The views and opinions expressed in this post/documentaries are soley intended to educate and provide background information to those interested in the Troubles of Northern Ireland. They in no way reflect my own opinions and I take no responsibility for any inaccuracies or factual errors.
In the late 19th century Catholics began to migrate in large numbers to the prosperous Ulster Protestant city of Belfast in search of work.
By the time of the riots Catholics made up over one-third of the population of the city. This migration brought with it sectarian tensions as Catholics and Protestants competed for jobs. As the minority, Catholics found themselves discriminated against in this area and were kept at the lower end of the labour market.
At this time there was a real possibility that the British government would establish a devolved Irish parliament (see: Irish Home Rule Movement). Belfast Catholics believed that a devolved Irish government would be sympathetic to their situation and end the discrimination. Belfast Protestants believed this too and feared the end of their privileged position.
In April 1886 Prime Minister William Gladstone introduced a home rule bill. On 8 June the bill was defeated in the House of Commons.
Riots
The introduction of the bill led to renewed sectarian tensions in Belfast. On 3 June a Catholic navvy sneered to a Protestant co-worker that under an Irish government Protestants would never get hired, even in Belfast. This represented the very worst fears of Protestants towards Home Rule and the story quickly spread throughout Belfast.
This led to clashes between Protestant and Catholic labourers on the shipyards.
Preachers such as Hugh Hannaplayed a prominent role in encouraging rioters.
The riots intensified on 8 June, the day that the home rule bill was defeated in parliament. Celebrations were held throughout the city to celebrate the defeat. Some of those celebrating attacked Catholic homes and businesses.
The police found themselves unable to cope with the situation. Reinforcements were sent in from other parts of Ireland. Most of the reinforcements were Catholic. A rumour that the reinforcements were sent by Gladstone to punish Belfast Protestants for opposing Home Rule spread throughout the city.
It was encouraged by popular preachers such as Hugh Hanna. The rioters thus began to attack the police, and later soldiers.Running battles between security forces and rioters lasted until 14 June.
On 22 June the reinforcements were sent home by the city government, although some were kept as trouble was expected on 12 July, the date of annual Protestant celebrations
Trouble did indeed erupt on the 12th and, contrary to the expectations of the government, the police found themselves overwhelmed by the Protestant attackers. Reinforcements had to be sent into Belfast again and the threat of over 2,000 police officers and soldiers descending on the city caused the rioters to quit by the 14th.
On the last Saturday of July Hanna held his annual outing for the Protestant children of Belfast. This outing usually involved a trip out to the country with marching and drum along the way. Hanna agreed to comply with the city’s request that he forgo the drumming and marching due to the tense situation.
As the outing made its way through Belfast disappointed local Protestants joined in to march with their own drums and anti-Catholic banners. Marchers deliberately provoked the Catholics by marching into Catholic areas.
Taunting quickly gave way to heavy street fighting between Catholics, Protestants and police. Bloody clashes on a par with the riots in June lasted for a few days, but low-intensity rioting continued until September.
Officially thirty-one people were killed in the riots, although George Foy, who made surgical reports on the riots, reckoned that the real death toll might have been as high as fifty.
Hundreds were injured. Over four hundred arrests were made.
An estimated £90,000 worth of property damage was incurred, and local economic activity was significantly compromised.
My autobiography: A Belfast Child is now available to pre-order on Amazon , launch date is 30th April.
Victor Arbuckle (aged 29), a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), was shot dead by Loyalists during street disturbances on the Shankill Road in Belfast.
Two Protestant civilians were shot dead by the British Army during rioting.
They were:
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11 October 1969 Goerge Dickie, (25)
Protestant Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during street disturbances, at the corner of Shankill Road and Downing Street, Belfast
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11 October 1969 Herbert Hawe, (32)
Protestant Status: Civilian (Civ),
Killed by: British Army (BA)
Shot during street disturbances, Hopeton Street, Shankill, Belfast.
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First deaths in Trouble
The first deaths of the Troubles occurred in July 1969. Francis McCloskey, a 67-year-old Catholic civilian had been found unconscious on 13 July near the DungivenOrange Hall following a police baton charge against a crowd who had been throwing stones at the hall.
Witnesses later said they had seen police batoning a figure in the doorway where McCloskey was found, although police claimed that he had been unconscious before the baton charge and may have been hit with a stone. He was taken to hospital and died the following day.
On 11 October 1969, Constable Victor Arbuckle was shot dead by loyalists on Belfast’s Shankill Road during serious rioting in protest at the recommendations of the Hunt Report. Arbuckle was the first police fatality of the Troubles.
In August 1970, two young constables, Donaldson and Millar, died when an abandoned car they were examining near the strongly republican town of Crossmaglen exploded. They became the first security forces victims of the Provisional Irish Republican Army campaign.
This campaign involved the targeting of police officers, and continued until the final ceasefire in 1997, as the peace process gained momentum.
The last RUC officer killed, Constable Francis O’Reilly (a Catholic), was also killed by loyalists, in a September 1998 bombing during the Drumcree conflict.
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06 October 1998
Francis O’Reilly (30) Catholic
Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),
Killed by: Red Hand Defenders (RHD)
Died one month after being injured by blast bomb, thrown during street disturbances, Charles Street, Portadown, County Armagh.
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, its formal title became the Royal Ulster Constabulary, GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC).
At its peak the force had around 8,500 officers with a further 4,500 who were members of the RUC Reserve.
During the Troubles, 319 members of the RUC were killed and almost 9,000 injured in paramilitary assassinations or attacks, mostly by the Provisional IRA, which made the RUC, by 1983, the most dangerous police force in the world in which to serve.
In the same period, the RUC killed 55 people, 28 of whom were civilians.
The RUC has been accused by republicans and Irish nationalists of one-sided policing and discrimination, as well as collusion with loyalist paramilitaries. Conversely, it was praised as one of the most professional policing operations in the world by British security forces.
The allegations regarding collusion prompted several inquiries, the most recent of which was published by Police OmbudsmanNuala O’Loan. The report identified police, CID and Special Branch collusion with loyalist terrorists under 31 separate headings, in her report on the murder of Raymond McCord and other matters, but no member of the RUC has been charged or convicted of any criminal acts as a result of these inquiries. Ombudsman Dame Nuala O’Loan stated in her conclusions that there was no reason to believe the findings of the investigation were isolated incidents.
During 12–17 August 1969, intense political and sectarian rioting took place in Northern Ireland. There had been sporadic violence throughout the year arising from the civil rights campaign, which was demanding an end to discrimination against Irish Catholics. Civil rights marches were repeatedly attacked by both Ulster Protestantloyalists and by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), a unionist and largely Protestant police force.
The disorder led to the Battle of the Bogside in Londonderry, a three-day riot in the Bogside district between the RUC and the nationalist/Catholic residents. In support of the Bogsiders, nationalists and Catholics launched protests elsewhere in Northern Ireland. Some of these led to attacks by loyalists working alongside the police. The most bloody rioting was in Belfast, where seven people were killed and hundreds more wounded. Scores of houses, most of them owned by Catholics, as well as businesses and factories were burned out. In addition, thousands of mostly Catholic families were driven from their homes. In certain areas, the RUC helped the loyalists and failed to protect Catholic areas. Events in Belfast have been viewed by some as a pogrom against the Catholic and nationalist minority.[1][2]
The British Army was deployed to restore order and state control, and peace lines began to be built to separate the two sides. The events of August 1969 are widely seen as the beginning of the thirty-year conflict known as the Troubles.
This is simply the story of a boy trying to grow up, survive, thrive, have fun & discover himself against a backdrop of events that might best be described as ‘explosive’, captivating & shocking the world for thirty long years.
Key Events & Deaths on this day in Northern Ireland Troubles
29th January
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Thursday 29 January 1976
Two Catholic civilians were killed in separate attacks in Belfast by Loyalist paramilitaries.
Saturday 29 January 1977
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) explode seven bombs in a series of attacks in the West End of London.
Friday 29 January 1982
John McKeague, who had been a prominent Loyalist activist, was shot dead by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) in his shop, Albertbridge Road, Belfast.
See below for more details on John McKeague
Thursday 29 January 1987
The New Ulster Political Research Group (NUPRG), an organisation associated with the views of the Ulster Defense Association (UDA) and whose chairman was then John McMichael, published a document called Common Sense.
The document proposed a constitutional conference, a devolved assembly and a coalition government.
The ‘Belfast Telegraph’ newspaper published the results of an opinion poll of people in Northern Ireland. One result showed that 68 per cent of Protestants and 62 per cent of Catholics felt that the Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA) had made no difference to the political situation in Northern Ireland.
Saturday 29 January 1994
US Visa Given to Adams
Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America (USA), ordered that Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), should be given a ‘limited duration’ visa to enter the USA to address a peace conference. [The decision was supported by the National Security Council and Irish-American Senators but was taken against the advice of the State Department and the British government.]
An Irish Republican Army (IRA) incendiary device was defused in London.
Monday 29 January 1996
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) and the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), held their first meeting under the ‘twin-track’ negotiations.
Thursday 29 January 1998
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, announced a new inquiry into the events surrounding ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Derry on 30 January 1972. Relatives announced that they could now consider Lord Widgery’s report to be “dead.”
[The new inquiry was to be known as the Saville Inquiry.]
See Bloody Sunday
Monday 29 January 2001
Six members of one family escaped injury after a pipe-bomb was left in their refuse bin. The device was uncovered just after midnight at the rear of a house in a predominantly Nationalist estate in Greencastle. The attack was carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries.
A Catholic couple escaped injury when a pipe-bomb was thrown through the living room window of their home in Coleraine, County Derry, shortly before midnight.
Just over an hour earlier the home of a Catholic mother-of-two was targeted in the Harpurs Hill area of Coleraine.
The woman was in her kitchen when a pipe-bomb was thrown through the window. It landed on the floor but failed to explode. The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) said that both attacks were sectarian. The attacks were carried out by Loyalist paramilitaries.
Tuesday 29 January 2002
[There was a petrol-bomb attack on flats in Ormeau Road, south Belfast, at approximately 9.50pm (2150GMT). The device caused scorch damage to the building but there were no injuries. It was not clear if the attack was sectarian.]
A Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) delegation travelled to Downing Street, London, for a meeting with Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister. The meeting discussed the controversy over the investigation of the Omagh bombing and also reforms to the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland.
There were media reports that members of the security forces would soon lose the right not to have to give evidence at inquests. British Army soldiers and police officers are currently exempt from being compelled to attend inquests when they have been involved in fatal shootings. The change was expected to be introduced by the British government sometime in February 2002.
Solectron, an American company with a factory in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, announced that it was entering a 90-day consultation with its workforce over the future of the plant. It was reported that 200 jobs would be lost. The job losses are a direct result of the problems facing the telecommunications company Nortel – which have resulted in the loss of more than 1,000 jobs in Northern Ireland
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Remembering all innocent victims of the Troubles
Today is the anniversary of the death of the following people killed as a results of the conflict in Northern Ireland
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die
– Thomas Campbell
To the innocent on the list – Your memory will live forever
– To the Paramilitaries –
There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, but nothing worth killing for.
7 People lost their lives on the 29th January between 19723 – 1982
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29 January 1973
James Trainor (22)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ)
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY) Shot at his workplace, petrol filling station, Kennedy Way, Andersonstown, Belfast.
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29 January 1974
Matilda Withrington (79)
Protestant Status: Civilian (Civ)
Killed by: Royal Air Force (RAF) Shot while in her home during Irish Republican Army (IRA) sniper attack on Royal Air Force (RAF) bus, Shimna Parade, Newcastle, County Down.
RAF members returned fire.
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29 January 1974
William Baggley (43)
Protestant Status: Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
Killed by: Irish Republican Army (IRA) Shot while on Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) foot patrol, Dungiven Road, Derry.
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29 January 1975
Robert McCullough (17)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ)
Killed by: Ulster Defence Association (UDA) Shot at his workplace, United Paper Merchants, Downshire Place, off Great Victoria Street, Belfast.
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29 January 1976
Joseph McAlinden (44)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ)
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY) Shot at his home, Upper Cavehill Road, Belfast.
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29 January 1976
Martin Crossen (26)
Catholic Status: Civilian (Civ)
Killed by: non-specific Loyalist group (LOY) Shot during gun and bomb attack on Brady’s off licence shop, Antrim Road, Belfast.
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29 January 1982
John McKeague (51)
Protestant
Status: Civilian Political Activist (CivPA)
Killed by: Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) Former Loyalist activist. Shot at his shop, Albertbridge Road, Belfast.
This is simply the story of a boy trying to grow up, survive, thrive, have fun & discover himself against a backdrop of events that might best be described as ‘explosive’, captivating & shocking the world for thirty long years.
John Dunlop McKeague (1930 – 29 January 1982) was a prominent Ulster loyalist and one of the founding members of the paramilitary group the Red Hand Commando in 1970. Authors on the Troubles in Northern Ireland have accused McKeague of involvement in the Kincora Boys’ Home scandal but he was never convicted.
The views and opinions expressed in this post/documentaries are soley intended to educate and provide background information to those interested in the Troubles of Northern Ireland. They in no way reflect my own opinions and I take no responsibility for any inaccuracies or factual errors.
Before moving to Belfast he had already been questioned in relation to a sexual assault on two young boys. The charges were dropped after the intervention of some friends who held prominent positions in Northern Irish society.
McKeague split from Paisley in late 1969 under uncertain circumstances. Rumours that a young man with whom McKeague was living was his boyfriend had been rife but McKeague did not discuss the details. He stated only that he had been summoned to a meeting by Paisley where he was told he was an “embarrassment” and would have to leave the Free Presbyterian Church.
Whatever the circumstances, the two became bitter enemies, with McKeague frequently criticising Paisley in print.
Early loyalist involvement
McKeague’s relationship with William McGrath‘s Tara, a partially clandestine organisation that sought to drive Roman Catholicism out of all of Ireland and re-establish an earlier Celtic Christianity which it claimed had existed on the island centuries earlier, has been the subject of some disagreement.
According to Tim Pat Coogan McKeague was a founder-member of Tara of 1966 although he does not eleaborate on the details. Chris Moore, in his investigation into the Kincora scandal, insists that McKeague was never a member of Tara but that he and McGrath had met to discuss trading weapons between their two groups and that following these meetings McKeague had become a regular visitor to Kincora, where he was involved in several rapes of underage boys living at the home.
Although making no comment on his membership or otherwise of the group Jim Cusack and Henry McDonald insist that McKeague shared the far right conspiratorial views advanced by McGrath and UPV leader Noel Doherty.
Martin Dillon also makes no comment on McKeague and Tara but insists that he was one of a number of shadowy figures, along with McGrath, who played a leading role in the formation of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in 1966 and in helping to direct its strategy for the rest of the 1960s.
In late 1969 Thomas McDowell, a member of the Free Presbyterian Church who held dual membership of the UPV and UVF, was killed after a bungled attempt to blow up the power station at Ballyshannon led to him being electrocuted, suffering severe burns.
Investigations by the Garda Síochána, who found UVF insignia on McDowell’s coat, led them to question his associate Samuel Stevenson who named McKeague as a central figure in a series of UVF explosions that had been carried out at the time, many involving UPV members.
The case went north, where the previous explosions had taken place, and on 16 February 1970 the trial opened. McKeague, along with William Owens (McKeague’s 19-year-old flatmate), Derek Elwood, Trevor Gracey and Francis Mallon, were charged with causing an earlier explosion at Templepatrick.
The case collapsed after serious doubt was cast on the character of Stevenson, whose evidence was the main basis of the prosecution’s case
Shankill Defence Association
In 1968 McKeague became a regular figure amongst groups of locals who every night congregated in large groups in the Woodvale area close to Ardoyne after a series of incidents between loyalists and republicans during which flags from both sides had been forcibly removed.
Having split from the UPV due to its perceived inaction in May 1969, McKeague addressed a meeting of loyalists in Tennent Street Hall at which he called for organisation against Catholic rioters. From this meeting he founded the Shankill Defence Association(SDA), with the proclaimed intention to defend the Shankill Road from Catholic rioters.
He became a notorious figure locally, usually prominent in the rioting, carrying a stick and wearing a helmet.
The violence of the SDA was accompanied by equally violent rhetoric from McKeague as he boasted that the group possessed “hundreds of guns” and vowed that
“We will see the battle through to the end”.
His militant stance won him the public support of Ronald Bunting who, like McKeague had earlier been associated with Paisley but had since broken from him.
In November 1969, McKeague was cleared of a charge of conspiracy to cause explosions. He was however sentenced to three months imprisonment for unlawful assembly.
McKeague’s absence on remand for the initial charges saw his stock fall on the Shankill, where he was already mistrusted due to being from east Belfast and where his reputation had been further blackened by supporters of his former friend Ian Paisley.
Leaving the Shankill he attempted to set up a group similar to the SDA on the Donegall Roadbut was declared persona non grata by the head of an existing local Defence Committee, who was a loyal Paisleyite. This, combined with a rumour that McKeague was a “fruit“, saw him abandon all initiatives in the west and south of the city and concentrate on east Belfast.
The SDA continued in his absence until 1971 when it merged with other like-minded vigilante groups to form the Ulster Defence Association (UDA).
Much of the content of the magazine was of a low-brow nature, containing jokes and cartoons in which Catholics were portrayed as lazy, dirty, stupid and alcoholic or, in the case of women, highly promiscuous.
In 1971 he was tried for incitement to hatred after publishing the controversial Loyalist Song Book. The first man to be tried under the Incitement to Hatred Act, McKeague’s book included the line
“you’ve never seen a better Taig than with a bullet in his head”.
After the jury disagreed at his trial a retrial was ordered at which he and a co-defendant were acquitted. Martin Dillon argues that it was around this time that RUC Special Branch first recruited him as an agent, allegedly using information they had obtained about his paedophile activities to force him to agree. He was handed over to the Intelligence Corps by Special Branch the following year.
Loyalist paramilitarism
John McKeague and mother
His mother, Isabella McKeague, was burned alive on 9 May 1971 when the UDA petrol-bombed the family shop in Albertbridge Road, Belfast. Reporting on her death in Loyalist News, John McKeague claimed she had been….
“murdered by the enemies of Ulster”,
….a common term for republicans.
In fact, the UDA had tired of McKeague both for his loose cannon attitude in launching attacks and starting riots without consulting their leadership and due to his promiscuous homosexuality with teenage partners. According to Ed Moloney a dispute over money had also been central to the schism between McKeague and the UDA.
McKeague broke fully from the UDA and established the Red Hand Commando in the middle of 1972, recruiting a number of young men primarily in east Belfast and North Down.
McKeague had already been involved in organising the “Tartan gangs“, groups of loyalist youths who were involved in rioting and general disorder, and used these as the basis of his new group.
Following various attacks by his paramilitary organisation, in February 1973 he became one of the first loyalist internees and was later imprisoned for three years on an armed robbery charge (a conviction he disputed). He started two hunger strikes in protest against the Special Powers Act and prison conditions while in jail.
In his absence he lost control of the Red Hand Commando, which became an integral part of the UVF. UVF leader Gusty Spence however contended that he had secured McKeague’s agreement that the running of the Red Hand Commando should be taken over by the UVF not long after McKeague established the movement.
According to British military intelligence and police files McKeague was believed to have been behind the sadistic murder of a ten-year-old boy, Brian McDermott, in South Belfast in September 1973.
The killing, which involved dismemberment and the burning of the body in the Ormeau Park, was so gruesome that the local press speculated that it might have been carried out as part of a Satanic ritual. On 3 October 1975, Alice McGuinness, a Catholic civilian, was injured in an IRA bomb attack on McKeague’s hardware shop on the Albertbridge Road. She died three days later. McKeague’s sister was severely injured in the same bombing.
Ulster Nationalism
McKeague became a leading figure in the Ulster Loyalist Central Coordinating Committee (ULCCC), and in 1976 publicly endorsed Ulster nationalism in his capacity as an ULCCC spokesman. The aim of the group, which McKeague chaired, was to co-ordinate loyalist paramilitaries with the aim of founding a unified “Ulster army” although this premise did not prevent a loyalist feud between the UDA and UVF continuing following its foundation.
With John McClure, McKeague contacted Irish republicansRuairí Ó Brádaigh and Joe Cahill to initiate talks in an attempt to find a common platform for an independent Northern Ireland. This collapsed after Conor Cruise O’Brien discovered and revealed the activity.
McKeague met with Gerry Adams briefly to discuss the independence option but the meetings were unproductive and reportedly convinced Adams that such clandestine discussions with loyalist paramilitaries were a waste of time. The contact between McKeague and his allies and the republicans, which was not endorsed by the wider ULCCC, saw the group fall apart as both the UDA and Down Orange Welfare resigned from the co-ordinating body when it came to light.
McKeague was subsequently a leading figure in the Ulster Independence Association, a group active from 1979 in support of an independent Northern Ireland. McKeague served as deputy to George Allport’s leadership of the group.
Death
In January 1982 McKeague was interviewed by detectives investigating Kincora about his involvement in the sexual abuse. Fearful of returning to prison, McKeague told friends that he was prepared to name others involved in the paedophile ring to avoid a sentence.
However on 29 January 1982, McKeague was shot dead in his shop on the Albertbridge Road, East Belfast, reportedly by the INLA.
It has been argued that following McKeague’s threats to go public about all of those involved in Kincora his killing had been ordered by the Intelligence Corps, as many of those who could have named were also agents (often more effective than McKeague, who by that time was highly peripheral in paramilitary circles). To support this suggestion it has been stated by Jack Holland and Henry McDonald that of the two gunmen who shot McKeague one was a known Special Branch agent and the other was rumoured to have military intelligence links.
The image depicts two human skeletons, seemingly in an embrace, which earned the photograph its title Hasanlu Lovers or The 2800 Years Old Kiss. There is clear evidence that the skeleton on the right was a male. The sex of the skeleton on the left is being disputed as it has both masculine and feminine characteristics, having a pubic area which masculine in form, but a wider sciatic notch than is typical in males.
In the twentieth century, Robert Dyson and M. A. Dandamaev determined it as female.. Penn Museum, the holding museum, believe on balance the skeleton is likely male. Recent genetic analysis undertaken by David Reich at Harvard indicates the skeleton was genetically male.
The pair of skeletons was found in a bin-like structure with no other objects except a stone slab under the head of one skeleton.
They died together around 800 B.C., during the destruction of the Teppe Hasanlu citadel.The site was burned after a military attack. People from both fighting sides were killed in the fire, which apparently spread quite unexpectedly and quickly through the town. The skeletons were found in a plaster grain bin, probably hiding from soldiers, and they almost certainly asphyxiated quickly. The “head wound” is actually from modern-day excavators.
The original source of this image is the Penn Museum and officially named “The Lovers”.
Its description in the museum label reads:
“The Lovers” from 1972 season at Hasanlu. Hasanlu is an archaeological excavation site in Iran, Western Azerbaijan, Solduz Valley. Theses skeletons were found in a bin with no objects. The only feature is a stone slab under the head of the skeleton on the left hand side (SK335).
Isotopic signatures indicate that the diets of the residents of Hasanlu were varied indicating a diet comprising Wheat and Barley, Sheep and Goat, and that the residents of Hasanlu were largely born and raised in the area.
It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years after the battle. It tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans.
According to Sylvette Lemagnen, conservator of the tapestry, in her 2005 book La Tapisserie de Bayeux:
The Bayeux tapestry is one of the supreme achievements of the Norman Romanesque …. Its survival almost intact over nine centuries is little short of miraculous … Its exceptional length, the harmony and freshness of its colours, its exquisite workmanship, and the genius of its guiding spirit combine to make it endlessly fascinating.
The tapestry consists of some fifty scenes with Latin tituli, embroidered on linen with coloured woollen yarns. It is likely that it was commissioned by Bishop Odo, William’s half-brother, and made in England—not Bayeux—in the 1070s.
In 1729 the hanging was rediscovered by scholars at a time when it was being displayed annually in Bayeux Cathedral. The tapestry is now exhibited at the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux in Bayeux, Normandy,
The designs on the Bayeux Tapestry are embroidered rather than woven, so that it is not technically a tapestry.
Nevertheless, it has always been referred to as a tapestry until recent years, when the name “Bayeux Embroidery” has gained ground among certain art historians. The tapestry can be seen as a perfect example of secular Norman art. Tapestries adorned both churches and wealthy houses in Medieval western Europe, though at 0.5 by 68.38 metres (1.6 by 224.3 ft, and apparently incomplete) the Bayeux Tapestry is exceptionally large. Only the figures and decoration are embroidered, on a background left plain, which shows the subject very clearly and was necessary to cover large areas.
George Johnson (known within the family as Leonard) was the sixth and last child born to Mary Ellen (née Henfrey) and Charles Johnson. He was born in the village of Hameringham in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.
His mother died when he was three, leaving his father, a farm foreman, to bring up the family in somewhat poor conditions. The family lived in a tied cottage, his oldest sister Lena largely being responsible for his early upbringing.
He was active in sport, playing football, cricket and participating in athletics, winning several events. He passed his School Certificate, leaving school in December 1939.
Volunteering to join the Royal Air Force in 1940 as a navigator, he was instead selected for pilot training. However due to the difficulties in processing the vast numbers of recruits at the time he was posted to various establishments around England and it was not until June 1941 that he was finally sent to Florida to begin his pilot training.
As is common practice within the British armed forces Johnson’s surname led to him being nicknamed “Johnny”.
Motto: “Achieve your aim.” Badge: An ogress pierced by an arrow, point downwards. The badge is indicative of accurate aim. Authority: King George VI, January 1937.
Johnson did not make the required grade during his pilot training and as a consequence he opted to become an air gunner. In July 1942, Johnson was posted to No. 97 Squadron RAF at RAF Woodhall Spa where he was initially designated as a spare (reserve) gunner.
This however gave him the opportunity to fly with numerous crews in the squadron, his first operational sortie being a raid on Gdynia in Poland on 27 August 1942, forming part of the crew under the command of Squadron Leader Elmer Cotton. En-route to the target the aircraft suffered an engine failure forcing the pilot to abort the mission and return to Woodhall Spa.
The following night the crew were part of a successful raid on Nuremberg.
Johnson continued on squadron operations as an air gunner until the opportunity came along for him to train as a specialist bomb aimer. Undergoing a course at RAF Fulbeck in November 1942, he returned to No. 97 Squadron filling the vacancy for a bomb aimer with the crew of Joe McCarthy.
Initially Johnson showed reticence in operating with an American skipper, however having met with McCarthy he changed his mind.
Johnson’s first sortie as part of McCarthy’s crew was as part of a raid on Munich on 21 December 1942, conducted in bad weather. Attacked by night fighters on their way to and returning from the target, the Avro Lancaster lost all power on one engine and developed problems in another, forcing McCarthy to land at RAF Bottesford.
Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster B
Together with this crew Johnson conducted a further 18 missions with No. 97 Squadron, bringing him to the end of a full operational tour, followed by a leave, after which he spent six months working in a non-combat training role.
Operation Chastise
617 Squadron badge
Selected to be part of the specialist No. 617 Squadron RAF, Johnson arrived at RAF Scampton on 27 March 1943. It was at this time that he was due to marry; however, due to the requirements of the training for the upcoming raid all leave had been cancelled. Johnson appealed to his new Commanding Officer, Wing CommanderGuy Gibson, who eventually relented giving Johnson four days leave.
Guy Gibson, VC in 1944
McCarthy’s crew in Lancaster AJ-T (T-Tommy) were detailed to attack the Sorpe Dam, the structure of which differed considerably from the other main targets insofar as it being an earthen dam as opposed to the gravity construction of the Möhne and Eder dams, thus necessitating a completely different type of attack.
Like the rest of No. 617 Squadron, Johnson had practised dropping his bomb as the aircraft flew straight towards the target at low level. However on the afternoon prior to the raid when the five crews detailed to attack the Sorpe Dam received their briefing, they were told that they had to fly along the dam wall and drop their mine at its centre.
It would roll down the wall and explode when it reached the correct depth. The specialist bomb sight developed for the raid would also be of no use.
Due to various losses and technical issues en-route to the target, AJ-T was the first Lancaster to reach the Sorpe, and McCarthy soon realised how difficult the attack would be. Although there were no flak batteries, the attack would require the aircraft to be flown low across the nearby town of Langscheid, with its prominent church steeple, followed by the aircraft having to drop even lower so the bomb could be released. It was not until the tenth attempt that the crew were satisfied, with Johnson finally releasing the bomb.
For his part in the raid Johnson received the Distinguished Flying Medal. Along with other members of the squadron he received his medal in an investiture at Buckingham Palace.
Subsequent operations
Following the Dams Raid, Johnson was commissioned in November 1943. As an integral part of McCarthy’s crew Johnson participated in a further 19 missions during his time with No. 617 Squadron until April 1944. By this time his wife was pregnant resulting in McCarthy insisting Johnson stand down. Reluctantly this request was accepted,
Johnson was “screened” (classed as “tour expired” or, in effect, due for a rest from operational flying). He was subsequently posted to a Heavy Conversion Unit back at RAF Scampton where he became a bombing instructor until the end of hostilities.
Johnson was promoted to flight lieutenant on 7 September 1948. He continued in the RAF until 1962, retiring with the rank of squadron leader.
Post RAF
Following his career in the RAF Johnson became a teacher. He initially taught in primary schools subsequently becoming involved in adult education before he undertook a period in teaching psychiatric patients at Rampton Hospital.
On his retirement Johnson and his wife moved to Torquay where they both became active in local politics. A member of the Conservative Party, Johnson became a local councillor and went on to become the Chairman of the Constituency Party
Personal life
Johnson married Gwyneth Morgan in April 1943, having met her during a posting to Torquay in 1941. Together they had three children, the marriage lasting until Gwyneth’s death in August 2005.
For a short time following his wife’s death he decided to withdraw from public life. However, alongside Les Munro, he was at the forefront of the 70th anniversary commemorations of the Dams Raids in May 2013.
George ‘Johnny’ Johnson (left) with fellow Dambusters survivor John ‘Les’ Munro.
He now lives in Westbury on Trym, Bristol, and continues to give interviews on the various aspects of his active service and particularly concerning Operation Chastise. In 2015 he was awarded the Lord Mayor of Bristol‘s Medal.
Johnson’s autobiography, George “Johnny” Johnson, The Last British Dambuster was published in 2014.
The award followed shortly after an unsuccessful petition for Johnson to be knighted was initiated by Carol Vorderman, which garnered over 200,000 signatures within a few weeks.
The 237,000 signature petition was handed in to 10 Downing Street on 26 January 2017 by Vorderman and former RAF officer John Nichol.
The Bang Bang Club was a group of four conflict photographers active within the townships of South Africa between 1990 and 1994, during the transition from the apartheid system to democracy.
This period saw much black on black factional violence, particularly fighting between ANC and IFP supporters, after the lifting of the bans on both political parties. But groups like the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging were also involved in violence.
The name “The Bang Bang Club” was born out of an article published in the South African magazine Living. Originally named The Bang Bang Paparazzi, it was changed to “Club” because the members felt the word paparazzi misrepresented their work.
The name comes from the culture itself; township residents spoke to the photographers about the “bang-bang” in reference to violence occurring within their communities, but more literally, “bang-bang” refers to the sound of gunfire and is a colloquialism used by conflict photographers.
On 18 April 1994, during a firefight between the National Peacekeeping Force and African National Congress supporters in the Thokoza township, friendly fire killed Oosterbroek and seriously injured Marinovich. An inquest into Oosterbroek’s death began in 1995.
The magistrate ruled that no party should be blamed for the death. In 1999, peacekeeper Brian Mkhize told Marinovich and Silva that he believed that the bullet that killed Oosterbroek had come from the National Peacekeeping Force.
In July 1994, Carter committed suicide.
On 23 October 2010, Silva stepped on a land mine while on patrol with U.S. soldiers in Kandahar, Afghanistan and lost both legs below the knee.
Ken Oosterbroek: World Press Photo 1993, 2nd prize stories, General News; Ilford Press Photographer of the Year in 1989 and 1994; nominated the South African Press Photographer of The Year three times.
Ken Oosterbroek, one of South Africa’s top news photographers, is held by fellow photographer Gary Bernard of the Johannesburg Star after his was killed by police gunfire in the Kathelong black township of Johannesburg 18 April 1994.
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João Silva won the South African Press Photographer of the Year Award in 1992; World Press Photo 2007, Honorable mention stories, Spot News.
Photojournalist João Silva lost his legs to a land mine in Afghanistan
A documentary entitled When Under Fire: Shoot Back! premiered at the Denver Film Festival in November 2014.
In popular culture
The Bang-Bang Club are referenced in the 1996 Manic Street Preachers song “Kevin Carter” that features the lyric “Bang-Bang Club, AK-47 Hour.” The album “Poets and Madmen” by Savatage is inspired by the life of Kevin Carter.
Reception
The work by the members of the Bang-Bang Club between 1990 and 1994 was well known in South Africa. The fight against apartheid on the way to democracy was becoming a bloodbath at this time and Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa wrote in the foreword of the book The Bang-bang Club: Snapshots From A Hidden War, 2000. The story of this fight needed to be told to the world, Tutu wrote:
We were greatly blessed to have some of the most gifted journalists and brilliant photographers. They helped to tell the story. They captured some riveting moments on film, such as a gruesome necklacing (Kevin Carter), and the barbaric turning on a helpless victim by a baying crowd from one or other side of the conflict (Greg Marinovich”
Tutu remarked that the work by the Bang-Bang club was affecting the life of the photographers too:
“And we know a little about the cost of being traumatized that drove some to suicide, that, yes, these people were human beings operating under the most demanding of conditions.”
The Bang-Bang Club in the words by Greg and João
Le Bang-Bang Club est un mythe, glisse João. Il n’a jamais existé. Ce ‘’était que quatre potes qui voulaient témoigner d’un moment de lHistoire… – “The Bang-Bang Club is a myth,” says João. It never existed. It was only four friends who wanted to witness a moment of history. …
Silva told Michel Peyrard this in an interview for Paris Match in 2013. Marinovitch and Silva expressed the same thing in other words in her book.
Greg Marinovich, the writer in the team of the book The Bang-bang Club: Snapshots From A Hidden War, wrote in the preface
“The name gives a mental image of a group of hard-living men who worked, played and hung out together pretty much all of the time.”
Let us set the record straight: there never was such a creature, there never was a club, and there never were just the four of us in some kind of silver halide cult – dozens of journalists covered the violence during the period from Nelson Mandela’s release from jail to the first fully democratic election
Greg Marinovich explained about the key members of the Bang-Bang Club and what bound these four men together:
We discovered that one of the strongest links among us was questions about the morality of what we do: when do you press the shutter release and when do you cease being a photographer?
See below for other Iconic Pictures & pictures that changed the world.
a. A supporter of union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland
b. A person who remains loyal to the established ruler or government, especially in the face of a revolt.
Growing up in and around the Shankill during the worst years of the Troubles it is hardly surprising to learn that I hated Republicans and all they stood for. But that doesn’t mean I hated Catholic’s or Irish people and would wish any harm on them – I don’t and I didn’t.
It means I have a different point of view and democracy is all about freedom of choice and my choice is to maintain the Union with the UK and embrace and celebrate my loyalist culture and traditions. It also means I have the right to take pride in the union with the rest of the UK and I wear my nationality like a badge of honor for all the world to see.
The other woman in my life
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I’m helping ( just a little ) an American student write a thesis on Conflict and Compromise for an annual competition , National History Day and he has chosen to write about the Troubles and the Northern Ireland Conflict and asked me for some input.
Which I’m happy to do so – but as a Proud protestant from the Shankill Road I’m always a little suspicious when people , especially Americans & Irish folk ask me about the Troubles & what my views on the the various paramilitary groups are.
Often they seem to think that I am guilty via association and make gross generalizations about my people and local community and I have also experienced much prejudice both in mainland UK and abroad directed at my culture and protestant heritage. Ignorance reigns supreme and I have been astounded by the sheer stupidity & lack of understanding most folk have regarding the complex events that lead to 30 years of sectarian madness on the streets of Belfast & throughout Northern Ireland and the slaughter of 1000’s of innocent people from both communities.
I have learnt from personal experience that many ” Irish Americans ” and other deluded folk have a romantic view of Republican terrorists and to put it frankly this really pisses me off. However I’ll save that rant for another post.
Once when I was in New York visiting an American friend I was invited to a family gathering and a group of about thirty of us went out for a meal. It was a pleasant enough evening until the talk turned to Northern Ireland and the “war” against British oppression being waged by the “boys” in other words the IRA.
Now a few of the folk were second & third generation American Irish and boy did they get a bee in their bonnets and I was left in no doubt were their loyalties lay.
Then to my utter amazement some fool called Sean starting saying it was all the fault of the PRODS (protestants )and they were solely responsible for the “war” and should all fuck of back to Scotland & mainland England and leave Ireland to the Irish. I was fecking furious and had a face of thunder.
Apart from my friend none of those gathered knew I was protestant and I could see my friend dying a death at the other end of the table , obviously mortified. I excused myself and went to the toilet , stopping at the bar for a quick drink to calm myself down. When I got back to the table….total silence and I assumed my friend had informed them of my protestant background.
The rest of the evening was awkward to say the lest and I ignored the sectarian bigot and other fools who had insulted my culture.
At the end of the evening the biggest fool Sean came up and tried to apologize and offered me his hand in friendship. I leaned over and informed him I thought he was a fecking dickhead and he should be ashamed of himself.He looked a bit startled and made his way out of the restaurant and I’m glad to say it was the last and thankfully only time I came across this bigoted bastard.
Questions about growing up in Loyalist west Belfast
Here are the questions I have been asked to address and please feel free to supply some feedback or your own views in the space at the bottom of the page.
How did the IRA affect your life in Northern Ireland?
How did the UDA (and other Protestant organizations) affect your life in Northern Ireland?
What religion were you raised under?
Did you receive discrimination due to your religion?
Did you and your family feel that you had a better Quality of Life than Catholic families?
Were you ever a victim of violence by the IRA?
Do you believe that the Northern Ireland Conflict was either side’s (Unionists or Nationalists) fault?
Do you believe that there is still a divide between Unionists or Nationalists in Northern Ireland today?
After reports and evidence came out, do you have a position on Bloody Sunday?
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The award followed shortly after an unsuccessful petition for Johnson to be knighted was initiated by 
