Ulster Defence Regiment - Background

Background

The UDR was created in 1970, during the period of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Before its creation, the police organisations charged with keeping order were the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC or "B Specials"). The RUC was the main police force whilst the USC was a reserve force tasked with patrolling and protection of vulnerable points additionally acting as a personnel reserve. The USC was the object of the Catholic nationalist community mistrust especially given it was drawn exclusively from the Protestant community. Whilst not prohibited by regulation, it was very unlikely that a Catholic could join. Nationalists had protested against the USC even before the events of 1968-9, and disbandment of the force was one of the key demands of both the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and the Derry Citizens' Defence Association. Unionists, however, generally supported the USC as contributing to the defence of Northern Ireland from subversion and outside aggression. The USC had played an important and effective role in combating the Irish Republican Army (IRA) Border Campaign of 1956 to 1962.

The inability of the RUC and the USC to cope with the large scale intercommunal rioting of 1969 brought concerns over policing in Northern Ireland to a head. On 14 August, on a day of severe disorder and the police now at breaking point, Home Secretary, James Callaghan granted a request from the Northern Ireland government to deploy the British Army. On 28 August 1969 security in Northern Ireland, including the USC, was put under the direct control of the General Officer Commanding in Northern Ireland, General Ian Freeland.

The USC, which had no training in riot control, was mobilised to assist the RUC in dealing with the disorder. Widely reported incidents such as the death of a rioter in Tynan on 14 August and widespread allegations of misconduct from Catholic politicians and community leaders ensured that the USC were high on the political agenda for the British Government. Indeed the USC was so mistrusted by the Catholic population that at times this led to increased tension when deployed to Catholic areas. British Prime Minister Harold Wilson publicly declared that the USC being used for crowd control has caused great concern and that they would be progressively replaced by the British Army. He stated "they had up to now been exercing riot control duties... but that is not where they ought to be". Whilst the Northern Ireland cabinet remained supportive of the USC, it was demonstrated to them at a London meeting on 19 August that disbanding the USC was top of the British Government's agenda.

In response the Hunt Report was commissioned by the Government of Northern Ireland to: "examine the recruitment, organisation, structure and composition of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the Ulster Special Constabulary and their respective functions and to recommend as necessary what changes are required to provide for the efficient enforcement of law and order in Northern Ireland." The report, published on 3 October 1969, recommended that the RUC "should be relieved of all duties of a military nature as soon as possible". Further; a "locally recruited part-time force, under the control of the G.O.C., Northern Ireland, should be raised"... and that the "force, together with the police volunteer reserve, should replace the Ulster Special Constabulary." The report whilst recognising the "value of the anti-guerilla patrols and armed guard duties they have carried out", noted that whilst not prohibited from joining the USC "that for a variety of reasons, the fact remains that no Roman Catholic is a member" The report recommended that it be replaced with a force that would be "impartial in every sense" and "remove the responsibility of military style operations from the police force".

The publication of the Hunt Report led to rioting on the Shankill Road in Belfast with both the RUC and army forced to battle loyalists. These disturbances led to the death of 3 people including RUC Constable Victor Arbuckle, the first RUC death in The Troubles. The USC itself suffered discontent and some resignations in the wake of the report.

The British Government accepted the findings of the Hunt Report and published a Bill and white paper on 12 November 1969 to begin the process of establishing the UDR. The resulting parliamentary debate in Westminster highlighted concerns about a continuing role for the USC. Jeremy Thorpe MP pointed to the fact that ..."a substantial majority was to be recruited from former B Specials" and questioned if this was "likely to increase the chances of general acceptance in Ulster?" Roy Hattersley pointed out that this was due to "necessity" and that despite reservations towards some, the majority of the Specials were "men who have given good and honourable service to Northern Ireland." Bernadette Devlin, MP for Mid Ulster, meanwhile stated that "What we are being offered, in my opinion, is the B Specials under another name".

The Belfast Telegraph disagreed with the critics. In editorials several days apart it declared: "In no sense can the new Regiment be regarded like the old USC, as a vigilante force and a law unto itself. Inevitably the members of the new force will be provided by present B Specials and just as inevitably it is already being smeared in some quarters as simply the old force in new uniform. Every effort must be made to ensure that this is not so. No-one must be able to put a denominational tag on the UDR and if one of the senior officers in the force happened to be a Roman Catholic, so much the better.... The establishment of this new force should be regarded as a turning point in the life of the community."