"He also sent a letter of condolence to the widow of Joe McCann, an IRA man, praising him as a soldier of Ireland.". The Irish parliament's Joint Committee on Justice called the bombings an act of "international terrorism" involving the British security forces. The UVF was also clashing with the UDA in the summer of 2000. [34] Spence was arrested along with around thirty other men at a UVF drinking club in Brennan Street; but after giving a false name, he was released. [10] Spence then found employment at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, where he worked as a stager (builder of the scaffolding in which the ships are constructed), a skilled job that commanded respect amongst working class Protestants and ensured for Spence a higher status within the Shankill. [47] Spence went on to become a leading advocate for the Good Friday Agreement. Brian Ervine said: "His contribution to the peace is incalculable and without him, probably the paramilitaries would still be at war. [40] These were all subordinate to the Brigade Staff. 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 funeral of 78-year-old Gusty Spence, the former leader of the UVF paramilitary organisation, has taken place in Belfast. [73], On 2 September 2006, BBC News reported the UVF might be intending to re-enter dialogue with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, with a view to decommissioning of their weapons. During this time he restructured the organisation into brigades, battalions, companies, platoons and sections. There were no paramilitary trappings as mourners carried the coffin of the loyalist leader. [21] In April 1966, Ulster loyalists led by Ian Paisley, a Protestant fundamentalist preacher, founded the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee (UCDC). He later became involved in politics and announced the landmark loyalist paramilitary ceasefires in 1994. There are various credible[citation needed] allegations that elements of the British security forces colluded with the UVF in the bombings. He was buried in Bangor.[57][58]. Six of the victims were abducted at random, then beaten and tortured before having their throats slashed. Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Dozens of girls treated after new Iran poisonings, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Covid origin likely China lab incident - FBI chief, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US. He was jailed for life for the murder of a Catholic barman in 1966 and served 18 years in prison. They shot John Scullion, a Catholic civilian, as he walked home. It was during his time in the Maze prison that Spence began to talk politics and encouraged others to do the same. [108], The UVF's stated goal was to combat Irish republicanism particularly the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and maintain Northern Ireland's status as part of the United Kingdom. [125], The UVF has killed more people than any other loyalist paramilitary group. Progress is being made, inch by inch. It set up a paramilitary-style wing called the Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV). [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. [149] It is estimated that the UVF nevertheless received hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations to its Loyalist Prisoners Welfare Association. Bistir na Seanchille. 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". The men were tried, and in March 1977 were sentenced to an average of twenty-five years each.[51][52]. 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. [116], Like the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), the UVF's modus operandi involved assassinations, mass shootings, bombings and kidnappings. In Belfast, loyalists responded by attacking nationalist districts. [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. "They are holding local communities to ransom. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. [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. Find the perfect gusty spence funeral stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. Leader of the, 414 (~85%) were civilians, 11 of whom were civilian political activists, 21 (~4%) were members or former members of republican paramilitary groups, 44 (~9%) were members or former members of loyalist paramilitary groups, 6 (~1%) were members of the British security forces. 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". [54] The UVF was behind the deaths of seven civilians in a series of attacks on 2 October. 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." Read about our approach to external linking. At the same time, he distanced himself from any policy of random murders of Catholics. In 1972, the UVF's imprisoned leader Gusty Spence was at liberty for four months following a staged kidnapping by UVF volunteers. [9] Spence served until 1961 when ill-health forced him to leave. "We have to get in there, and stay in there," he continued, remembering that "it took several hundred years to bring about this situation, so we must have a little bit of patience. [22] Spence's involvement in the killings gave him legendary status among many young loyalists and he was claimed as an inspiration by the likes of Michael Stone. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. He had risen through its ranks to become a sergeant in the military police and the regiments flag was draped across his coffin. The group concluded a general acceptance of the need to decommission, though there was no conclusive proof of moves towards this end. [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. for a proxy bomb attack targeting a "peace-building" event in Belfast where Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney was speaking. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. [24] The murder of Ward was, however, repudiated by Paisley and condemned in his Protestant Telegraph, sealing the split between the two. Gusty Spence announced the loyalist paramilitary ceasefires in 1994, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. An article published by the newspaper fingered Wright as a drug lord and sectarian murderer. Hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral of the former loyalist leader Gusty Spence. . In the 1960s, he founded the modern Ulster Volunteer Force, an organisation which was responsible for hundreds of sectarian murders during the Troubles. [91], In July 2011, a UVF flag flying in Limavady was deemed legal by the PSNI after the police had received complaints about the flag from nationalist politicians. According to Billy Mitchell, Spence quizzed him and others sent to the Maze about why they were there, seeking an ideological answer to his question. The chip shop has since been closed down. [44] In 1977, he publicly condemned the use of violence for political gain, on the grounds that it was counter-productive. The weapons were Palestine Liberation Organisation arms captured by the Israelis and sold to Armscor, the South African state-owned company which, in defiance of a 1977 United Nations arms embargo, set about making South Africa self-sufficient in military hardware. The UVF agreed to a ceasefire in October 1994. After the Troubles began, an Orange-Canadian loyalist organization known as the Canadian Ulster Loyalist Association (CULA) sprang to life to provide the 'besieged' Protestants with the resources to arm themselves. 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). [32] Spence gave his permission for UVF brigadier Billy Hanna to establish the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade in Lurgan. Another former PUP leader, Dawn Purvis, said Spence's opinions began to shift sooner than is generally perceived. Augustus Gusty Spence (78), was convicted for a sectarian murder in 1966 and was a figurehead of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) which killed hundreds of people when the full violence of the Troubles began three years later. [104] The Brigade Staff's former headquarters were situated in rooms above "The Eagle" chip shop located on the Shankill Road at its junction with Spier's Place. "[154], According to Alan McQuillan, the assistant director of the Assets Recovery Agency in 2005, "In the loyalist community, drug dealing is run by the paramilitaries and it is generally run for personal gain by a large number of people." They shot dead John Scullion (28), a Catholic civilian, as he walked home. [50] The UVF was banned again on 3 October 1975 and two days later twenty-six suspected UVF members were arrested in a series of raids. 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. Mr Lynch died following a brief illness. Ever Loved makes it easy to compare funeral homes, funeral parlors and mortuaries, so you can find the best fit. [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. [117] Members were trained in bomb-making, and the organisation developed home-made explosives. She said: "Some people have said that in his later life, he changed to become committed to peace. [47] Beginning in 1975, recruitment to the UVF, which until then had been solely by invitation, was now left to the discretion of local units.[48]. Gusty Spence was a significant figure in loyalist Belfast for most of his life. 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. 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. 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. The first British soldier to be killed by the Provisional IRA died in February 1971. [127] A British Army report released in 2006 estimated a peak membership of 1,000. In 1972, five Toronto businessmen shipped weapons in grain container ships out of Halifax, bound for ports in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland which were destined for loyalist militants. 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. The UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade was founded in 1972 in Lurgan by Billy Hanna, a sergeant in the UDR and a member of the Brigade Staff, who served as the brigade's commander, until he was shot dead in July 1975. [130], Prior to and after the onset of the Troubles the UVF carried out armed robberies. [41] Furthermore, the VPP suffered a heavy defeat in West Belfast in the October 1974 general election, when the DUP candidate John McQuade captured six times as many votes as the VPP's Ken Gibson. Gusty Spence is regarded as one of the founders of loyalist paramilitarism, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. Human error to blame for train crash - Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. [25], Spence appealed against his conviction and was the subject of a release petition organised by the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee, although nothing came of either initiative. The Mid-Ulster Brigade was also responsible for the 1975 Miami Showband killings, in which three members of the popular Irish cabaret band were shot dead at a bogus military checkpoint by gunmen in British Army uniforms. 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