. [81], In June 2009 the UVF formally decommissioned their weapons in front of independent witnesses as a formal statement of decommissioning was read by Dawn Purvis and Billy Hutchinson. [40] These were all subordinate to the Brigade Staff. The group had been proscribed in July 1966, but this ban was lifted on 4 April 1974 by Merlyn Rees, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in an effort to bring the UVF into the democratic process. [42], Spence was increasingly disillusioned with the UVF and he imparted these views to fellow inmates at Long Kesh. During the riot, UVF members shot dead RUC officer Victor Arbuckle. [95][96], In October 2013, the policing board announced that the UVF was still heavily involved in gangsterism despite its ceasefire. The biggest of these was the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which killed 34 civilians, making it the deadliest terrorist attack of the conflict. Henry McDonald. 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. Independentie. Cludach leabhair do "The Shankill Butchers" le Martin Dillon. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Read about our approach to external linking. With a few exceptions, such as Mid-Ulster brigadier Billy Hanna (a native of Lurgan), the Brigade Staff members have been from the Shankill Road or the neighbouring Woodvale area to the west. [50], Spence married Louie Donaldson, a native of the city's Grosvenor Road, on 20 June 1953 at Wellwood Street Mission, Sandy Row. [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. 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. 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. 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. A former leader of the UVF's political wing, the Progressive Unionist Party, described him as "one of the pivots on which a page of Irish history turned". 206, 207, Ed Moloney, Secret History of the IRA, p.321, "Voices From the Grave:Two Men's War in Ireland" Ed Moloney, Faber & Faber, 2010 pp 417. Progress is being made, inch by inch. The Irish parliament's Joint Committee on Justice called the bombings an act of "international terrorism" involving the British security forces. Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the former loyalist leader Gusty Spence. [56] The UVF's activities in the last years of the decade were increasingly being curtailed by the number of UVF members who were sent to prison. Slowly. Tributes were paid to former leading loyalist paramilitary turned peacemaker Gusty Spence at his funeral in Belfast today. [114] Many retaliatory attacks on Catholics were claimed using the covername "Protestant Action Force" (PAF), which first appeared in autumn 1974. [17], He was entrusted by the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) to read out their 13 October 1994 statement that announced the loyalist ceasefire. 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. [92], During the Belfast City Hall flag protests of 201213, senior UVF members were confirmed to have actively been involved in orchestrating violence and rioting against the PSNI and the Alliance Party throughout Northern Ireland during the weeks of disorder. The group also carried out attacks in the Republic of Ireland from 1969 onward. [16] Their base of operations was the Standard Bar, a pub on the Shankill Road frequented by Spence and his allies (it was normal practice for UVF "teams" to be based at a single pub that its members used socially). A man once involved in conflict. His funeral service is taking place at Saint Michael's church off the Shankill Road. When the Assets Recovery Agency won a High Court order to seize luxury homes belonging to ex-policeman Colin Robert Armstrong and his partner Geraldine Mallon in 2005, Alan McQuillan said "We have further alleged Armstrong has had links with the UVF and then the LVF following the split between those organisations." In the 1960s, he founded the modern Ulster Volunteer Force, an. [23] Tim Pat Coogan has described Spence as a "loyalist folk hero". 2023 BBC. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. He will be buried in Bangor after a funeral service on the Shankill Road. THE self described "old UVF man", Mr Gusty Spence (64), gave a brief oration at the funeral of Mr Jim Lynch (72), a former officer commanding (OC) of the IRA, at Cootehill, Co Cavan,. Openly paraded with the UVF and thanked Gusty Spence repeatedly for his services to Ulster. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland.The group undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles.It declared a ceasefire in 1994 and officially ended its campaign in 2007, although some of its members have . Home; About; Testimonials; Contact; Select Page. He was jailed for life for the murder of a Catholic barman in 1966 and served 18 years in prison. One of the first UVF members to be convicted of murder, Spence was a senior figure in the organisation for over a decade. He was buried in Bangor.[57][58]. Fifteen Catholic civilians were killed and seventeen wounded. It comprises high-ranking officers under a Chief of Staff or Brigadier-General. Gusty Spence is regarded as one of the founders of loyalist paramilitarism, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. He then became involved in politics and announced the landmark loyalist paramilitary ceasefires in 1994. Then, use free funeral planning tools to plan out the best funeral for your loved one. These attacks were stepped up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly in the east Tyrone and north Armagh areas. [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. A number of friends and family members spoke at the service at St Michael's Church of Ireland on the Shankill Road. [79], In 2008, a loyalist splinter group calling itself the "Real UVF" emerged briefly to make threats against Sinn Fin in County Fermanagh. 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". But despite the statement, the UVF was subsequently involved in sporadic violence, including several murders. Their weapons stock-piles are to be retained under the watch of the UVF leadership. 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. Former Ulster Volunteer Force leader Gusty Spence has died aged 78. Eight people were shot dead and hundreds were injured. The 78-year-old died in hospital at the weekend after a long illness. Mr Lynch died following a brief illness. [19] On 26 June, the same gang shot dead Catholic civilian Peter Ward (18) and wounded two others as they left a pub on Malvern Street in the lower Shankill. [150] The Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee noted in its report that "in 1992 it was estimated that Scottish support for the UDA and UVF might amount to 100,000 a year. [45], In 1974, hardliners staged a coup and took over the Brigade Staff. Wednesday, 15 February 2023 | 10.2 . Read about our approach to external linking. [29] Unionist support for O'Neill waned, and on 28 April he resigned as Prime Minister. [29], On 12 October, a loyalist protest in the Shankill became violent. Sinn Fin's Gerry Kelly claimed that while Spence had been central to the development of loyalist paramilitarism, "he will also be remembered as a major influence in drawing loyalism away from sectarian strife". At the same time, he distanced himself from any policy of random murders of Catholics. He will be buried in Bangor after a funeral service on the Shankill Road. While the only echoes of Mr Spences paramilitary past were the UVF murals that dotted his funeral route, a guard of honour was formed by veterans of his old British Army regiment, the Royal Ulster Rifles. [28], By 1969, the Catholic civil rights movement had escalated its protest campaign, and O'Neill had promised them some concessions. Another former PUP leader, Dawn Purvis, said Spence's opinions began to shift sooner than is generally perceived. ", "Ulster Volunteer Force is no longer on ceasefire, police warn", "Gary Haggarty: Ex-senior loyalist pleads guilty to 200 terror charges", "Police seize drugs and arrest 11 during raids on east Belfast UVF", "Nine men charged after east Belfast UVF police raids", "Brexit: loyalist paramilitary groups renounce Good Friday agreement", "NI riots: What is behind the violence in Northern Ireland? Brian Ervine said: "His contribution to the peace is incalculable and without him, probably the paramilitaries would still be at war. Gusty Spence Funeral RIP 21,778 views Nov 15, 2013 95 Dislike Share Save Elmwoodgrove 14 subscribers The Funeral at Craven Street Gusty said Some day The PUP will grow a set of Jaws And BITE. They shot John Scullion, a Catholic civilian, as he walked home. [115] They always signed their statements with the fictitious name "Captain William Johnston". [43] Jackson was allegedly the hitman who shot Hanna dead outside his home in Lurgan. "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". A man committed to social and economic justice and equality and a man absolutely devoted and committed to his wife and family.. 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. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Along with the UDA, it helped to enforce the strike by blocking roads, intimidating workers, and shutting any businesses that opened. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. [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. [48] When Spence's wife died three years later, he said that C Company had been responsible for her death, such was the toll that the events had taken on her health. [37], The IRA had split into the Provisional IRA and Official IRA in December 1969. [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. The ferry [between Scotland and Northern Ireland] was pivotal in getting arms into the north and anything like checkpoints, or armed police and Army in Scotland would have b******d that all up.[148] An Irish government memo written by David Donoghue stated: "The commonest contribution of Scots UDA and UVF is to send gelignite. [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. 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. The gunmen shot dead six people and injured five. [106][107] This uniform, based on those of the original UVF, was introduced in the early 1970s. [58][59][105] Graham has held the position since he assumed office in 1976. His conviction, which he always denied, has been referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission by his family in light of new evidence being brought forward. Gusty Spence reading the 2007 UVF 'weapons beyond use' statement in Belfast. He was jailed for life for the murder of a Catholic barman in 1966 and served 18 years in prison. Referring to its activity in the early and mid-1970s, journalist Ed Moloney described no-warning pub bombings as the UVF's "forte". A number. [116], Like the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), the UVF's modus operandi involved assassinations, mass shootings, bombings and kidnappings. Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric'. The 78-year-old died in hospital at the weekend after a long illness. He was shot dead by the IRA in November 1982, four months after his release from the Maze Prison. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The British Army were deployed on the streets of Northern Ireland. Twenty tons of ammonium nitrate was also stolen from the Belfast docks.[40]. He added: "He formed a relationship with Cardinal O'Fiach and that was in some of our ways of thinking in those days a big step because the Catholic church in particular were the enemy. On 17 February 1979, the UVF carried out its only major attack in Scotland, when its members bombed two pubs in Glasgow frequented by Irish-Scots Catholics. [8] He was frequently involved in street fights with republicans and garnered a reputation as a "hard man". The new Brigade Staff's aim was to carry out attacks against known republicans rather than Catholic civilians. Sun 25 Sep 2011 13.46 EDT. The UVF agreed to a ceasefire in October 1994. [11] Whenever it claimed responsibility for its attacks, the UVF usually claimed that those targeted were IRA members or were giving help to the IRA. 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. [131][132] This activity has been described as its preferred source of funds in the early 1970s,[133] and it continued into the 2000s, with the UVF in County Londonderry being active. [45], Released from prison in 1984, Spence soon became a leading member of the UVF-linked Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and a central figure in the Northern Ireland peace process. [2] He had been stationed in Cyprus and saw action fighting against the forces of Colonel Georgios Grivas. 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. Reverend Chris Hudson, who helped broker contacts between loyalist paramilitaries and the Irish government, said that aspect of the statement was significant. [71], On 14 September 2005, following serious loyalist rioting during which dozens of shots were fired at riot police and the British Army the Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain announced that the British government no longer recognised the UVF ceasefire. [44] In 1977, he publicly condemned the use of violence for political gain, on the grounds that it was counter-productive. With Moore now deceased, the only senior figure still alive is "Mr A". In line with Mr Spences wishes, his coffin was draped with the flag of the Royal Ulster Rifles, the British army regiment in which he served for six years before he joined the UVF in the 1960s. [39], Spence began to move towards a position of using political means to advance one's aims, and he persuaded the UVF leadership to declare a temporary ceasefire in 1973. [101], In April 2021, riots erupted across Loyalist communities in Northern Ireland.[relevant? It set up a paramilitary-style wing called the Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV). 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". [127] A British Army report released in 2006 estimated a peak membership of 1,000. [54], Spence died on 25 September 2011, aged 78, in a Belfast hospital;[53] he had been suffering from a long-term illness and was admitted to hospital 12 days prior to his death. The UVF's declared goals were to combat Irish republicanism particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and to maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. The 78-year-old died in hospital at the weekend after a long illness. [3] Spence was the sixth of seven children, their birth order being Billy, Cassie, Jim, Bobby, Ned junior, Gusty and Lily. 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". [140][141], In contrast to the IRA, overseas support for loyalist paramilitaries including the UVF has been limited. He was sworn in soon afterwards in a ceremony held in secret near Pomeroy, County Tyrone. In the 1960s, he founded the modern Ulster Volunteer Force, an organisation which was responsible for hundreds of sectarian murders during the Troubles. The funeral of 78-year-old Gusty Spence, the former leader of the UVF paramilitary organisation, has taken place in Belfast. They have been engaged in orchestrating violence on our streets, and it's very clear to me that they are engaged in an array of mafia-style activities. [162], There were also 66 UVF/RHC members and four former members killed in the conflict. This era also saw a more widespread targeting on the UVF's part of IRA and Sinn Fin members, beginning with the killing of senior IRA member Larry Marley[62] and a failed attempt on the life of a leading republican which left three Catholic civilians dead. The group concluded a general acceptance of the need to decommission, though there was no conclusive proof of moves towards this end. Both of them shared "a deep sense of history", and he spoke of Mr Lynch's "lasting ambition" to see peace in Ireland. In 1972, the UVF's imprisoned leader Gusty Spence was at liberty for four months following a staged kidnapping by UVF volunteers. [9] He was also associated loosely with prominent loyalists such as Ian Paisley and Desmond Boal and was advised by both men in 1959 when he launched a protest against Gerry Fitt at Belfast City Hall after Fitt had described Spence's regiment as "murderers" over allegations that they had killed civilians in Cyprus. Gusty Spence received primary education at Riddell Memorial (1938-43) and Hemsworth Square (1943-7) public elementary schools, both in the Shankill area. The UVF launched further attacks in the Republic of Ireland during December 1972 and January 1973, when it detonated three car bombs in Dublin and one in Belturbet, County Cavan, killing a total of five civilians. Its name was taken from . In May 1966, the UVF issued a statement, announcing that it was declaring war on the IRA. [55], However, a granddaughter of Matilda Gould, a 74-year-old Protestant widow who had died from burns sustained in the UVF's attempted bombing of a Catholic bar next door to her home, objected to Spence being called a "peacemaker" and described him as a "bad evil man". The unnamed woman stated, "When you go out and throw a petrol bomb through a widow's window, you're no peacemaker. Read about our approach to external linking. It was the UVF's deadliest attack in Northern Ireland, and the deadliest attack in Belfast during the Troubles. 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. [157] It was around this time that Sunday World journalists Martin O'Hagan and Jim Campbell coined the term "rat pack" for the UVF's murderous mid-Ulster unit and, unable to identify Wright by name for legal reasons, they christened him "King Rat." In May 1966, the UVF issued a statement, announcing that it was declaring war on the IRA. For an online, self-service experience, please visit: [58][59] West died in 1980. Spence was born in the Shankill Road, Belfast, area, Northern Ireland, the son of William Edward Spence, who was born in Whitehaven, England and raised in the Tiger's Bay area of north Belfast before moving to the Shankill. Is UVFs Beast in the East behind new wave of riots? Assistant chief constable Drew Harris in a statement said "The UVF are subject to an organised crime investigation as an organised crime group. 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. In June, nine UVF members were convicted of the attacks. [16] Because of his military experience, Spence was chosen as the military commander and public face of the UVF when the group was established. This was a large, three-day riot between Irish nationalists and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). "He was really a role model for many young men who would follow.". [2] He rose to the rank of Provost Sergeant (battalion police). [85][86] Fifty-year-old Stockman was stabbed more than 10 times in a supermarket in Belfast; the attack was believed to have been linked to the Moffett killing. But he was also credited with being a driving force in delivering the loyalist ceasefires of the mid-1990s that helped bring an end to the decades of conflict. Others who attended included Jeanette Irvine, the widow of the former PUP Assembly member, David Ervine, Dawn Purvis, the former PUP Assembly member who resigned from the party over the UVF's activities and the former Assembly member and former Human Rights Commissioner, Monica Mc Williams. Officers from the PSNI's Paramilitary Crime Task Force also seized drugs, cash and expensive cars and jewellery in an operation carried out against the criminal activities of the UVF crime gang. Spence's biographer Roy Garland said he had formed unlikely relationships and challenged conventional loyalist thinking. Of course, the UVF had a big role to play, with a masked Geordie Orr (another pivotal UVF figure notable by his absence from the book) and others . [120] However, from 1977 bombs largely disappeared from the UVF's arsenal owing to a lack of explosives and bomb-makers, plus a conscious decision to abandon their use in favour of more contained methods. SENIOR UVF figures have warned loyalists will "wreck the place" and "the streets will be in flames" if any Brexit deal between the UK and EU does not . Captain Robert Nairac of 14 Intelligence Company was alleged to have been involved in many acts of UVF violence. 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. [18] Two days later, the government of Northern Ireland used the Special Powers Act to declare the UVF illegal. [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. It was during his time in the Maze prison that Spence began to talk politics and encouraged others to do the same. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. [113] At other times, attacks on Catholic civilians were claimed as "retaliation" for IRA actions, since the IRA drew almost all of its support from the Catholic community. Read about our approach to external linking. [38] By this time Spence polarised opinion within the UVF, with some members fiercely loyal to a man they saw as a folk hero and others resenting his draconian leadership and increasing emphasis on politics, with one anonymous member even labelling him "a cunt in a cravat". 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. 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