He was born in the Shankill Road area of Belfast. A controlled explosion was carried out and the bomb was later declared a hoax. When Spence was 'abducted' in July 1972 it was the RHC who were at the forefront of this operation. UVF In 1961, Spence retired from the Royal Irish Rifles, which he had joined in 1957, on the grounds of ill health. Read about our approach to external linking. In 1972, the UVF's imprisoned leader Gusty Spence was at liberty for four months following a staged kidnapping by UVF volunteers. Spence is regarded as the first terrorist godfather in Northern Ireland but also the man who took the first steps towards ending UVF violence. "Sunningdale pushed hard-liners into fatal outrages in 1974". [76][77][78], In January 2008, the UVF was accused of involvement in vigilante action against alleged criminals in Belfast. It was not in his later life. That year, a string of tit-for-tat pub bombings began in Belfast. In 1971, these ramped up their activity against the British Army and RUC. The charges were dropped but later in 1966 he was given life for the murder of Peter Ward, who had called in to a Shankill Road bar with Catholic workmates and was shot dead as he left. [89] The UVF leader in East Belfast, who is popularly known as the "Beast of the East" and "Ugly Doris" also known as by real name Stephen Matthews, ordered the attack on Catholic homes and a church in the Catholic enclave of the Short Strand. The funeral of 78-year-old Gusty Spence, the former leader of the UVF paramilitary organisation, has taken place in Belfast. Spence said loyalists offered "abject and true remorse" to the loved ones of all the innocent victims of the Troubles. RT is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. [21] The group called itself the "Ulster Volunteer Force" (UVF), after the Ulster Volunteers of the early 20th century, although in the words of a member of the previous organisation "the present para-military organisation has no connection with the U.V.F. [35], Spence's time on the outside came to an end on 4 November when he was captured by Colonel Derek Wilford of the Parachute Regiment, who identified Spence by tattoos on his hands. 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. 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, yesterday. In 2007, he announced that the UVF and an associated group, the Red Hand Commando, would cease to exist in their previous form. [3] Spence was the sixth of seven children, their birth order being Billy, Cassie, Jim, Bobby, Ned junior, Gusty and Lily. [103], On 25 March 2022, the UVF was blamed[by whom?] [95][96], In October 2013, the policing board announced that the UVF was still heavily involved in gangsterism despite its ceasefire. [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". His funeral service is taking place at Saint Michael's church off the Shankill Road. Tributes were paid to former leading loyalist paramilitary turned peacemaker Gusty Spence at his funeral in Belfast today. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. "BBC News Man held over East Belfast police murder bid", "Surge in Belfast violence blamed on resurgent UVF", "The Beast from East Belfast could put an end to flags violence right now but he won't", "East Belfast UVF: Mission Accomplished? Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the former loyalist leader Gusty Spence. 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. [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." These included the Miami Showband killings of 31 July 1975 when three members of the popular showband were killed, having been stopped at a fake British Army checkpoint outside Newry in County Down. Two of those later convicted (James McDowell and Thomas Crozier) were also serving members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), a part-time, locally recruited regiment of the British Army. [26] He died of his wounds on 11 June. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos [112] The vast majority of its victims were Irish Catholic civilians, who were often killed at random. They also stated that they would retain their weaponry but put them beyond reach of normal volunteers. However, RUC Special Branch believed that his brother Billy, who kept a much lower public profile, was the real leader of the group. Six of the victims were abducted at random, then beaten and tortured before having their throats slashed. After his release December 1984, Spence was a key figure in developing UVF thinking and indirectly its political wing, the Progressive Unionist Party. 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. A man committed to social and economic justice and equality and a man absolutely devoted and committed to his wife and family.. 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 . Read about our approach to external linking. [9] Spence served until 1961 when ill-health forced him to leave. Hanna and Jackson have both been implicated by journalist Joe Tiernan and RUC Special Patrol Group (SPG) officer John Weir as having led one of the units that bombed Dublin. The gang comprised, in addition to the UVF, rogue elements of the UDR, RUC, SPG, and the regular Army, all acting allegedly under the direction of the British Intelligence Corps and/or RUC Special Branch. 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. 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. [32][33] There were further attacks in the Republic between October and December 1969. We are heavily armed Protestants dedicated to this cause. In October, UVF and UPV member Thomas McDowell was killed by the bomb he was planting at Ballyshannon power station. Tributes were paid to former leading loyalist paramilitary turned peacemaker Gusty Spence at his funeral in Belfast today. Bistir na Seanchille. [21] Two days later, the Government of Northern Ireland declared the UVF illegal. 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. [70], There followed years of violence between the two organisations. Birgen, Julia. Paisley had intimated that Kilfedder, a rival for the leadership of dissident unionism, was close to Fine Gael after learning that he had attended party meetings while a student at Trinity College Dublin. [34] In December, the UVF detonated a car bomb near the Garda central detective bureau and telephone exchange headquarters in Dublin. [2] He ran his part of the Maze along military lines, drilling inmates and training them in weapons use while also expecting a maintenance of discipline. [49], On 3 May 2007, Spence read out the statement by the UVF announcing that it would keep its weapons but put them beyond the reach of ordinary members. [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. [30] As arranged, the car in which Spence was a passenger was stopped in Springmartin and Spence was taken away by UVF members. 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". The incumbent Chief of Staff, is alleged to be John "Bunter" Graham, referred to by Martin Dillon as "Mr. "He was an Irishman and looked upon himself as an Ulster Irishman as well as being British. [53] These men had overthrown the "hawkish" officers, who had called for a "big push", which meant an increase in violent attacks, earlier in the same month. 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,. [53] Spence, a talented footballer in his youth with Old Lodge F.C., was a lifelong supporter of Linfield F.C. It would continue these tactics for the rest of its campaign. [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. [126] Later, in September 1972, Gusty Spence said in an interview that the organisation had a strength of 1,500. [42], Spence was increasingly disillusioned with the UVF and he imparted these views to fellow inmates at Long Kesh. Gusty Spence is regarded as one of the founders of loyalist paramilitarism, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. [125] Historically, the number of active UVF members in July 1971 was stated by one source to be no more than 20. It was the deadliest attack of the Troubles. Along with the UDA, it helped to enforce the strike by blocking roads, intimidating workers, and shutting any businesses that opened. The widow of former PUP leader David Ervine, Jeanette, also attended. [84] The Progressive Unionist Party's condemnation, and Dawn Purvis and other leaders' resignations as a response to the Moffett shooting, were also noted. 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. [30] Met by two members of the Red Hand Commando upon his release, Spence was informed of the need for a restructuring within the UVF and told not to return to prison. The gang comprised, in addition to the UVF, rogue elements of the UDR, RUC, SPG, and the regular Army, all acting allegedly under the direction of the British Intelligence Corps and/or RUC Special Branch. (Thesis 2017). [140][141], In contrast to the IRA, overseas support for loyalist paramilitaries including the UVF has been limited. [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. [31], The UVF had launched its first attack in the Republic of Ireland on 5 August 1969, when it bombed the RT Television Centre in Dublin. [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". [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. [128] Information regarding the role of women in the UVF is limited. [33] His fugitive status earned him the short-lived nickname the "Orange Pimpernel". [18][19] Some members have also been found responsible for orchestrating a series of racist attacks. 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. Augustus (Gusty) Spence Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), Protestant paramilitary organization founded in Northern Ireland in 1966. [29], On 12 August 1969, the "Battle of the Bogside" began in Derry. "He also sent a letter of condolence to the widow of Joe McCann, an IRA man, praising him as a soldier of Ireland.". View discounts Available for editorial and personal use only. A man who worked tirelessly for peace. This development came soon after the UVF's Brigade Staff in Belfast had stood down Wright and the Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster Brigade, on 2 August 1996, for the killing of a Catholic taxi driver near Lurgan during Drumcree disturbances. Brian Ervine said: "His contribution to the peace is incalculable and without him, probably the paramilitaries would still be at war. These attacks were stepped up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly in the east Tyrone and north Armagh areas. Gusty Spence was a significant figure in loyalist Belfast for most of his life. Mr Lynch had many unionist friends, "some even politicians". Two UVF men were accidentally blown up in this attack. The UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade carried out further attacks during this same period. Another loyalist paramilitary organisation called Ulster Resistance was formed on 10 November 1986. It used submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, grenades (including homemade grenades), incendiary bombs, booby trap bombs and car bombs. [131] The UVF has also been involved in the extortion of legitimate businesses, although to a lesser extent than the UDA,[138] and was described in the fifth IMC report as being involved in organised crime. Ever Loved makes it easy to compare funeral homes, funeral parlors and mortuaries, so you can find the best fit. One of the first UVF members to be convicted of murder, Spence was a senior figure in the organisation for over a decade. In February, it began to target critics of militant loyalism the homes of MPs Austin Currie, Sheelagh Murnaghan, Richard Ferguson and Anne Dickson were attacked with improvised bombs. During his time in prison Spence renounced violence and helped to convince a number of fellow inmates that the future of the UVF lay in a more political approach. Gusty Spence was a significant figure in loyalist Belfast for most of . In 2007, he announced that the UVF and an associated group, the Red Hand Commando, would cease to exist in their previous form. In the 1960s, he founded the modern Ulster Volunteer Force, an organisation which was responsible for hundreds of sectarian murders during the Troubles. The 78-year-old died in hospital at the weekend after a long illness. "[18], In November 2013, after a series of shootings and acts of intimidation by the UVF, Police Federation Chairman Terry Spence declared that the UVF ceasefire was no longer active. "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". 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". 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. [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. Both of them shared "a deep sense of history", and he spoke of Mr Lynch's "lasting ambition" to see peace in Ireland. "He was really a role model for many young men who would follow.". Ontario is to Ulster Protestants what Boston is to Irish Catholics." Referring to its activity in the early and mid-1970s, journalist Ed Moloney described no-warning pub bombings as the UVF's "forte". My experience of Gusty was as the whole man. [3] Spence Snr was a member of the Ulster Volunteers and had fought in the First World War. [43] David Ervine and Billy Hutchinson were among the other UVF men imprisoned in the mid-1970s to become disciples of Spence. Orchestrating a series of racist attacks a senior figure in loyalist Belfast for most his... 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