Bistir na Seanchille. [82] The IICD confirmed that "substantial quantities of firearms, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices" had been decommissioned and that for the UVF and RHC, decommissioning had been completed. After several years away from the spotlight, Spence was again asked to read the statement, a role which senior loyalists said was indicative of his significance within Northern Ireland loyalism. "[154], According to Alan McQuillan, the assistant director of the Assets Recovery Agency in 2005, "In the loyalist community, drug dealing is run by the paramilitaries and it is generally run for personal gain by a large number of people." The group concluded a general acceptance of the need to decommission, though there was no conclusive proof of moves towards this end. Mharaigh na Bistir thart ar 23 Caitliceach agus 8 Protastnach, dream dlseoir sceapatacha a d'fhuadaigh, a chiapaigh agus . Accueil / Non class / gusty spence funeral; 15 Sep 0. gusty spence funeral . The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. More militant members of the UVF who disagreed with the ceasefire, broke away to form the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), led by Billy Wright. The arms are thought to have consisted of: The UVF used this new infusion of arms to escalate their campaign of sectarian assassinations. The new Brigade Staff's aim was to carry out attacks against known republicans rather than Catholic civilians. [41] On 17 May, two UVF units from the Belfast and Mid-Ulster brigades detonated four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan. This collection contains Gusty Spence's personal and business correspondence from 1959-1998, the bulk of which was written during . [125] Members were disciplined after they carried out an unsanctioned theft of 8 million of paintings from an estate in Co Wicklow in April 1974. When Spence was 'abducted' in July 1972 it was the RHC who were at the forefront of this operation. The no-warning car bombings had been carried out by units from the Belfast and Mid-Ulster brigades. The feud with the UDA ended in December following seven deaths. [42], Spence was increasingly disillusioned with the UVF and he imparted these views to fellow inmates at Long Kesh. [29], Spence was granted two days leave around in early July 1972 to attend the wedding of his daughter Elizabeth to Winston Churchill "Winkie" Rea. [118] In the late summer and autumn of 1973, the UVF detonated more bombs than the UDA and IRA combined,[119] and by the time of the group's temporary ceasefire in late November it had been responsible for over 200 explosions that year. [83], The UVF was blamed for the shotgun killing of expelled RHC member Bobby Moffett on the Shankill Road on the afternoon of 28 May 2010, in front of passers-by including children. The newspaper also reported that the group refused to decommission its weapons. Fire also engulfed the house next door, killing the elderly Protestant widow, Matilda Gould (77), who lived there. He read the loyalist ceasefire statement in 1994 and was asked to read the UVF weapons decommissioning statement, at the age of 74, in 2007. The family of the former UVF leader Gusty Spence is planning a funeral with the emphasis on his British army past rather than his time in the paramilitary group. [54] This was endorsed by Gusty Spence, who issued a statement asking all UVF volunteers to support the new regime. Augustus Andrew Spence (28 June 1933 [2] - 25 September 2011) was a leader of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and a leading loyalist politician in Northern Ireland. [155], Billy Wright, the commander of the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade, is believed to have started dealing drugs in 1991[156] as a lucrative sideline to paramilitary murder. Find the perfect gusty spence funeral stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP. . [126] Later, in September 1972, Gusty Spence said in an interview that the organisation had a strength of 1,500. Bates was born into an Ulster Protestant family and grew up in the Shankill Road area of Belfast.He had a criminal record dating back to 1966, and later became a member of the Ulster loyalist paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Gusty Spence was a significant figure in loyalist Belfast for most of . The party's former leader Dawn Purvis told his funeral in the loyalist heartland of Belfasts Shankill Road that Mr Spence became involved in violence in the 1960s. Eleven years ago he was forced out of his home on the Shankill Road by Johnny Adair's gang during one of the many loyalist paramilitary feuds. The coffin, covered with the flag of the Ulster Rifles and his beret, of former UVF leader Gusty Spence passes a UVF mural along the Shankill Road in Belfast after his funeral at St Michael's Church. LocationLa Habra, CA 90631 EmailGet a free estimate Call(562) 579-5980. [53] Spence, a talented footballer in his youth with Old Lodge F.C., was a lifelong supporter of Linfield F.C. Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, Prince Andrew offered Frogmore Cottage - reports, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Beer and wine sales in Canada fall to all-time low, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US. Recently it has emerged from the Police Ombudsman that senior North Belfast UVF member and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Special Branch informant Mark Haddock has been involved in drug dealing. "Overstating and Misjudging the Prospects of Civil War: The Ulster Volunteer Force and the Irish Volunteers in the Home Rule Crisis, 19121914." [121][122] The UVF did not return to regular bombings until the early 1990s when it obtained a quantity of the mining explosive Powergel. It was responsible for more than 500 deaths. Spence is regarded as the first terrorist godfather in Northern Ireland but also the man who took the first steps towards ending UVF violence. [46] Some of the new Brigade Staff members bore nicknames such as "Big Dog" and "Smudger". After several years away from the spotlight, Spence was again asked to read the statement, a role which senior loyalists said was indicative of his significance within Northern Ireland loyalism. [115] They always signed their statements with the fictitious name "Captain William Johnston". [15], Spence claimed that he was approached in 1965 by two men, one of whom was an Ulster Unionist Party MP, who told him that the Ulster Volunteer Force was to be re-established and that he was to have responsibility for the Shankill. 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Mr Spence was convicted for the murder of one of the victims, 18-year-old Peter Ward, who was shot dead after being identified as a Catholic while he drank in a mainly Protestant pub. The first Independent Monitoring Commission report in April 2004 described the UVF/RHC as "relatively small" with "a few hundred" active members "based mainly in the Belfast and immediately adjacent areas". A number. He was jailed for life for the murder of a Catholic barman in 1966 and served 18 years in prison. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. [25], On 27 May, Spence sent four UVF members to kill IRA volunteer Leo Martin, who lived in Belfast. [145], Scotland was a source of funding and aid, supplying explosives and guns. She said: "Some people have said that in his later life, he changed to become committed to peace. Its name was taken from . The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Berenice also assists in shipping across the state, country or around the world. Progress is being made, inch by inch. [42] Both the UVF and the British Government have denied the claims. He was sworn in soon afterwards in a ceremony held in secret near Pomeroy, County Tyrone. After his release December 1984, Spence was a key figure in developing UVF thinking and indirectly its political wing, the Progressive Unionist Party. [24] The murder of Ward was, however, repudiated by Paisley and condemned in his Protestant Telegraph, sealing the split between the two. After the Troubles began, an Orange-Canadian loyalist organization known as the Canadian Ulster Loyalist Association (CULA) sprang to life to provide the 'besieged' Protestants with the resources to arm themselves. [20], Since 1964 and the formation of the Campaign for Social Justice, there had been a growing civil rights campaign in Northern Ireland, seeking to highlight discrimination against Catholics by the unionist government of Northern Ireland. [60], In the 1980s, the UVF was greatly reduced by a series of police informers. Augustus 'Gusty' Spence (born 28th June 1933) is a former leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force, Loyalist politician and soldier in the British Army. RT is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Malcolm Sutton's Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland, part of the Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN), states that the UVF and RHC was responsible for at least 485 killings during the Troubles, and lists a further 256 loyalist killings that have not yet been attributed to a particular group. The Reverend Martin Smyth was influential in Spence' being thrown out the Orange Order. Sun 25 Sep 2011 13.46 EDT. [64] Republicans responded to the attacks by assassinating senior UVF members John Bingham, William "Frenchie" Marchant and Trevor King[65] as well as Leslie Dallas, whose purported UVF membership was disputed both by his family and the UVF. In October 1975, after staging a counter-coup, the Brigade Staff acquired a new leadership of moderates with Tommy West serving as the Chief of Staff. Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said many nationalists would remember Spence as someone "who was central to the sectarianism that gave birth to the modern loyalist paramilitary". In Belfast, loyalists responded by attacking nationalist districts. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Anderson, Malcolm & Bort, Eberhard (1999). "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths crosstabulations", "UVF disbands unit linked to taxi murder", Law and order Belfast-style as two men are forced on a 'walk of shame', 'Report of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning', Twenty-Fourth Report of the Independent Monitoring Commission, "David Madine admits trying to kill loyalist Harry Stockman", "Police say UVF gunman seen in Rathcoole during trouble". During the service, mourners were told there is a campaign to have overturned the conviction for which Gusty Spence served a jail sentence, the killing of 18-year-old Belfast Catholic Peter Ward in 1966. Gusty Spence announced the loyalist paramilitary ceasefires in 1994, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. A man who worked tirelessly for peace. An article published by the newspaper fingered Wright as a drug lord and sectarian murderer. A controlled explosion was carried out and the bomb was later declared a hoax. Adair's men forced their way into Spence's Shankill home but found it empty, as Spence tended to spend much of the summer at a caravan he owned in Groomsport. [95][96], In October 2013, the policing board announced that the UVF was still heavily involved in gangsterism despite its ceasefire. House of Commons: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Cusack & McDonald, p.3435, 105, 199, 205, The Lost Lives, David McKittrick, Page 1475, Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 06:47, Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions, protests throughout Northern Ireland, some of which became violent, Provisional IRA campaign 1969-1997 Loyalists and the IRA killing and reprisals, Republic of Ireland national football team, Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, "Report drawn up on behalf of the Political Affairs Committee on the situation in Northern Ireland", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfGe4WO8yok, "Sutton Index of Deaths: Organisation responsible for the death", "Sutton Index of Deaths: Crosstabulations", "Inside the UVF: Money, murders and mayhem - the loyalist gang's secrets unveiled", "UVF mural on Shankill Road being investigated by police", "UVF 'behind racist attacks in south and east Belfast'", Chronology of Key Events in Irish History, 1800 to 1967, "Irish tighten security after Dublin bombing", "Call for probe of British link to 1974 bombs", "Collusion in the South Armagh / Mid Ulster Area in the mid-1970's". It used submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, grenades (including homemade grenades), incendiary bombs, booby trap bombs and car bombs. Openly paraded with the UVF and thanked Gusty Spence repeatedly for his services to Ulster. Eight people were shot dead and hundreds were injured. Cludach leabhair do "The Shankill Butchers" le Martin Dillon. [5] The family home was 66 Joseph Street in an area of the lower Shankill known colloquially as "the Hammer". [85][86], On 2526 October 2010, the UVF was involved in rioting and disturbances in the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey with UVF gunmen seen on the streets at the time. we solemnly warn the authorities to make no more speeches of appeasement. [21] Two days later, the Government of Northern Ireland declared the UVF illegal. Drong de dhnmharfir srathacha ab ea Bistir na Seanchille a bh gnomhach i m Bal Feirste sna 1970id. Grob-Fitzgibbon, Benjamin. [106][107] This uniform, based on those of the original UVF, was introduced in the early 1970s. Leading public figures were among the mourners, including former senior civil servant Maurice Hayes, former head of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Monica McWilliams, and trade unionist Peter Bunting. [9] According to the book Lost Lives (2006 edition), it was responsible for 569 killings. "FIFTH REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT MONITORING COMMISSION", Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs - Part One: The continuing threat from paramilitary organisations, "Inside story: Why the IRA never attacked Scotland", "Revealed: how Scots loyalists sent gelignite to paramilitaries. The vast majority (more than two-thirds)[9][10] of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often killed at random. [45], In 1974, hardliners staged a coup and took over the Brigade Staff. In keeping with his wishes, there will be no UVF trappings and his coffin will be draped in the regimental flag of the Royal Ulster Rifles in which he served. F". [2], In August 2000, Spence was caught up in moves by Johnny Adair's "C" Company of the UDA to take control of the Shankill by forcing out the UVF and other opponents. The UVF carried out dozens of sectarian murderers and it was while he was serving a sentence in Long Kesh prison for his role in the murder of a Catholic that Mr Spence began to change his views about the use of violence. "He was an Irishman and looked upon himself as an Ulster Irishman as well as being British. [151] A Canadian branch of the UDA also existed and sent $30,000 to the UDA's headquarters in Belfast by 1975. Slowly. A piper leads a procession for Huntington Beach Police Officer Nicholas Vella in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. In keeping with his wishes, there were no paramilitary trappings and his coffin was draped with the regimental flag of the Royal Ulster Rifles, in which he served. In October, UVF and UPV member Thomas McDowell was killed by the bomb he was planting at Ballyshannon power station. [151] On 10 February 1976, following the sudden uptick of violence against Catholic civilians by loyalist militants, Irish cardinal William Conway and nine other Catholic bishops met with British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and his cabinet, asking them as to where the loyalist militants had acquired guns, to which Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees replied "Canada". VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Sake brewers toast big rise in global sales, The Indian-American CEO who wants to be US president, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. In 1972, five Toronto businessmen shipped weapons in grain container ships out of Halifax, bound for ports in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland which were destined for loyalist militants. The Shankill loyalists supported Kilfedder and following his election as MP sent a letter to Paisley accusing him of treachery during the entire affair. [citation needed] The arms were divided between the UVF, the UDA (the largest loyalist group) and Ulster Resistance.[61]. Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the former loyalist leader Gusty Spence. [18] Two days later, the government of Northern Ireland used the Special Powers Act to declare the UVF illegal. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Edward's son Ronnie was active in the Official IRA and then the INLA, serving a sentence on the INLA wing of the Maze prison while his uncle was on the UVF wing. It issued a statement vowing to "remove republican elements from loyalist areas" and stop them "reaping financial benefit therefrom". In her address to the church congregation, Ms Purvis recalled how Mr Spence had been frank about his UVF role, but that he had often shocked loyalist contemporaries by his willingness to bring an end to conflict and build bridges between working class Protestants and Catholics. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. [13][14][15][16][17] The other main loyalist paramilitary group during the conflict was the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), which had a much larger membership. [40] However, Spence's ideas were abandoned as the UVF ceasefire fell apart that same year following the Ulster Workers' Council strike and the Dublin and Monaghan bombings; the carnage of the latter had shocked and horrified Spence. He would go on to hold private talks with the then Taoiseach Albert Reynolds. The British Army were deployed on the streets of Northern Ireland. [40] Following Merlyn Rees' decision to legalise the UVF in 1974, Spence encouraged them to enter politics and supported the establishment of the Volunteer Political Party. The UVF very clearly have involvement in drug dealing, all forms of gangsterism, serious assaults, intimidation of the community. Two Ulster Unionist Assembly members, Michael McGimpsey and Mike Neabitt, were among the mourners at the funeral. . Then, use free funeral planning tools to plan out the best funeral for your loved one. Read about our approach to external linking. [30] As arranged, the car in which Spence was a passenger was stopped in Springmartin and Spence was taken away by UVF members. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. The largest death toll in a single attack was in the 3 March 1991 Cappagh killings, when the UVF killed IRA members John Quinn, Dwayne O'Donnell and Malcolm Nugent, and civilian Thomas Armstrong in the small village of Cappagh. Gusty Spence was a significant figure in loyalist Belfast for most of his life. Some of them left much of Belfast without power and water. At his funeral yesterday, Mr Spence said he was not there to deify Mr Lynch, whom he described as "a simple man but a wealthy one in terms of his friends and his love for his country". Twenty tons of ammonium nitrate was also stolen from the Belfast docks.[40]. "He also sent a letter of condolence to the widow of Joe McCann, an IRA man, praising him as a soldier of Ireland.". Thousands of families, mostly Catholics, were forced to flee their homes and refugee camps were set up in the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Army set up field hospitals near the border. Read about our approach to external linking. The gunmen shot dead six people and injured five. Spence was initially held over the murder of the first victim of the Troubles, John Scullion, who was shot by the UVF in the Falls Road area of Belfast. Read about our approach to external linking. Such retaliation was seen as both collective punishment and an attempt to weaken the IRA's support; it was thought that terrorising the Catholic community and inflicting such a death toll on it would force the IRA to end its campaign. [37], The IRA had split into the Provisional IRA and Official IRA in December 1969. He added: "I think it helped to set some of the tone to bring us to where we are now.". Also, why did the author not probe the close relationship between Gusty Spence and the RHC? A number of friends and family members spoke at the service at St Michael's Church of Ireland on the Shankill Road. (Thesis 2017). Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. So when her husband had first made contact with Mr Spence "it was like talking to someone we had always known". Another loyalist paramilitary organisation called Ulster Resistance was formed on 10 November 1986. [19] Spence later wrote "at the time, the attitude was that if you couldn't get an IRA man you should shoot a Taig, he's your last resort". [citation needed] The feud between the UVF and the LVF erupted again in the summer of 2005. It was the UVF's deadliest attack in Northern Ireland, and the deadliest attack in Belfast during the Troubles. Spence claimed that he was approached in 1965 by two men, one of whom was an Ulster Unionist Party MP, who told him that the UVF was to be re-established and that he was to have responsibility for the Shankill. ", This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 06:47. [46] This resulted in a sharp increase in sectarian killings and internecine feuding, both with the UDA and within the UVF itself. The chip shop has since been closed down. [114] Many retaliatory attacks on Catholics were claimed using the covername "Protestant Action Force" (PAF), which first appeared in autumn 1974. In 1971, these ramped up their activity against the British Army and RUC. His funeral service is taking place at Saint Michael's church off the Shankill Road. None the less, they ransacked the house and stole Spence's army medals, while the Spence family were forced to stay off the Shankill for the entirety of the loyalist feud. [66] The UVF also killed senior IRA paramilitary members Liam Ryan, John 'Skipper' Burns and Larry Marley. Although O'Neill was a unionist, they saw him as being too 'soft' on the civil rights movement and too friendly with the Republic of Ireland. In June, nine UVF members were convicted of the attacks. They shot John Scullion, a Catholic civilian, as he walked home. Notable mourners included Unionist politicians Dawn Purvis, Mike Nesbitt, Michael McGimpsey, Hugh Smyth and Brian Ervine, UVF chief John "Bunter" Graham and UDA South Belfast brigadier Jackie McDonald. [36] Catholic churches were also attacked. He added: "I think it helped to set some of the tone to bring us to where we are now.". There was to be much overlap in membership between the UCDC/UPV and the UVF.[22]. [125] Historically, the number of active UVF members in July 1971 was stated by one source to be no more than 20. Spence's biographer Roy Garland said he had formed unlikely relationships and challenged conventional loyalist thinking. Unable to find their target, the men drove around in search of any Catholic instead. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. [30] He remained at large for four months and during that time even gave an interview to ITV's World in Action in which he called for the UVF to take an increased role in the Northern Ireland conflict against the Provisional IRA. The funeral of 78-year-old Gusty Spence, the former leader of the UVF paramilitary organisation, has taken place in Belfast. [50], Spence married Louie Donaldson, a native of the city's Grosvenor Road, on 20 June 1953 at Wellwood Street Mission, Sandy Row. ][102] On 11 April, the UVF reportedly ordered the removal of Catholic families from a housing estate in Carrickfergus. [112] The vast majority of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often killed at random. In March and April that year, UVF and UPV members bombed water and electricity installations in Northern Ireland, blaming them on the dormant IRA and elements of the civil rights movement. [134] Like the IRA, the UVF also operated black taxi services,[135][136][137] a scheme believed to have generated 100,000 annually for the organisation. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Why Covid lab-leak theory is now being taken seriously, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. The UVF's last major attack was the 1994 Loughinisland massacre, in which its members shot dead six Catholic civilians in a rural pub. "[97], In June 2017, Gary Haggarty, former UVF commander for north Belfast and south-east Antrim, pleaded guilty to 200 charges, including five murders. Instead his coffin was adorned with the beret and regimental flag of the Royal Ulster Rifles, his former regiment. Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police . Two UVF men were accidentally blown up in this attack. The first British soldier to be killed by the Provisional IRA died in February 1971. Beret and regimental flag of the attacks organisation had a strength of.... And sent $ 30,000 to the UDA also existed and sent $ 30,000 to book... Assembly members, Michael McGimpsey and Mike Neabitt, were among the mourners at the crash site 'no! Had formed unlikely relationships and challenged conventional loyalist thinking the newspaper also reported that the group concluded general! 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