car and found themselves in the centre of a riotous assembly. In uniform and armed with rifles they immediately became targets for successive barrages of petrol bombs and stones hurled by a rioting IRA mob. A car, which they took to be the County Inspector's was ablaze in front of them, a stark blazing threat of treatment to be meted out by the Roman Catholic mob crazed with success. In order to extricate themselves and to save what they took to be the County Inspector they opened fire and one person was killed. A subsequent enquiry failed to conclusively attribute responsibility. In more peaceful areas the USC patrolled the streets and their presence had a calming influence on the local populace, maintaining order and providing a normal police service. In Lisburn 72 members of Lisburn District were detailed to replace the RUC on duty for the Dundrod motorcycle race and on return to the RUC station at 9pm 50 of their number were sent immediately to Belfast for anti-riot duty. They had left home at 7am and were on duty for 24-hours without provisions. On August 15th the Stormont Government asked Westminster for military assistance as riots were still in progress in many parts of the Province. During the afternoon the Army moved into Londonderry to be greeted by the Roman Catholics with open arms, kisses, and cups of tea - a welcome that was soon to become sour. In Belfast the riots were such that the USC were called in from rural areas at 7pm. Some 180 Specials from Newtownards reported to Mountpottinger police station in East Belfast, where they were issued with helmets and instructed to hand in their arms to the armoury. This caused the Sub District Commandants in charge of the USC to ask how the men were to be deployed and were told that they would be carrying out crowd control and riot duties. The officers objected on the grounds that the men would be exposed without adequate defence in areas where gunfire could be expected and they instructed their men not to hand in their arms until clarification was received. After a time senior officers of the RUC arrived and following discussions with the USC officers it was agreed the Specials would go on the streets armed, on the condition that all ammunition was properly accounted for before and after patrol. That night Specials from Newtownards together with their Belfast colleagues restored law and order to East Belfast and on return to Mountpottinger RUC station submitted their arms and ammunition for inspection as agreed. Not a shot had been fired despite extreme provocation - fully honouring the assurance given by their officers that they would not allow themselves to be provoked into retaliation. By the August 16th the Army had taken over control of all riot areas from the RUC and USC in Belfast. They set up barricades and excluded the police force from Roman Catholic areas. As in Londonderry, the Army were received with open arms, in Belfast however, those open arms soon held firearms and cups of tea became petrol bombs. The RUC were withdrawn to police stations to fulfil a 'normal police role' and their areas of patrol were limited to Protestant areas. The USC were given the task of providing armed reinforcements for station protection, guarding vital installations and protecting the homes of Government Ministers and VIP's. The Peoples Democracy Party (Roman Catholic/Marxist Civil Rights Association) and members of what was later to become the Socialist Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) who had participated in the disturbances, now stepped up their vicious propaganda campaign against the RUC and USC. The RUC and the USC bore the brunt of this verbal barrage with a dignified silence, fully expecting that the lies and distorted facts would be vigorously denied by the Government and by loyalist politicians. Few, if any, verbal shots were fired in their defence. With hindsight it can be seen that events were turning out as leading figures and godfathers of the IRA had anticipated and it is quite apparrent that many leaders of public opinion,loyalist, republican and the news media were being manipulated by the IRA. In the past the Labour Government had always shown a dislike of Ulster Unionism and in power at Westminster they saw an opportunity to destroy the union. As the troops moved in Harold Wilson appeared on television and intimated that the Ulster Special Constabulary would have to go and that the Northern Ireland Prime Minister agreed to the setting up of a committee of enquiry into the Policing in Northern Ireland, no doubt hopeful that the role of the USC would be vindicated. On the August 26th 1969 the Minister of Home Affairs for Northern Ireland, Robert Porter, appointed Baron Hunt to lead an advisory committee on Policing in Northern Ireland to examine the recruitment, organisation, structure and composition of the RUC and the USC and their respective functions, to recommend if necessary what changes were required to provide for the efficient enforcement of law and order in Northern Ireland. The committee set about their task immediately and informal interviews were held throughout the Province attended by representatives of all ranks of the USC and RUC. The Staff Officer and other senior officers of the USC who had for years been trying to re-equip the force and to provide more advanced training were not averse to a fact finding constructive enquiry but it is quite apparent that after the interview they felt that they had been props in a window dressing charade. They could not help but see the committee as a smokescreen to shield a decision already taken to disband the USC. The committee published its report on the October 3rd and the fears of those officers were confirmed The Ulster Special Constabulary was to be stood down and replaced by two forces, one an unarmed police reserve and the other an armed part time military force under the control of the GOC. The IRA propagandists had achieved their main aim of discrediting the RUC and disbanding the USC, paving the way to a United Ireland. With the USC out of action, the Province would be left defenceless and the IRA would be free to move men and arms through the country without fear or hindrance. Without effective leadership the law abiding population were powerless to act and most people recognised that "The Troubles" were only about to start. More than three decades after the acceptance of the Hunt Report, the results of these recommendations can be clearly seen. Law and order has ceased to exist in many areas of Northern Ireland and the Province has suffered years of bloodshed, tears and countless years have yet to be faced. It is said that Baron Hunt has admitted that had he been able to foresee the course of events he would not have recommended the disbandment of the Ulster Special Constabulary, an admission which if correct gives no comfort to those who have suffered or lost loved ones as a result of that recommendation. In what was almost unseemly haste the Hunt Report was ratified and put into effect. It is said that the Staff Officer of the USC was summoned to Stormont by the Minister of Home Affairs and informed of the decision and given the opportunity to personally opt out, this he declined to do. Only the few who were to carry out the execution of the order to stand down, can imagine the traumatic experience of the 'man at the top' and the re-allocation of his office on his return from Stormont. His relegation to the corridors of Brooklyn as a place of work, his ostracism by some senior RUC officers at police HQ and the eventual banishment with the remnants of his staff to a Ministry storehouse at Dundonald where the last act of tragedy was to be carried out. This chill wind of change was felt by all ranks, who performing duty right to the end found out that they were also being pushed out of sight, lest their presence should offend - or stir the conscience. The USC, now under command of the GOC, were something of an enigma to Lt. General Freeland. He did not understand the existing command structure of the USC, or appreciate that the motivation for carrying out any operation was that of simple loyalty to the country and to the USC. He was hard put to find the Special Constabulary wanting in any respect and his tasking through the Security Council was sufficiently severe as to be thought at best "probing" and at worst fault finding. He was known to have expressed amazement that a part time force such as the USC could within the hour of call out, be standing ready at their station awaiting operational instructions. Experience is a hard taskmaster but an excellent instructor and for 50 years the USC had moulded its discipline and organisation on the needs of Ulster. The immediate natural reaction of all ranks to disbandment was one of disgust and resentment, and in Newtownards the Specials of the District marched to the RUC Station led by their District Commandant and handed in their personal effects and arms. The Government and the Security Council were suddenly aware of the depth of feeling of the men and a meeting was agreed between the men and the Minister of Home Affairs in the Station yard. The Minister, Robert Porter, addressed the meeting and said that although the USC was being disbanded all who wished could transfer to the UDR or the RUC Reserve. He was given a fair hearing but assurances had been given and broken in the all too recent past and distrust of Government Ministers and politicians words was deep-rooted and he failed to impress. In reply to the Minister the men spoke straight to the point of the failure of Stormont to give leadership to the country and accused the Minister and his colleagues of treachery to the people of Northern Ireland. After the Minister had left the meeting, the Staff Officer of the USC discussed the situation with the men and a compromise was reached. The men would not resign but they would not carry out any duties. It was obvious that the Government were afraid of a watershed and in the days that followed District and Sub District Commandants were asked to abortive meetings with Government Ministers, Senior Police Officers and Senior Army Officers. After several weeks it became apparent that some politicians were trying to make political capital of the action of the men, who, not wishing to see the USC become a political football, took a decision to return to duty. In a sort of Jekyll and Hyde situation some of the men were sent to guard the homes of Cabinet Ministers and politicians with whom they had been in dispute, a testimonial to the trust which was placed in the men by all concerned and a tribute to the discipline of the USC all over. Despite the axe which was hanging over their heads the USC discipline was unshakeable and they accepted the onus of guarding such vital installations as reservoirs, armouries, police stations, water and electric power plants as a duty to be performed in line with their oath of office. Meanwhile, the setting up of the two part time forces went ahead. In some areas members of the USC volunteered for the new forces in reasonable numbers, usually in areas where it was known that the Sergeant Instructor of the USC would be accepted as an instructor in the UDR, or the permanent staff USC County officers were to be accepted in equivalent positions in the new regiment. The wound, however, had gone deep and the majority, most of them in the older age and service bracket, felt that the country had stood by whilst Westminster and politicians at Stormont had connived at bringing the USC to an end and could not bring themselves to serve in either the UDR or the RUC Reserve. Not to resign from the USC was a deliberate decision taken in the interests of the country. For to do so would have left the way forward for the IRA to have a completely free hand. The new Inspector General of the RUC, Sir Arthur Young, with little thought for the consequences, had reacted quickly to the recommendation of the Hunt Report and disarmed the RUC. The Army was trying to find its way around the maze of country roads and city streets which had yet to recover from the effects of removal of identity caused by the war. They where equipped with antiquated maps and no knowledge of the areas they patrolled. In these circumstances the men could not do other than stand firm in the interests of Ulster, until such time as the new part time forces were able to take up the reins. On March 31st 1970 the Minister of Home Affairs, Robert W. Porter, formally sent out letters to every member of the USC terminating their service with effect from midnight on April 30th, stating '...the Force would no longer be required.' The Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve were in their infancy. The UDR had not reached its expected complement. In addition to the natural antipathy which many USC members felt towards the UDR, the policy of recruitment was designed to give least pretext for Roman Catholics not to join, and as a result many 'B' men and Orangemen were refused entry without reason given. In the event the expectation that Roman Catholics would overcome their prejudice to serving in the uniform of either the police or army was little more than a pipe dream and the rejection of some 'B' men offended that section of the community from which recruitment to the USC was accustomed to come. Nevertheless ex-members of the USC founded both the UDR and the RUCR. Probably the most crucial period of disbandment was the time of handing in of arms and ammunition. The sensitivity of it was not lost upon the Government, who were so aware of the cliff hanging situation "Will they or won't they?," that the progress of the hand in was monitored by a twice daily. In previous paragraphs the trauma of the Staff Officer faced with the act of dissolving the USC has been referred to. Parallel to this were the feelings of Sergeant Instructors who in the final wrench of taking over the proud possession of every 'B' man, his rifle and ammunition had to stand the cataclysm of pent up feelings as the flood gates were broken down. In that moment of time the fate of Ulster hung upon the bond between two men, and they were not found wanting. This was their finest hour. The B Man's Friend To protect we never tarried Our father's and our own abode You the rifle that I carried I the B Man on the road. Freedom's fearless call then fetched you You were the answer to that call I knew it as I lay and watched you Hanging on my bedroom wall. I knew it and it made me bolder T'was you that made my burden light I with your sling across my shoulder So we journeyed through the night. Come you back the strife to settle Bring back the comfort you bestow Comrade of the wood and metal Rifle that I used to know. You are gone, yet what disaster Could come that we should fear to meet For you and I were always master. You and I were never beat. The UDR were subsequently disbanded two decades later and its members were merged with the Royal Irish Rangers into the Royal Irish Regiment, in a bid to attract more Roman Catholic recruits.
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