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UDR: Declassified
In Declassified , Micheál Smith reveals what the British establishment, the British government, and its armed forces knew and had to say about the regiment in recently declassified files. From its formation in 1970 as a locally raised militia, the Ulster Defence Regiment developed into the largest regiment in the British Army. For unionists, service in the UDR was a noble act and often a family tradition; for nationalists, an encounter with the UDR was frequently hostile, often brutal, and sometimes fatal. To the British Army, they were ‘a dangerous species of ally,’ and a classic militia regiment which was part of a long tradition of the use of such forces by the British Empire. Declassified is an evidence-based exposé of the UDR through the declassified files of Number 10, the MoD, and the NIO. The denial of access to history is a part of a continuum of British state efforts to obscure its colonial past. This book is a testimony to the value of defying such efforts and uncovering the truths behind our traumatic past.
- GenresNonfiction
272 pages, Paperback
Published May 16, 2022
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May 25, 2022
At a time when "legacy" is a buzzword associated with the Troubles, this is a timely work. While the simplistic narrative linked to events on this island often boils down to "goodies" vs "baddies", with any suggestion that the British Crown Forces were involved in terrorism shouted down by certain groups and individuals, this is a useful resource to challenge that.
Many of our post-ceasefire babies are now entering politics and are very much of opinions that refuse to attempt to understand the context as to why people took the unedifying actions they did, failing to comprehend that understanding motives is not condoning action. A refusal to try and grasp the reasons behind the decisions people made only serves to provide a fertile ground for future problems.
While Micheál Smith's work may be portrayed as one-sided and directed by an agenda since he is an advocate for the Pat Finucane Centre, the fact his source material is actually papers and files written by British government ministers, civil servants, British Army officers and Ministry of Defence officials from the formation of the UDR until after its merger. The views expressed around shared membership of the UDR and Loyalist paramilitaries, sectarian actions, high levels of criminality, and how UDR weapons were the mainstay of UDA/UFF, UVF and other unionist terror groups armament are taken directly from these documents, many quoted at length. The involvement of UDR personnel in many of the Trouble's most horrendous acts (Shankill Butchers, Miami Showband Massacre, Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, the acts of the Glenanne Gang) is clearly highlighted and disquiet in Whitehall where so much of this was common knowledge is obvious (though very little action was taken to correct things due to the risk of upsetting Unionist politicians, so to be fair little has changed in that regard).
Now some readers may approach this from a "Whatabouttery" angle but those who come from a place of honest inquiry and an acknowledgment that very few organisations or actors come out of this period with clean hands, will find this book a very useful resource in the war against simplistic narratives. We deserve explanations, not excuses, and works such as this are vital in that regard.
Many of our post-ceasefire babies are now entering politics and are very much of opinions that refuse to attempt to understand the context as to why people took the unedifying actions they did, failing to comprehend that understanding motives is not condoning action. A refusal to try and grasp the reasons behind the decisions people made only serves to provide a fertile ground for future problems.
While Micheál Smith's work may be portrayed as one-sided and directed by an agenda since he is an advocate for the Pat Finucane Centre, the fact his source material is actually papers and files written by British government ministers, civil servants, British Army officers and Ministry of Defence officials from the formation of the UDR until after its merger. The views expressed around shared membership of the UDR and Loyalist paramilitaries, sectarian actions, high levels of criminality, and how UDR weapons were the mainstay of UDA/UFF, UVF and other unionist terror groups armament are taken directly from these documents, many quoted at length. The involvement of UDR personnel in many of the Trouble's most horrendous acts (Shankill Butchers, Miami Showband Massacre, Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, the acts of the Glenanne Gang) is clearly highlighted and disquiet in Whitehall where so much of this was common knowledge is obvious (though very little action was taken to correct things due to the risk of upsetting Unionist politicians, so to be fair little has changed in that regard).
Now some readers may approach this from a "Whatabouttery" angle but those who come from a place of honest inquiry and an acknowledgment that very few organisations or actors come out of this period with clean hands, will find this book a very useful resource in the war against simplistic narratives. We deserve explanations, not excuses, and works such as this are vital in that regard.
Displaying 1 of 1 review