Ulster Special Constabulary

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The Ulster Special Constabulary ( USC ) were a paramilitary auxiliary force in Northern Ireland that was formed in 1920. This auxiliary force of the Northern Irish Police Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was recruited almost exclusively from Protestant Unionists .

history

Uniform of the B specials

Against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence and serious unrest in Belfast , unionist politicians such as James Craig called for the establishment of an auxiliary police in Ulster in September 1920, which should be recruited from the ranks of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The UVF was founded in 1912 as a Protestant Unionist militia, was part of the British Army as the 36th (Ulster) Division during World War I and was reactivated in June 1920. The UK government announced the creation of the Ulster Special Constabulary on November 1st using older laws. For the British government, pragmatic considerations such as funding and the lack of police and army units were in the foreground.

USC was recruited through newspaper ads seeking law-abiding citizens between the ages of 21 and 45. The auxiliary policemen were selected by justice of the peace and former officers, with an emphasis on undoubted loyalty and efficiency. UVF officers asked their teams to enter. In Belfast, recruitment numbers were initially well below expectations, while in rural areas like Fermanagh they were higher. The USC consisted of three departments:

  • The A specials should include 2,000 full-time armed and uniformed auxiliary police officers.
  • The B-Specials were by far the largest department. In Belfast alone, 4,000 men were to be recruited. They were supposed to be deployed once a week in the vicinity of their place of residence at foot patrols, road blocks or to guard buildings, for which they received an allowance. In armed patrols, B-Specials should be under the command of an officer from the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). Initially equipped with hats and bracelets, the B-Specials were in uniform from February 1922. B specials were armed with rifles and bayonets.
  • The C-Specials were a reserve formed from older recruits in the event of an emergency. They were not uniformed and could use privately held weapons while on duty.

During the riots in Belfast, A-Specials were used from December 1920 and B-Specials from February 1921. After the armistice in the Irish War of Independence, the USC was temporarily demobilized. In the first half of 1922, the USC was heavily used, especially in the border region of Northern Ireland. In April 1922 responsibility for the USC passed from the British to the Northern Irish government; a month later the RUC replaced the RIC. 49 USC police officers were killed in the riots in the early 1920s, 11 of them in Belfast.

British politicians and the military sometimes questioned the sense and use of the USC. Unionists portrayed the UVF's integration into the USC as an attempt to integrate “passionate” sections of the Protestant workforce and thus prevent an impending civil war . Catholic nationalists often compared the USC to the Black and Tans , who were responsible for brutal attacks during the Irish War of Independence. From a Catholic nationalist perspective, the USC was an attempt to build a powerful force to suppress the minority in Northern Ireland.

Historian Jonathan Bardon describes the USC as an officially approved Protestant militia by the British government, pointing out that there have been no determined attempts to get Catholics to apply. According to Alan F. Parkinson, a significant minority of auxiliary police officers participated in the mistreatment of Catholics. USC missions would have resulted in deaths disproportionately. Parkinson draws a mixed balance: Although the USC had hardly disputed successes in the fight against violence in Northern Ireland, the methods used were often doubtful. The USC's bad reputation was the result of a mixture of truth and rumors and had significant consequences for the development of Northern Ireland.

In 1925 the A-Specials and the C-Specials were dissolved. The B-Specials were retained and used in IRA campaigns in Northern Ireland, for example during the Border Campaign from 1956 to 1962. The dissolution of the B-Specials was one of the main demands of the Northern Irish civil rights movement in the late 1960s , an end to discrimination against Catholics Minority demanded. In January 1969 radical unionists, including B-Specials outside their service, attacked a civil rights march near Burntollet. During the riot in August 1969 that led to the deployment of the British Army, a Catholic was shot dead by B-Specials . A commission chaired by John Hunt recommended the dissolution of the B-Specials in October 1969. As recommended by the Commission, it was replaced from April 1970 by a unit of the British Army recruited in Northern Ireland , the Ulster Defense Regiment , which many former B Specials joined.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alan F. Parkinson: Belfast's Unholy War. The Troubles of the 1920s. Four Court Press, Dublin 2004, ISBN 1-85182-792-7 , pp. 83-85;
    Jonathan Bardon: A History of Ulster. Blackstaff, Belfast 1992, ISBN 0-85640-466-7 , p. 474.
  2. ↑ Parkinson's: Belfast's Unholy War. P. 85 f;
    Bardon: History of Ulster. P. 475.
  3. ↑ Parkinson's: Belfast's Unholy War. Pp. 90, 235, 334.
  4. ↑ Parkinson's: Belfast's Unholy War. Pp. 83, 87 f.
  5. ^ Bardon: History of Ulster. P. 476.
  6. ↑ Parkinson's: Belfast's Unholy War. Pp. 91-94.
  7. ↑ Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) at CAIN - Conflict Archive on the Internet (accessed September 5, 2014).
  8. ↑ Martin Melaugh: The People's Democracy March - Summary of Main Events at CAIN - Conflict Archive on the Internet (accessed September 5, 2014).
  9. ↑ Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) at CAIN - Conflict Archive on the Internet (accessed September 5, 2014).