[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. That year, a string of tit-for-tat pub bombings began in Belfast. But despite the statement, the UVF was subsequently involved in sporadic violence, including several murders. Gusty Spence received primary education at Riddell Memorial (1938-43) and Hemsworth Square (1943-7) public elementary schools, both in the Shankill area. Spence grew increasingly frustrated with UVF leadership, and left the organization altogether in 1978. [140][141], In contrast to the IRA, overseas support for loyalist paramilitaries including the UVF has been limited. There was to be much overlap in membership between the UCDC/UPV and the UVF.[22]. [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. Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the former loyalist leader Gusty Spence. [24] The murder of Ward was, however, repudiated by Paisley and condemned in his Protestant Telegraph, sealing the split between the two. The widow of former PUP leader David Ervine, Jeanette, also attended. The new Brigade Staff's aim was to carry out attacks against known republicans rather than Catholic civilians. While the Troubles broke out in 1969, the murders carried out by the UVF years earlier were seen as brutal sectarian attacks that shocked Northern Ireland. 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. [43] Jackson was allegedly the hitman who shot Hanna dead outside his home in Lurgan. Gusty Spence was a significant figure in loyalist Belfast for most of . [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. (2006) "Neglected Intelligence: How the British Government Failed to Quell the Ulster Volunteer Force, 19121914. [146][147] Former MI5 agent Willie Carlin said: There were safe houses in Glasgow and Stirling. [21] In April 1966, Ulster loyalists led by Ian Paisley, a Protestant fundamentalist preacher, founded the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee (UCDC). "[140], Protestants in Canada also supported the loyalist paramilitaries in the conflict. [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. This was a large, three-day riot between Irish nationalists and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). 2023 BBC. 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. [42], Spence was increasingly disillusioned with the UVF and he imparted these views to fellow inmates at Long Kesh. Eight people were shot dead and hundreds were injured. A man who worked tirelessly for peace. 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. A controlled explosion was carried out and the bomb was later declared a hoax. It was responsible for more than 500 deaths. His father was a Somme veteran who emigrated to Belfast after the war and became a member of the Orange Order. 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. Mr Spence said last night he was an eternal optimist" where the present situation in the North was concerned. [84] The Progressive Unionist Party's condemnation, and Dawn Purvis and other leaders' resignations as a response to the Moffett shooting, were also noted. During its 12 July 1967 march, the Orange lodge to which he belonged stopped outside the prison in tribute to him. 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. In the 1960s, he founded the Ulster Volunteer Force, which was responsible for hundreds of murders during the Troubles. [80], In the twentieth IMC report, the group was said to be continuing to put its weapons "beyond reach", (in the group's own words) to downsize, and reduce the criminality of the group. [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. [101], In April 2021, riots erupted across Loyalist communities in Northern Ireland.[relevant? "However he did dedicate himself to peace and reconciliation for much of his later life so he will also be remembered as a major influence in drawing loyalism away from sectarian strife," he added. He also directed a significant restocking of the group's arsenal, with guns mostly taken from the security forces. Augustus 'Gusty' Spence (born 28th June 1933) is a former leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force, Loyalist politician and soldier in the British Army. 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. Almost 10 years later in October 1994, he was chosen to announce to the world that the main loyalist paramilitary groups, the UVF and the UDA, were declaring ceasefires in response to an IRA cessation. In 2007, he announced that the UVF and an associated group, the Red Hand Commando, would cease to exist in their previous form. Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police . Secret memo says explosives were shipped in small boats", "The Canadian Dimension to the Northern Ireland Conflict", "BBC - The Devenport Diaries: Remembering Billy Wright", "Sutton Index of Deaths: Crosstabulations (two-way tables)", "Sutton Index of Deaths: Status of the person killed", CAIN University of Ulster Conflict Archive, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ulster_Volunteer_Force&oldid=1142049756, May 1966 present (on ceasefire since October 1994; officially ended armed campaign in May 2007), Unnamed Chief of Staff (1974 October 1975). The Irish parliament's Joint Committee on Justice called the bombings an act of "international terrorism" involving the British security forces. [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. Berenice's Cremation & Burial Care offers qualified funeral services in La Habra, CA, 90631. [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. Its name was taken from . With Moore now deceased, the only senior figure still alive is "Mr A". Their weapons stock-piles are to be retained under the watch of the UVF leadership. While republicans were the expressed target, the attacks that followed were explicitly sectarian. [87][88], On the night of 20 June 2011, riots involving 500 people erupted in the Short Strand area of East Belfast. [51] The couple had three daughters, Elizabeth (born 1954), Sandra (1956) and Catherine (1960). In the 1960s, he founded the Ulster Volunteer Force, which was responsible for hundreds of murders during the Troubles. It was the UVF's deadliest attack in Northern Ireland, and the deadliest attack in Belfast during the Troubles. [115] They always signed their statements with the fictitious name "Captain William Johnston". [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. "On behalf of Sinn Fein I would wish to extend my condolences to his family at this time.". He died on 17 May 2009, from a suspected heart attack at his home and was given a paramilitary funeral by the UVF. Augustus (Gusty) Spence Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), Protestant paramilitary organization founded in Northern Ireland in 1966. [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. 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. [9] According to the book Lost Lives (2006 edition), it was responsible for 569 killings. He was buried in Bangor.[57][58]. Some of them left much of Belfast without power and water. [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. Loyalists were successful in importing arms into Northern Ireland. Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric'. He then became involved in politics and announced the landmark loyalist paramilitary ceasefires in 1994. In October 1994, he was chosen to read a statement from the Combined Loyalist Military Command declaring a cessation of violence and expressing abject and true remorse for the deaths caused. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. A number. Bistir na Seanchille. [106][107] This uniform, based on those of the original UVF, was introduced in the early 1970s. LocationLa Habra, CA 90631 EmailGet a free estimate Call(562) 579-5980. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. [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. 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. [103], On 25 March 2022, the UVF was blamed[by whom?] In response to events in Derry, nationalists held protests throughout Northern Ireland, some of which became violent. [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. [5] The family home was 66 Joseph Street in an area of the lower Shankill known colloquially as "the Hammer". Browse funeral homes near La Habra Heights, California. [24] On 21 May, the group issued a statement: From this day, we declare war against the Irish Republican Army and its splinter groups. 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,. Images Courtesy of Getty Images. There are various credible[citation needed] allegations that elements of the British security forces colluded with the UVF in the bombings. This was in retaliation for attacks on Loyalist homes the previous weekend and after a young girl was hit in the face with a brick by Republicans. "Overstating and Misjudging the Prospects of Civil War: The Ulster Volunteer Force and the Irish Volunteers in the Home Rule Crisis, 19121914." Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. [18][19] Some members have also been found responsible for orchestrating a series of racist attacks. 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. [29], On 12 August 1969, the "Battle of the Bogside" began in Derry. Read about our approach to external linking. Both of them shared "a deep sense of history", and he spoke of Mr Lynch's "lasting ambition" to see peace in Ireland. Brian Ervine said: "His contribution to the peace is incalculable and without him, probably the paramilitaries would still be at war. 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. [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. I would wish to extend my condolences to his family at this time ``. 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