Northern Irish Military News http://orange-order.co.uk Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:07:21 +0000 5000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/35702-worlds-last-wwi-veteran-florence-green-dies-aged-110/ bbc.co.ukFebruary 7th, 2012view original
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-16929653

Florence Green spoke to the BBC in 2010 about her service during World War I
A woman thought to be the world's last known surviving service member of World War I has died aged 110.

Florence Green, from King's Lynn, Norfolk, served as a mess steward at RAF bases in Marham and Narborough.

She died in her sleep on Saturday night at Briar House care home, King's Lynn. Mrs Green had been due to celebrate her 111th birthday on 19 February.

The world's last known combat veteran of World War I, Briton Claude Choules, died in Australia aged 110 in May 2011.

The last three World War I veterans living in the UK - Bill Stone, Henry Allingham and Harry Patch - all died in 2009.

'Wonderful mother'
Mrs Green leaves behind three children, four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

Her husband Walter - an army veteran who served in both world wars and a porter at King's Lynn station - died aged 82 in about 1975, one of her daughters said.

The 110-year-old had been at the care home since the end of November. She previously lived in King's Lynn with her daughter May, aged 90.

Mrs Green's other daughter June Evetts, 76, lives in Oundle, Northamptonshire, and her son Bob, 85, lives in Edinburgh.

Born in London before moving to Norfolk, Mrs Green was 17 years old when she joined the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) on 13 September 1918 - two months before the armistice.


Mrs Green worked as a waitress on RAF bases in Norfolk
She left on 18 July 1919.

In 2010 Mrs Green's story emerged after a researcher uncovered her records.

Mrs Evetts said: "She was just the most wonderful mother you could ask for. No-one had a bad word to say about her."

She said her mother had rarely talked about her work with the WRAF as she "didn't like to blow her own trumpet", but added she was "proud of her service and loved the people she worked with".

"I'm ever so proud of her. It's such an achievement to be that last person," Mrs Evetts said.

After she left the WRAF, the mess steward married at the age of 19 and worked for much of her life at a hotel in King's Lynn.

In her spare time she was heavily involved with the Royal British Legion and knitted clothes and toys for children.

Mrs Evetts said her mother used to crochet blankets for children at the local Queen Elizabeth Hospital up until her 90s.

Sue Bray, administrator at Mrs Green's care home, said: "She really was a lovely lady. Everyone thought a lot of her. She will be sadly missed."

Group Captain David Cooper, station commander at RAF Marham, said in a statement he was very sad to hear that Mrs Green had died and added members of the airforce would be at her funeral.

'Good time'
Speaking to the BBC in 2010, Mrs Green said she had served breakfast, lunch and tea in the WRAF and had got to know many different people during her service.

She added she "learned a lot of different things" and had a "good time" there.

According to The National Archives, the WRAF was created to free up men for active service.

It said women had to undertake a variety of jobs and were used as drivers, mechanics, cooks and office clerks.

At first they were based in Britain, but later about 500 women served in France and Germany.

The WRAF was disbanded on 1 April 1920.

At the start of World War II, the Women's Auxiliary Air Force was formed and renamed the Women's Royal Air Force on 1 February 1949.

Mrs Green's funeral will be held at Mintlyn Crematorium, Bawsey, in Norfolk, on 16 February, her funeral directors confirmed.]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:07:21 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/35702-worlds-last-wwi-veteran-florence-green-dies-aged-110/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/35700-prince-harry-qualifies-as-apache-pilot/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16950651
Prince Harry will now gain more experience of flying Apaches with 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps

Prince Harry has qualified as an Apache helicopter pilot after 18 months of rigorous training in the UK and the US, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The third in line to the throne was awarded a prize for best co-pilot gunner at a dinner on Wednesday at his RAF training base in Ipswich, Suffolk.

He and 20 others who graduated now have limited "combat-ready status".

Previously, the prince has hinted of his wish to return to Afghanistan after his first tour of duty was cut short.

Last April, he suggested it would be pointless to train as a helicopter pilot if he never served.

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They are assessed continually to ensure that they are up to the challenge of operating one of the most sophisticated attack helicopters in the world”

Apache Force Commander Col Neale Moss
"I'd just be taking up a spare place for somebody else if they didn't have me going out on the job, " he said.

In 2007-8, Harry served 10 weeks in southern Afghanistan as a forward air controller, directing planes dropping bombs on Taliban positions in Helmand province.

However, that ended abruptly when foreign websites broke a media blackout on reporting his deployment.

Harry - known to his fellow soldiers as Captain Wales - will now gain more experience of flying Apaches with 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps.

Apaches, designed to hunt and destroy tanks, are used in Afghanistan and were deployed in Libya last year.

During the dinner at RAF Wattisham, Apache Force Commander Col Neale Moss congratulated the new pilots, describing the training as "extremely challenging".

"They are assessed continually to ensure that they are up to the challenge of operating one of the most sophisticated attack helicopters in the world," he said of the graduates.

"This requires composure, dedication and hard work."

Eight weeks of the prince's training were spent in California and Arizona, carrying out exercises designed to prepare pilots for action in Afghanistan.

There, he and his fellow students flew helicopters in mountainous and desert conditions, during the day and night, and fired weapons.]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:39:51 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/35700-prince-harry-qualifies-as-apache-pilot/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/35493-grieving-parents-plan-to-visit-helmand-province/ http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/grieving_parents_plan_to_visit_helmand_province_1_3490314

2/2/12 PACEMAKER BELFAST. Ranger David Dalziel's parents George and Susan in their Bangor home a year on from their son's death. Picture CHARLES MCQUILLAN/PACEMAKER

Published on Sunday 5 February 2012 10:41

THE parents of a young Royal Irish Ranger killed in Afghanistan have revealed it is their ambition to travel to the strife-torn country and visit the scene of their son’s death.

Bangor soldier David Dalzell, 20, was killed in an operational accident in Helmand province last February.

The Co Down man – who had only joined the ranks of the Army months earlier – was fatally wounded by a close colleague in a tragic incident.

Speaking to the News Letter ahead of the first anniversary of their youngest son’s death today, Gordon and Susan Dalzell indicated their desire to pay their respects at the spot where David lost his life.

Last year, the Bangor couple met with the soldier responsible – just 12 weeks after the accident – as part of the healing process.

“If there is peace and Afghanistan becomes a place you can go to, we would love to go and visit Camp Ranger where David passed away,” Gordon said.

“I know the Royal Irish are going back [later this year] and if it is at all feasible I will be asking can we go. Hopefully they can facilitate that.”

While stressing such a gesture would not offer closure, Mr Dalzell admitted it would be “another hurdle” overcome in their grief process.

Reflecting on the circumstances of the death, Gordon said if David had lost his life to the Taliban “there would have been someone to vent your anger on and rant and rave”.

However, he said: “David was killed by his best friend in the military and it was a total accident.”

Mr and Mrs Dalzell took the decision to give evidence at the soldier’s subsequent court marshall, stressing their belief that he was already serving a “life sentence” for his role in David’s death.

Gordon said: “We did not want him to suffer any more than he had already. We asked the judge that we wanted him to continue on with his military career and seek promotion.

“Everything that he does, not only does he do it for himself but also for David. David would not have wanted him to be punished harshly as he was his best friend.”

Mr Dalzell maintained the face-to-face meeting with the Royal Irish soldier was something he and Susan decided they “needed to do”.

“When we came out of it we felt a lot better that we had done it and had not shunned away from it,” he said.

“It helped us overcome a hurdle.”

Asked if they could forgive the individual, Gordon replied: “I don’t think forgiveness comes into it. He took something so precious away from us. Maybe down the line forgiveness will come into it but it is still so raw.”

Mrs Dalzell added: “I know it was an accident but I don’t know if I can forgive still.”

Describing their son as “always happy, outgoing and loving”, Ranger Dalzell’s parents said it was always the former Bangor Academy pupil’s ambition to join the Army, following a short stint as a mechanic.

“His elder brother was in the military and he always looked up to Gareth so it was always a career he wanted to do,” Gordon said.

Despite his frontline duties, Ranger Dalzell would have regularly rang his family and his partner, Debbie.

“He would have phoned us from Afghanistan but he was always upbeat,” his father said.

“Every day they were fighting with the Taliban and he would tell me about ‘getting rounds down’ as he called it.

“One of the other soldiers told us that he always brought the phone back with no battery life left in it because he was ringing us.

“Even on Christmas Day he rang and spoke to us all.”

Mr Dalzell added: “We spoke to him on the Thursday before he was killed and he was complaining that it was not as busy as it used to be because [the Royal Irish] had defeated the Taliban in that area.

“Like all young soldiers, he enjoyed the cut and thrust and the adrenalin.”

Stressing the past year had been a “rollercoaster” for the family and they were taking it “a day at a time”, the Dalzells have encountered a number of emotional landmarks, including David’s 21st birthday.

During the course of the last 12 months they have received the posthumous Elizabeth Cross from the regiment’s colonel-in-chief, Prince Andrew, in honour of David’s service and attended a reception at Buckingham Palace.

Gordon also laid a wreath in memory of his son at Bangor cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.

“To lay a wreath for your own son was one of the hardest things we had to do,” he said.

The Dalzells say they will mark today’s anniversary with relatives by being together “quietly” as a family.

Ranger Dalzell was one of three Ulster soldiers who did not return from the front line in Afghanistan during the Royal Irish Regiment’s most recent 2010/2011 tour.

Colleague Aaron McCormick was killed in an explosion in the notoriously dangerous Nad-e-Ali region in November 2010.

The Macosquin soldier, 22, lost his life after being caught in a blast whilst being out on patrol.

Poignantly, Ranger McCormick died on Remembrance Sunday.

Banbridge soldier Stephen McKee was killed in March last year, only weeks before he was due to return home.

The Royal Irish lance corporal, 27, died after the armoured vehicle he was driving hit a roadside bomb in Helmand province.

Paying tribute to Ranger Dalzell at the time of his death, his commanding officer Lt Col Colin Weir described the Bangor soldier as an “extraordinary young man”.

He said: “His time with us was too short, but in that time he experienced more and contributed more than most men do in a lifetime.”]]> Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:07:47 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/35493-grieving-parents-plan-to-visit-helmand-province/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/34918-why-irish-soldiers-who-fought-hitler-hide-their-medals/ Why Irish soldiers who fought Hitler hide their medals
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16287211
By John Waite
BBC Radio 4, Face the Facts

John Stout: "I feel very betrayed about how we were treated, it was wrong"
Five thousand Irish soldiers who swapped uniforms to fight for the British against Hitler went on to suffer years of persecution.

One of them, 92-year-old Phil Farrington, took part in the D-Day landings and helped liberate the German death camp at Bergen-Belsen - but he wears his medals in secret.

Even to this day, he has nightmares that he will be arrested by the authorities and imprisoned for his wartime service.

"They would come and get me, yes they would," he said in a frail voice at his home in the docks area of Dublin.

And his 25-year-old grandson, Patrick, confirmed: "I see the fear in him even today, even after 65 years."

Mr Farrington's fears are not groundless.

He was one of about 5,000 Irish soldiers who deserted their own neutral army to join the war against fascism and who were brutally punished on their return home as a result.

They were formally dismissed from the Irish army, stripped of all pay and pension rights, and prevented from finding work by being banned for seven years from any employment paid for by state or government funds.

A special "list" was drawn up containing their names and addresses, and circulated to every government department, town hall and railway station - anywhere the men might look for a job.

Continue reading the main story
Find out more


John Waite presents Face the Facts: Deserters Deserted
The programme will be on BBC Radio 4 at 12:30 GMT on Wednesday 4 January 2012 and can be heard afterwards on BBC iPlayer
Read more about the programme
It was referred to in the Irish parliament - the Dail - at the time as a "starvation order", and for many of their families the phrase became painfully close to the truth.

Treated as outcasts
Paddy Reid - whose father and uncle both fought the Japanese at the battle of Kohima Ridge - recalls a post-war childhood in Dublin spent "moving from one slum to another".

Maybe one slice of bread a day and that would be it - no proper clothing, no proper heating.

"My father was blacklisted and away all the time, picking turnips or whatever work he could get. It's still painful to remember. We were treated as outcasts."

John Stout served with the Irish Guards armoured division which raced to Arnhem to capture a key bridge.

He also fought in the Battle of the Bulge, ending the war as a commando.

On his return home to Cork, however, he was treated as a pariah. "What they did to us was wrong. I know that in my heart. They cold-shouldered you. They didn't speak to you.

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What happened to them was vindictive and not only a stain on their honour but on the honour of Ireland”

Gerald Nash
Member of the Irish Parliament
"They didn't understand why we did what we did. A lot of Irish people wanted Germany to win the war - they were dead up against the British."

It was only 20 years since Ireland had won its independence after many years of rule from London, and the Irish list of grievances against Britain was long - as Gerald Morgan, long-time professor of history at Trinity College, Dublin, explains.

"The uprisings, the civil war, all sorts of reneged promises - I'd estimate that 60% of the population expected or indeed hoped the Germans would win.

"To prevent civil unrest, Eamon de Valera had to do something. Hence the starvation order and the list."

Ireland adopted a policy of strict neutrality which may have been necessary politically or even popular, but a significant minority strongly backed Britain, including tens of thousands of Irish civilians who signed up to fight alongside the 5,000 Irish servicemen who switched uniforms.

Confidential list
Until I showed him the list - the size of a slim phone directory and marked "confidential" - John Stout had not realised his name was included.

But after the war it quickly became apparent that he could not get work and was not welcome in Ireland - so he returned to Britain.

"I feel very betrayed about how we were treated, it was wrong and even today they should say sorry for the problems we had to endure. We never even got to put our case or argue why it was unjust," said Mr Stout.

And the list itself is far from accurate, according to Robert Widders, who has written a book about the deserters' treatment called Spitting on a Soldier's Grave.


Eamon de Valera inspects his country's neutral army
"It contains the names of men who were to be punished but who'd already been killed in action, but not the names of men who deserted the Irish army to spend their war years as burglars or thieves," he said.

In recent months, a number of Irish parliamentarians have begun pressing their government to issue a pardon to the few deserters who remain alive.

"What happened to them was vindictive and not only a stain on their honour but on the honour of Ireland," TD Gerald Nash said.

But for those nonagenarians who helped win the war but lost so much by doing so, time is of the essence, and it is running out fast.

Face the Facts - Deserters Deserted will be on BBC Radio 4 at 12.30GMT on Wednesday 4 January 2012 and will be available to listen to afterwards online.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018xtr9

Video here:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16343906

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23 January 2012 Last updated at 12:26
Assembly motion supports pardon for Ireland's WWII deserters
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-16680453

The then Taoiseach, Eamon de Valera, inspects his country's neutral army

Irish soldiers who hid their medals
Pressure to pardon Irish deserters
The NI assembly is to consider a motion later to support a pardon for soldiers from the Irish Republic who deserted to fight for Britain during World War II.

Ireland was neutral during the conflict, but around 10% of its armed forces deserted to fight fascism.

On their return, many were placed on an official blacklist, banning them from jobs, benefits or pensions.

DUP MLA Peter Weir is supporting the motion and said it was time for a pardon.

"I want to show the solidarity of the Northern Ireland Assembly to a very good campaign which has been put forward by people in the Irish Republic to try and get a pardon and indeed honour and recognition for those brave men and women who served the Irish Republic in the Second World War against facism," he said.

"I don't see why the parties should not roll in behind this, this was very much an abuse of human rights.

"These were people who were denied employment and welfare which in many cases were enforced with starvation orders where families went hungry as a result of their commitment to the British army.

"I think this is an historic injustice which needs to be embraced."

Around 5,000 soldiers were formally dismissed from the Irish army for serving with the British.

Irish senator Mary Ann O'Brien met with Ireland's minister of justice, Alan Shatter, before Christmas with regard to the issue of a pardon and said he was actively working on the matter.

She expects to hear from him again in March and voiced her support for the assembly motion.

"We are lucky we are not Germany here, because we have to remember that these men deserted the Irish army to join the British army to fight for all of us, for our democracy and our future and for the freedom of Europe," she added.

"They came back here to find no hope of employment, there was terrible poverty but they were literally blacklisted.

"I can tell you something worse if they were unlucky enough to have been killed, their children would possibly have ended up in an orphanage as the poverty would have been such the widow would not have been allowed any allowance as she too was blacklisted.

"The child was tarnished with special letters after his or her name when it went into the orphanage so the orphanage would know it was the child of a deserter, so it would get special treatment."
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Ireland vindictive treatment of soldiers who ‘deserted’ peace for war…
http://sluggerotoole.com/2012/01/17/ireland-vindictive-treatment-of-soldiers-who-deserted-peace-for-war/

Mick Fealty, Tue 17 January 2012, 9:23am 90

I was struck by this line of thought in Joseph Quinn’s piece in the Irish Times on Saturday, which focuses on the trial of an Irish war veteran, who unfortunately for him had left (ie, deserted) the Irish Army for the British during the Second World War:

Kehoe had left the safety of the Army to face the dangers of fighting the Nazis which, “in any civilised country, was not a case for punishment at all”. Sadly, the trial’s outcome was dictated by the political dogma that had reigned in neutral Ireland and that would unfortunately come to define the state of the country at that time. The Emergency Powers (No 362) Order, which became enshrined in Irish statute law at the stroke of Taoiseach Éamon de Valera’s pen as section 13 of the Defence Forces (Temporary Provisions) Act 1946, formally dismissed deserters from the Defence Forces, stripping them of pay and gratuity rights. It deprived them of the right to make claims under the Unemployment Insurance Act or from obtaining any State or public employment for seven years.

The punishment may not have qualified as cruel and unusual, but it was extraordinarily vindictive and social and economic in its nature. At a time when all manner of Ireland’s history is under constant revision, Quinn suggests now is the time to do something about it.


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“We were neutral for one purpose and that is that we were Britain’s home defence”

http://sluggerotoole.com/2012/01/17/we-were-neutral-for-one-purpose-and-that-is-that-we-were-britains-home-defence/
Pete BakerJanuary 17th, 2012view original

Mick has already pointed to the Irish Times article at the weekend by Joseph Quinn on the post-World War II treatment in Ireland of around 5,000 Irish soldiers who deserted their own neutral army to join the British army and fought in Europe and elsewhere. The “confidential” list of those affected is still available from Ireland’s National Army Museum.
http://books.national-army-museum.ac.uk/list-of-personnel-of-the-irish-defence-forces-dismissed-for-des-pr-31799.html

But, via the Irish Soldiers Pardon (WW2) Campaign website, there are a couple of items to highlight.
http://www.forthesakeofexample.com/index.htm

Firstly, the instrument at issue – the Emergency Powers (no. 362) Order, 1945.

As the campaign website notes,


By the 2 April 1946 Emergency Powers Order 362 had been subsumed as a temporary provision into mainstream defence force acts as Section 13 of the Defence Force (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1946. Following a 1948 Debate in Dail Eireann, Fine Gael managed to reduce the effects of the Orderand on the 29 February 1949 Emergency Powers Order 362 was amended.


And this lengthy extract from the end of the Dáil Éireann Debate in 1945 on a Fine Gael Motion to Annul the Emergency Powers Order 362 is worth reading. As is the whole debate… [added emphasis throughout]


General Mulcahy: When the Minister tells us that the number of deserters who did not surrender and were not caught is 4,000, out of the 40,000 who, he says, served in the emergency, we are in the position that we are dealing with 10 per cent. of the total number of men who over, say, five years, were in the Army or entered the Army. We are, therefore, dealing with very many different types of characters and with men operating in very different kinds of circumstances. I do not think that the problem that is suggested by what is implied in those figures can be dismissed by any kind of rule of thumb. The Minister indicated that he told the House earlier that he was going to deal, in some way, with this matter by legislation. It may be fortunate that the Minister has made this emergency Order and that we have had a discussion on it—that is, if the Minister will think over the problem before he introduces his permanent legislation to deal with the general question of deserters.


Deputy M. O’Reilly told us that what is in this Emergency Order is a warning to future generations, while Deputy Moran told us that now is the time to lay down a stern rule for the future. Therefore, we are in the position that we are having a warning for future generations and a stern rule for the future to deal with desertion. We are having it promulgated by Emergency Order without publicity of any kind, or a statement of any kind, that, as far back as the 8th August of this year, every aspect of the emergency, from the military point of view, was completely over, and that the future of armies, the future of wars and the future of defence services of every kind was absolutely in [431] the melting pot and that no General Staff in the world would sit down and say what kind of army, or what kind of disciplined organisation, they wanted to meet the next world war. What we principally object to is that this problem should be dealt with on the 8th August of this year by an Emergency Order.


I submit to the Minister that, as soon as the emergency is over—and I take it that he is not going to put the date of the ending of the emergency, from a military point of view, later than 1st January next—from a legal point of view the provisions of that Order will completely go; it will have no continuing effect. That is a matter which he might have intended to deal with by legislation. As this Order stands there is tremendous discrimination. In the first place, there is discrimination between officers and men; the Order is intended to apply only to men. Then there is discrimination between men who were not caught or did not surrender before the date of the Order, and men who did. Various speakers on the other side have indicated that this is mild treatment to give to people who deserted the Irish Army and joined an army which, as Deputy Colley said, might possibly be in conflict with those men’s own country. Do not let us talk awful nonsense when we are dealing with these matters. What did happen before the issue of this Order in relation to deserters? The Minister suggests that it was possible under the legislation which existed to impose very severe penalties. It was possible, and rightly possible, but the cases that were tried by court-martial before the issue of this Order were dealt with on their merits, both on the circumstances of the time and on the merits of the men. I have seen many people smiling at the tolerance of the British Army authorities, and saying that, when a deserter from the Irish Army joined the British Army, and then came back here on leave and was caught, got six or eight weeks’ imprisonment, and then was ignominiously discharged out of the [432] Army, he went back to the British Army and got his back pay and his separation allowance for the period of his unavoidable absence. That was as well known to the members of the Army and to the officers of the Army as it was to anybody outside who was discussing the matter. The Minister must know that while a very severe frame of mind was adopted by the Army authorities with regard to desertion from the Army during the emergency, and we all would adopt the same attitude——


Mr. Traynor: I do not know what the Deputy is referring to now. I do know that the British Army would not tolerate desertion from this Army to their army.


General Mulcahy: I am quite aware of that, but there were in the actual facts of the position all kinds of ways of shutting people’s eyes to things. I must say the Minister came before the House very badly equipped to speak on this Order when he did not go to the trouble of seeing how desertion cases were dealt with by courts-martial before this emergency Order was made.


Mr. Traynor: I have explained how they were dealt with.


General Mulcahy: In the early part of this war, when the Ministers were, in my opinion, for purely political purposes, suggesting that this country was likely to be invaded by Great Britain, if the attitude of the Government were really serious they would have been very severe on desertions. But the sentences passed on such deserters were very light. In the latter part of the war it was quite clear to everybody on the street that there was a complete understanding, co-ordination and exchange of views between the Government here and the British Government on military matters, and it was at that particular time that this Order was made. I suggest that all kinds of interpretations can be placed on this Order. The outstanding interpretation that can be placed upon it is that the small amount of employment which is available will be distributed in a way [433] that will be dictated by the Government or by the Minister. I quite agree that in the giving of employment under the local authorities, under the statutory authorities, under the Government, preference should be given to National Army men. That was the system which we adopted from the time of the formation of the National Army, when an army of 50,000 men had to be recruited and then were demobilised. It is that type of administration that Deputies on the far side have been criticising here this afternoon, but it is the natural thing to do, and it would be natural that the Minister and the Government would do it. But I submit that that could very well be done without creating a class of 4,000 people in this country who will have to be blacklisted. A list will have to be kept by every employment exchange, by every county council, by every Government Department, and by every body that has any statutory position in the country.


Again, I think there is a grave injustice under clause 4 (, which says that: “No pension, gratuity or allowance in respect of his service in the Defence Forces shall be payable under the Army Pensions Acts 1923/43 to or in respect of any such member.” The Order as it stands allows no alternative to depriving a man of a pension which he might have earned by a service of from 15 to 16 years. He must lose that. There is no provision for giving a man the option of taking a court-martial on his particular circumstances or taking what is set out here. I remember, when the Spanish Civil War was on, having great difficulty when it came to my notice that a number of men in the National Army of that time, with perhaps something like 14 or 15 years’ pensionable service, were intending to desert from the Army and to go to fight in Spain on the Franco side. Some of them did go. When we look back on the circumstances of the last 5 or 6 years it is very unjust and very unwise to think that anyone could estimate the motives of men who, having joined our Army here for the defence of the country, many of them very young men, [434] then made up their minds—with the impact of very many circumstances in this country and very many circumstances outside—that they were serving even national interests better by deserting from the Army and going outside, whether into another Army or to work elsewhere. It is all very well for Deputies on the far side to say that we must have discipline in this country. I remember being in an internment camp when the officers of the camp were paraded by the Colonel in charge of the camp and told that he was going to have discipline or dead bodies. Well, from his point of view he never got discipline—not the discipline that he wanted—but there was in that camp the strong discipline of intelligent men working and acting together.


I think the Army authorities, if left to themselves, would have dealt with this matter in a very different way. At any rate we have gone through an extraordinary period, during which a large number of young men in this country who could not, in the world circumstances, get work of any kind, found themselves tempted and distracted in very many ways. The fact that 10 per cent. of the whole of the Army that the Minister had are involved in the number of unfound deserters should show the Minister that he is dealing with a very difficult but a very human problem. He should realise that he is at the end of a very extraordinary period and at the beginning of another. If we are to have an army code of discipline that is going to be respected and if we are to ensure that every soldier going into the Army, taking the oath, will not take it merely as a formality, then we had better leave the framing of the code until such time as we face the discussion of what our new Army will be, its organisation, its equipment and the kind of defence policy for which we will want it.


I submit to the Minister that he is doing the Army damage by introducing a new disciplinary code for deserters in this way, by an emergency Order, applying it as an absolute rule of thumb, with no alternative and no [435] option, applying it in that particular way to an extraordinary variety of cases. We, therefore, object to this Order in that it is an emergency Order issued at the tail-end of an emergency; in that it is in its attitude in conflict with the attitude of the Army authorities to desertion when they were dealing with the question of desertion in the most serious part of the emergency, in that it discriminates in the punishment that will have to be suffered by people who are not caught, who did not surrender and people who were caught; in that it discriminates between Army officers and men and that it does not leave to the ordinary military code of law—the law of this House—the decision as to whether or not the circumstances are so grave that a man, because of his desertion, should lose a pension earned by service over a large number of years.


I submit that these are matters that the Minister should very well consider and that, whatever the House may decide, in respect of this Order, the Minister should think over these things and a number of other matters that I am sure the Army authorities will be able to bring very clearly to his mind before he endeavours to enshrine a new disciplinary code for deserters in our laws.


Arising out of some of the remarks that have been passed here, there is no way of objecting to one item in this emergency Order without objecting to the whole of it. The only type of criticism and the only type of opposition that can be given to the making of this Order in the House is to vote for its annulment. There is no way of amending it. There are sections of the Order that everybody in the House would allow to stand but there are other sections, to which we have pointed, that are of such a kind that nobody ought to be prepared to support them as an emergency Order, particularly an emergency Order issued after the emergency if the date of the military emergency were properly fixed. There would be many others that we would not be prepared to support as part of our legislation.


Captain Giles: I also think the Minister [436] would be well advised to withdraw this Order and to leave well enough alone, because what we want in this country is a spirit of peace and harmony. Those who deserted and joined other armies did not desert to the enemy. They deserted to an army which they thought was fighting our battle. The experience of these men in that army was sentence enough for them. They have come home with their lives and they have been lucky. I think we should close the books and leave it at that. We have not much tradition in the Army, because for 700 years we were struggling for freedom. We have had the Army for only 25 years and there is not much tradition behind it yet and our people do not know where they stand in respect of it. We are a partitioned country. We are not a free country. The men in the Army have different ideas and different views. Some joined the army from patriotic motives. Others had different ideas. Some joined to disrupt the Army from the inside when they could not do it from the outside. I know men—some of them have high positions in the Army—who joined for the purpose of disrupting the Army. We had not such loyal service from all our people after all. Some of the Government speakers to-day were very high-falutin and spoke about tradition and honour. When they were upsetting the Irish Army was it not known that one of their chief objects was to get every man they could to desert, not only to desert, but to bring all the equipment he possibly could with him and to sell it? They even took the lives of young men who would not leave the Army. Now they come along and talk about what we should do to-day. We have our memory that takes us back that far. We know the men who are talking to-day in this House are hypocrites and impostors and nothing more. They ought to drown themselves and keep quiet for evermore.


Donnchadh O Briain: Who were the deserters?


Captain Giles: It is the mercy of God and the strength of our right arm that saved us, in spite of de Valera and his henchmen.


[437] An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Taoiseach.


Captain Giles: The Taoiseach. The Government set no headline. There is too much codology, even about the emergency. Every second word out of the Taoiseach’s mouth is, “the emergency and the dangers to this country.” Who saved us during the emergency? It was not our little army and our Government. It was the might of the British navy that saved us and if that had not been there, Hitler or Stalin would not have been long about taking us over.


An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: I think the Deputy is going outside the terms of the motion.


Captain Giles: Not very much. What kept us neutral? What equipped our Army, from the very smallest rifle to the biggest gun, to our motor torpedo boats? Where did we get them? Where did we get the machinery for our Tattoo? From our nearest country across the water, that is supposed to be our traditional enemy. I want to tell the Minister that the country is not one bit deluded. The people know definitely that there was a pact between the British and the Taoiseach during the war. There is not the slightest doubt about it. I want to say also, and I do not care who is listening: Is not it a fact that a member of the Imperial Staff inspected our Army and that a member of our Army inspected the army across the Border?


Mr. Traynor: I think the Deputy ought to produce the proof.


Captain Giles: I want facts and history will show the facts. This country was bamboozled for the last five years. We were neutral for one purpose and that is that we were Britain’s home defence, and you cannot deny it.


An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Deputy ought to stick to the terms of the motion.


Captain Giles: I am sticking to the motion. This is the place I want to say it.


[438] An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Deputy must do it within the terms of the motion before the House.


Mr. Traynor: I deny everything the Deputy has said.


Captain Giles: Of the thousands of men who went away, some of them believed they were fighting for their lives; others went to earn money for their people; others went for adventure. These men were doing in faroff lands what we were not doing at home. I am one of those who served in the Old I.R.A. I am an I.R.A. man and I want to face facts. I say that 99 per cent. of Fianna Fáil men wanted Britain and America to win but they were too cowardly to admit it. When they read about the Belsen camp they remained silent. They were pro-German when they thought Hitler was going to win. Now they hang their heads in shame. It is time that all this nonsense was stopped and that the farmers got a chance.


An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Deputy is out of order.


Captain Giles: I am finished.


Dr. O’Higgins: If this debate has served no other useful purpose, at least in putting down the motion, I worked a miracle and made the dumb speak. The first miracle that was worked was to produce a speech from a Deputy who has been 15 years silent in this House. A number of minor miracles were subsequently worked. Unfortunately, though I was capable of making them speak, I was not capable of making them or the Minister think. I never listened in my Parliamentary experience to so many exhibitions of muddled thinking, not only from the back benches opposite but from the Front Bench. The Minister’s speech was an outstanding example of muddled thinking. Let us hark back and examine his speech. What was the great offence we were punishing? According to the Minister, the offence was the breaking of a solemn oath, and a contract between the soldier and the State. I did attempt to correct the Minister. The breaking of a solemn oath concerns any soldier who deserts, and yet the [439] Minister seemed to forget that we had thousands who deserted, who broke that solemn oath and no penalties whatever were inflicted.


Mr. Traynor: That is not so.


Dr. O’Higgins: They were brought into barracks, discharged from the Army and turned out—hundreds of them. Others got a week or two weeks’ detention. They all broke a solemn oath. There is a certain section of soldiers that broke a solemn oath and fought in this war, and the Order is designed to punish these men and no others.


Mr. Traynor: Only a small fraction of those involved went out of this country.


Dr. O’Higgins: The Minister confesses now that there is such inefficient government and such an inefficient service, that soldiers can desert in this little sod of turf—this tiny island—and can remain at liberty undetected for 180 days. That is a terrible indictment of State services. I have more respect for the police, Army and other services of the State than to think that it is possible for men to desert, and to remain at home undetected for 180 days, with no ration cards or anything else, and no way of getting a pinch of tea.


In the main, the Order applies to men who went abroad and not to those who remained at home. The Deputies’ speeches, and the Minister’s line of action, were an example of the product of Fianna Fáil political tactics—when you cannot meet a case, abuse your opponent; if he can make a case, distort it. The Minister has always the final word, and he got the opportunity to suggest that everybody on these benches was condoning desertion; that we were standing for desertion. I made it quite clear in my opening remarks that the main reason why I objected to this Order was that it was a case of the Army washing its hands of its own responsibilities; that if the Army Act, which is there over a long period, was availed of in the ordinary way to mete out punishment according [440] to the offence, no voice would be raised here.


After 20 years operating the Army Act we have the Army and the Minister for Defence washing their hands of their own responsibilities, and asking public boards to punish Army deserters. That is a complete departure from every traditional military precedent and we get no explanation from the Minister. He threw up his hands and said that there were 4,000 men out of 40,000 still undealt with, who were absent for 180 days. I wonder how many were dealt with? If we assume even that only one out of four deserted, what kind of an Army have we had for the last five years, what kind of control and what kind of Minister? If it was a case of fly-by-night, it is time we knew it. We are told that 4,000 men were absent more than 180 days. How many more thousands left and were captured out of a tiny Army of 40,000? I think that is something to investigate other than the Order, if there was such lack of control that apparently tens of thousands out of 40,000 could hook it, and 4,000 remain uncaptured. At the end we have the Army authorities saying: “We are unable to control the situation; we must leave it to the public boards, the town commissioners, the Turf Development Board,” boards that should not be concerned with cases of Army indiscipline.


Mr. Traynor: I told the Deputy that 4,000 men were affected by this Order.


Dr. O’Higgins: How many were 180 days absent?


Mr. Traynor: It must be assumed that they have not returned and are described as having deserted. That is the position. All told, the total number of desertions is round the 7,000 mark, and of these the balance would have been dealt with in the ordinary way in the course of the emergency. There are 4,000 men affected by the Order.


Dr. O’Higgins: Very well; leave it at that.


Mr. Traynor: I do not want the Deputy to exaggerate by saying that tens of thousands are affected.


[441] Dr. O’Higgins: The Deputy was left guessing. I may be a doctor, but I am not a dentist and I cannot draw teeth. The process of getting information from the benches opposite is something equivalent to a dentist’s job. The Minister makes statements regarding desertions, but withholds from the Dáil the number of desertions, until a Deputy has finished his statement, and then by interruption he tells us that there were 7,000 desertions. I shall not, therefore, say tens of thousands. There are 7,000 deserters. They all broke the solemn oath which the Minister spoke about so extensively. They all committed the crime of breaking this solemn oath, but 4,000 of those 7,000 are to be penalised for the next seven years and the other 3,000 are not. Presumably, in the 4,000 we have all those who gave service in other armies and the Minister has proven up to the hilt the case I made, that the punishments are not provided because a solemn oath was broken, because those men deserted, but because they served elsewhere.


Mr. Traynor: That is your own imagination.


Dr. O’Higgins: If we operate in the ordinary way, soldiers should be dealt with by soldiers. Military courts should deal with offences by soldiers. Those are the courts which understand best the necessity for discipline, for severe and speedy penalties and for making an example of an individual before his comrades so as to deter them from committing the same offence. I think that this is the only case in history where an army has so reneged its duties, where a Minister has so run away from his responsibilities, where a Minister for War or a Minister for Defence asked various town commissioners and urban councils to do his job for him. Instances were cited of how unjust this Order was. The Minister promised Deputy O’Leary that he would deal with this question by legislation. If he had done that, we should not have the same complaint. Legislation can be discussed, altered, amended, reduced or extended but an emergency Order cannot be altered and cannot be amended. One may like [442] some of it and dislike the rest of it. All one can do is swallow the whole lot or annul the whole lot. That is the position into which the Dáil was forced. There was no option but to move the annulment of the Order. People over here in this Assembly have shown in the past, are showing in the present, and I hope will show in the future as great a sense of responsibility towards the State as any of the self-reputed heroes opposite. They have shown more regard for the sanctity of the Army than a great number of those sitting opposite. Many of us over here served for many years in that Army. We know the necessity for discipline better than the Minister does. We never preached indiscipline and we never opposed the Army. Discipline is absolutely essential but military discipline must be maintained and ensured by military men. Never in our time in the Army, and never in the time of any reasonable men in the Army, were military delinquencies passed over to be dealt with by various urban councils and town commissioners. When an offence was committed by military men, it was dealt with by military men and punishment was meted out to fit the crime. Here we have a general, slap-dash Order that applies equally to all, without examining the merits of particular cases, without examining the excellent record which a soldier may have had over a number of years, without having regard to whether or not a man may have given years of pre-Truce service in the Anglo-Irish War and have helped to establish this State and without making any allowance as to whether a man had four days or four years’ Army service. The service of the soldier cannot be taken into account. The emergency Order, passed after the emergency was clearly over, deals with all those common victims by a common method. There is no sense and there is no justice in that. As Deputies saw when the Minister stood up, there is no defence for it. If what the Minister said was the best case that could be put forward, then any person who listened will admit that no defence was made for the Order.


Motion put and negatived.


The campaign was the subject of a written answer from the Irish Minister for Defence, Alan Shatter, on 12 January.


207. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Defence his plans to pardon Irish soldiers who fought with the Allies during World War II; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1764/12]


Minister for Defence (Deputy Alan Shatter): This is a very complicated issue and covers a wider range of individuals other than those who deserted to join the British Army during World War II. Having regard to the wider dimensions of the issue, including for those who were actually tried by Court Martial for desertion during the Emergency and thereafter, the matter has been referred to the Attorney General’s Office for advice. The matter will require some further research by that office and detailed consideration of the wider implications of any proposed course of action. I am awaiting the advice of the Attorney General and will consider the matter further at that stage. I expect to receive that advice shortly.]]> Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:27:59 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/34918-why-irish-soldiers-who-fought-hitler-hide-their-medals/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/34877-queen-gives-irish-soldier-medal-for-acts-of-bravery/ http://www.independent.ie/national-news/queen-gives-irish-soldier-medal-for-acts-of-bravery-2993717.html

Lance Corporal James White from Co Tipperary who was presented with the Military Cross for bravery by the queen


By Barry Duggan
Thursday January 19 2012
A YOUNG Irish soldier who joined the British army has been honoured by Queen Elizabeth for multiple acts of bravery in Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal James White (28) from Cappawhite, Co Tipperary, was presented with the Military Cross by the queen for his heroic acts.

A member of the Parachute Regiment, James joined the army in 2005 after leaving his home in Tipperary.

His father Pat White said his son always wanted to be a soldier.

"He tried to join the Irish army, but failed on the medical because he had asthma as a child, but he quickly grew out of that. He worked here for a bit before moving to England and joined the army." Mr White said. During his service, he took part in two seven-month tours of Afghanistan as part of a 'Special Forces Support Group'. He won his award following three incidents on his last tour.

On one occasion, two platoons were pinned down by enemy fire and he ran across 200 metres of open ground to assist his comrades. With automatic gunfire and RPGs firing all around him, James cleared out enemy positions to alleviate the two platoons.

Another time, he took out an insurgent machine gunner and on a third occasion, he helped the evacuation of soldiers -- who were taking casualties -- by attacking a compound.

James was one of 136 members of the British Armed Forces to make the honours list and received his award from the queen last November.

"His girlfriend, Jean O'Brien, is an officer in the Irish army and she was with him with his mother when he got it," Mr White said.

- Barry Duggan

Irish Independent]]> Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:48:31 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/34877-queen-gives-irish-soldier-medal-for-acts-of-bravery/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/33011-poland-salutes-the-last-of-%e2%80%98the-few%e2%80%99-as-pilot-laid-to-rest/ http://www.scotsman.com/news/international/poland_salutes_the_last_of_the_few_as_pilot_laid_to_rest_1_1989396?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
Brigadier General Tadeusz Sawicz, the last surviving Polish pilot from the 1940 Battle of Britain, was buried with full military honours

Published on Thursday 1 December 2011 00:15

The last of Poland’s fighter pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain was buried in Warsaw yesterday with full military honours as Poland honoured the final passing of its “few”.

In grey skies and with a colour guard from the RAF in attendance, Brigadier General Tadeusz Sawicz was laid to rest in the Polish capital’s main military cemetery.

The airmen had died aged 97 in Canada last month, but his ashes were returned to his native land for burial.

Brig-Gen Sawicz flew Hurricanes with 303 Polish Squadron during the desperate battle for survival in the skies over Britain in 1940, having previously taken on the Luftwaffe during the battles for Poland and France.

“Poland welcomes home a hero and a great pilot,” said Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s defence minister.

“His bravery and commitment are an example for all Poles. General, we will always remember what you did for the republic.”

Robin Barnett, the British ambassador to Poland, said Brig-Gen Sawicz “had fought for our freedom and for Poland’s, and we will never forget”.

After the end of the Battle of Britain, Brig-Gen Sawicz continued to fly combat missions until the last days of the Second World War, being awarded medals by Holland and the United States to sit alongside his British Distinguished Flying Cross and the Virtuti Militari, one of Poland’s highest awards.

The Polish contribution to the RAF’s victory over Hitler’s air force remains a singular source of pride in Poland.

Polish pilots made up the second largest national contingent during the Battle of Britain after British pilots, and they soon developed a legendary reputation for both their fighting prowess and their determination to engage the enemy.

With many of them having already fought the Luftwaffe in Europe, they were among the most battle-hardened airmen in Fighter Command’s ranks, and they soon proved to be adept at shooting down German planes.

The 151 Polish pilots accounted for 12 per cent of all kills during the battle, and 303 Squadron earned the honour of the most effective unit, downing 125 enemy aircraft. At least 31 Polish pilots died defending Britain.

But during the war and directly afterwards, the British government’s desire to maintain good relations with the Soviet Union led to the prominent role Polish pilots played in Britain’s survival being downplayed.

As the war progressed, Britain deemed it undesirable that the “free Poles”, most of whom were bitterly opposed to Stalin’s determination to absorb Poland into a socialist bloc, should be given any prominence.

This led to Poles being excluded from the main victory parade in London following the end of the war in Europe.

Poland’s exclusion from the march, and a general treatment at the hands of the British that many Poles regard as shabby and shameful, still colours relations between Poland and Britain.

As the iron fist of Stalinism descended on Poland after Hitler’s defeat, many of the Polish pilots who had fought for the RAF preferred to stay in the UK rather than return to Poland and face possible persecution or even death at the hands of the Communist authorities.

Brig-Gen Sawicz remained in the UK until 1957 before emigrating to Canada, where he worked in the aviation industry.

Collectively, Battle of Britain pilots were known as “the few” after a speech of thanks by Winston Churchill, in which he said: “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.”]]> Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:56:57 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/33011-poland-salutes-the-last-of-%e2%80%98the-few%e2%80%99-as-pilot-laid-to-rest/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/33010-highlanders-soldiers-parade-through-aberdeen/ Highlanders soldiers parade through Aberdeen
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-15964976?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Soldiers from The Highlanders paraded through Aberdeen
Soldiers from The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, have paraded through Aberdeen.

Thousands of people welcomed more than 300 soldiers after their return from active duty in Afghanistan.

The parade started at 12:30 from Albyn Place and headed along Union Street to the Castlegate.

Lord Provost of Aberdeen Peter Stephen said there was a lot of pride in seeing the troops parade.

"We are delighted. A great many see The Highlanders as their local regiment," he said.

In 1994, the Gordon Highlanders regiment was amalgamated to become part of The Highlanders.

Prince Charles was the famous regiment's last colonel-in-chief.]]> Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:53:56 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/33010-highlanders-soldiers-parade-through-aberdeen/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/33008-crack-gchqs-code-and-become-the-next-james-bond/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/12/01/canyoucrackit/
Signals snoopers' challenge to wannabe spooks
By John Leyden • Get more from this author

Posted in Developer, 1st December 2011 11:23 GMT
Free app developer tools for Windows Phone 7
GCHQ has launched a code-breaker challenge as part of its attempts to unearth fresh talent from unconventional sources.

The signals intelligence agency's ‘canyoucrackit’ challenge invites would-be codebreakers to crack a visual code at canyoucrackit.co.uk. The campaign will be supported in social media channels, including blogs and forums.
http://www.canyoucrackit.co.uk/

GCHQ traditionally recruits graduates but it is also keen to employ talented self-taught codebreakers and those with an interest in ethical hacking too, an audience traditional recruitment schemes and advertising campaigns might miss. The agency has no interest in recruiting anyone who has even dabbled in criminal hacking.

Individuals simply with an interest in puzzle-solving or cryptography but no interest in working for GCHQ are also being encouraged to attempt to crack the code, as a statement by GCHQ explains.

The challenge is anonymous, GCHQ is not named as the source of the challenge, in order that applying for a career in the department is not the primary reason for the participant to engage.
The desired result of the campaign is to reach those people with the right skills and mindset, and to encourage them to find out more about a career with GCHQ. Cracking the code is not an assessment, rather a way to connect potential applicants with GCHQ as an employer. There is a level of difficulty to crack the code, but once the code is cracked, wide dissemination of the solution is anticipated in online communities. The discussion this promotes should raise additional interest in GCHQ as an employer and generate future recruitment enquiries.

Anyone applying who has hacked illegally will not be eligible to continue in the recruitment process.

The code breaker challenge is occurring against the backdrop of the UK’s new Cyber Security Strategy, published last week, which gives the signal's intelligence agency a greater than ever role (and budget) to defend both businesses and consumers against cyber threats. Recruitment agency TMP Worldwide is working with GCHQ on the canyoucrackit challenge.

The first phase of the challenge involves making sense of 15x10 grid of what might appear to hexadecimal (base 16) number pairs. Would-be codebreakers have just over 10 days left to come up with a keyword, which will probably allow access to an even more fiendishly difficult puzzler.]]> Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:46:26 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/33008-crack-gchqs-code-and-become-the-next-james-bond/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32980-prince-harry-finishes-army-exercise-in-us/ Prince Harry finishes Army exercise in US
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15976453?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Prince Harry flew to the US to take part in the exercise at the start of October

Prince Harry has returned to the UK after completing a major exercise in the US, flying Apache helicopters with the Army, St James's Palace has said.

The prince spent eight weeks taking part in Exercise Crimson Eagle in California and Arizona.

He flew the aircraft in mountainous and desert conditions, during both day and night, as well as firing its weapons.

The exercise - designed to prepare pilots for action in Afghanistan - was the latest step in Harry's training.

Known to his fellow soldiers as Capt Wales, the 27-year-old must undergo more training at RAF base Wattisham Station, Suffolk.

'Demanding environment'
Exercise Crimson Eagle, split between US military bases in California and Arizona, was designed to prove students' proficiency in handling the Apache.

Lt Col Peter Bullen, chief of staff of the Attack Helicopter Force at Wattisham, said: "[It] is a challenging exercise during which students have had an opportunity to practise skills in a demanding environment with conditions similar to those in Afghanistan."

Harry was secretly flown to Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, in December 2007 to work as a forward air controller, serving for 10 weeks.

The royal has spoken publicly a number of times about his wish to serve his country on operations.

Rockets and missiles
In April, while training for an Arctic expedition, he suggested it would be pointless to undertake costly helicopter training if he never went into combat.

He said: "You become a very expensive asset, the training's very expensive. I'd just be taking up a spare place for somebody else."

The Apache attack helicopter is designed to hunt and destroy tanks and is equipped with rockets, missiles and a machine gun.

St James's Palace has always stressed that the issue of the prince deploying on operations is a "matter for the Ministry of Defence chain of command".]]> Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:55:32 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32980-prince-harry-finishes-army-exercise-in-us/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32734-uks-first-stealth-jumpjet-rolls-off-line-%e2%80%93-but-we-dont-want-it/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/24/f35b_coming_to_blighty_regardless/
First of three supersonic Harrier replacement orphans
By Lewis Page •

Posted in Government, 24th November 2011 11:32 GMT

The first ever supersonic stealth jumpjet to be built for the British armed forces has rolled off the assembly line. There's just one snag: Britain decided last year that it would no longer have jumpjets, meaning that the aircraft will never serve with the Royal Navy or RAF.

Regular readers will no doubt recall that ever since the 1990s, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had planned to replace the famous Harrier jumpjet with the Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing (STOVL) version of the upcoming F-35 stealth fighter-attack aircraft, now in flight test, which will equip US forces and many others in coming years. In fact, Britain's interest in the F-35B meant that the lead test pilot on the type is a Brit (Graham Tomlinson, filmed above carrying out the F-35B's first vertical landing.)

But last year the incoming Coalition (in effect, Prime Minister David Cameron, as UK service chiefs need take orders from nobody below that level) decided that the Royal Navy will in future get a carrier equipped with catapults and arrester wires, meaning that it can operate jets fitted with a comparatively simple tailhook and strengthened for deck landings. The UK will now be purchasing the "C" carrier version of the F-35, not the jumpjet B model – though probably in very limited numbers given budget constraints and the decision to keep flying cripplingly expensive Eurofighters and Tornados as well.

The F-35C is probably a good idea as it will be cheaper to own and operate than the F-35B – and will have superior performance as it doesn't need to carry the jumpjet's complex vertical-thrust hardware.

But before the decision last year, the UK had already ordered three F-35Bs, and it is the first of these that has just come off the production line in the USA. Blighty will still get three jumpjets to replace the lost Harriers – now sold off at bargain prices to the US Marines, who can't believe their luck – even if they never go operational.]]> Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:34:43 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32734-uks-first-stealth-jumpjet-rolls-off-line-%e2%80%93-but-we-dont-want-it/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32724-cullybackey-rbl-plaque-honours-founding-member-willie-greer/ http://www.ballymenatimes.com/news/local/cullybackey_rbl_plaque_honours_founding_member_willie_greer_1_3273674

Members of the family of the late Willie Greer, one of the founding members of Cullybackey Royal British Legion, who attended a plaque unveiling in his honour last week. Seen here are Willie's son James, granddaughter Lorna and great-grandson Jude. INBT 47-114JC

Published on Wednesday 23 November 2011 11:49

THE Clubrooms of Cullybackey Royal British Legion were the setting last week for the unveiling of a plaque in memory of one of its founding members, the late Willie Greer.

Willie’s sons, James and Billy, and daughter Liz were among members of his family who gathered to witness the moving and memorable occasion along with RBL representatives.

The commemorative plaque features both recent and wartime pictures of Willie and details his time in the Army during the Second World War, revealing...

A native of Cullybackey, Willie was a worker at Frazer and Haughtons in the village when he signed up for active service in WW II.

He joined the Royal Ulster Rifles on November 26, 1940, at Clifton Street in Belfast and began his training at St Patrick’s Barracks, Ballymena, before going on to serve with the 1st Battalion which was then converted to a Glider Borne Battalion in the Sixth Airborne Division.

Willie completed all his airborne training and passed his glider test in 1943. He became a first class shot with the rifle and sten gun as well as being a marksman on the light machine gun.

He saw action on D-Day and continuously thereafter until the Battle of Normandy was won.

Willie was involved in many fierce small unit battles and on one occasion cleared a German battalion headquarters. Having disposed of all its occupants, Willie found several Iron Crosses of which one was dated 1914-1918 and another 1939.

The 1st Battalion as airborne troops were withdrawn to England to prepare for the next offensive but were called to plug the gap created by the German attack through the Ardennes. In event they did land by glider across the Rhine near Hamminkeln and pushed on into Germany until peace was secured.

Willie was a keen sportsman and played football at Battalion and Brigade level winning the Divisional Cup in Palestine in 1946.

Later in August the same year he was demobbed and returned to Cullybackey.]]> Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:03:38 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32724-cullybackey-rbl-plaque-honours-founding-member-willie-greer/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32688-concert-tribute-to-%e2%80%98sleeping-warrior%e2%80%99/ http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/concert_tribute_to_sleeping_warrior_1_3266421

Published on Sunday 20 November 2011 10:27

A MUSICAL tribute to a Banbridge soldier killed in Afghanistan will strike a poignant chord at a concert in Belfast next week.

A special arrangement will be played as part of this year’s News Letter Festival of Marching Bands in memory of Royal Irish Lance Corporal Stephen McKee, who lost his life on the front line earlier this year.

The Ulster Hall concert - which takes place on Friday evening - will feature a selection of the province’s most distinguished marching bands.

Now in its third year, the popular event will showcase different genres of music including flute, accordion and pipe.

This year’s schedule will also include performances from three local world champion drum majors who claimed their respective titles at the world pipe band championships held in August.

Local flautist Jane Watterson will be performing a flute solo in tribute and memory to Lance Corporal McKee.

In March, the Co Down soldier was taking part in an operation in Helmand province when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb.

Mr McKee had been a member of Downshire Guiding Star Flute who are performing at this year’s event. His brothers still play in the band.

News Letter marching bands’ columnist Quincey Dougan confirmed Ms Watterson will be playing a piece of music called ‘The Sleeping Warrior’ in memory of the Banbridge man.

He said: “The sleeping warrior of the title actually refers to the profile of the North Arran hills of the Ayrshire Coast, but both the emotional nature of the music and the additional meaning we can place on the name makes it a fitting tribute to Stephen. Indeed to all ‘Sleeping Warriors’.”

Looking forward to Friday’s concert, Mr Dougan said the latest research verifies that the local band scene is undergoing a “resurgence”.

“There are actually more bands in the province today than there have ever been,” he said.

“We are into the third year of the festival, and every year the interest right across the province is phenomenal. The mixture of different styles of marching music is, without doubt, the key ingredient in making for a very entertaining musical evening.

“The diverse line-up of styles and genres promises to deliver something for every fan of the marching band culture.”

Predicting an enjoyable night for concert-goers, Mr Dougan added: “Everyone loves the sounds of a marching band. It’s a natural physical reaction. An individual’s heartbeat automatically marginally adjusts when a person listens to band music, as it attempts to mimic the rhythm. It’s an automatic response.”

Completing the line-up on the night will be Lisburn Young Defenders Flute; Gortagilly Coronation Flute, Moneymore; Brookeborough Flute, Fermanagh; Pride of the Maine Flute, Ballymena; Cavanaleck Pipe, Fivemiletown; Corbet Accordion, Banbridge; and Omagh Protestant Boys Flute.

The drum majors taking to the stage are Zoe McDowell (Lisnamulligan Pipe Band), Lauren Hanna (Drumlough Pipe Band) and Alicia Dickson (Matt Boyd Memorial Pipe Band).

The festival, compered by actor Dan Gordon, will take place on Friday, November 25. Doors open at 6.30pm.

Tickets cost from £17 and are still available by contacting the Ulster Hall on 028 9033 4455 or online at www.ulsterhall.co.uk

For full concert and booking details, see page 16]]> Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:53:02 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32688-concert-tribute-to-%e2%80%98sleeping-warrior%e2%80%99/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32508-nick-garbutt-prison-reform-is-not-about-emblems/ http://www.newsletter.co.uk/community/columnists/nick_garbutt_prison_reform_is_not_about_emblems_1_3254045

Published on Thursday 17 November 2011 09:03

BOTH the police and prison services perform radically different roles in societies in conflict and those that are stable.

In times of unrest the police still have responsibilities for fighting crime and marshalling traffic but their prime role is on the front line of the conflict. In Northern Ireland this was very much the case with the Chief Constable of the RUC having primacy over the Army in combating paramilitaries. The RUC paid a heavy price: more than 300 officers were killed and more than 9,000 injured during the conflict.

Similarly, although it also had responsibility for “Ordinary Decent Criminals” the prison service was also on the front line of the conflict here, it’s most important role being more about guarding prisoners, than rehabilitating offenders.

Prison officers were also frequent targets for the IRA. Twenty nine were killed during the course of the Troubles. Guarding members of an organisation which is targeting your staff for assassination is not “normal” prison work and creates incredible stress.

As society normalised so the role of policing had to change. The Royal Ulster Constabulary became the Police Service of Northern Ireland and a process of evolving towards normal policing got under way.

A consequence of the Troubles was that significant areas – some loyalist as well as republican – had effectively become no go areas for the police. And police response times to crimes within some areas were also very poor (this was because of the high risk of ambush). A stable society requires that its police force is valued and respected by all and there is no question that the PSNI has made enormous strides in this direction and that, although difficulties remain, it is emerging as an effective modern police force which has a very high focus on community policing.

The Patten Report which led to the transformation of policing in Northern Ireland was published in 1999. But whilst policing adapted to a post conflict society, the prison service was left pretty much untouched.

It is only since the devolution of policing and justice that attention has turned to the prison system here. In July of last year Justice Minister David Ford commissioned Dame Anne Owers who used to be Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales to carry out a review of the Northern Ireland prison system

The resulting report was – not surprisingly – damning. It described the service as “demoralised and dysfunctional” and, just as damaging, it said: “More broadly, there is not yet a sense, within or between government departments and agencies, of a coherent vision for dealing with offending in Northern Ireland, with the core objective of creating a safer society.”

It said that hard issues had been left in the “too difficult” tray instead of tackled and that there were serious problems of governance, accountability, performance and culture.

It also concluded that all three prisons in Northern Ireland have unacceptably poor regimes which waste resources (it costs £95,000 a year to house a prisoner) and do not allow prisoners access to the interventions and resources that will help them to change their lives and stop re-offending.

The report goes through a litany of changes that are required both within the prison service and the criminal justice system here if we are to ensure a safer and fairer society.

These are serious and pressing matters which need to be fixed. There is no point attaching blame to the service or to individual officers, many of whom do great work. The problem is that until the justice system came into local hands prisons have not been seriously addressed and so have not fully adjusted to the different challenges of a “normal” society.

The Owers Report is a great opportunity to put that right. The report is about the conditions and management of prisons. It is not about branding and so therefore it is baffling that a row should now have broken out around the continued use of the crown as the prison service emblem.

Those of us who have regular dealings with the prison service want to see management and staff supported through change so that they can deliver a better service to the benefit of all. What the report is about is transforming prison culture to meet the present needs of a stable society and to put a greater emphasis on rehabilitation of offenders. It’s not, and should not be about what emblem staff wear on their uniform.

Nick Garbutt is managing director of Asitis Consulting]]> Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:50:35 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32508-nick-garbutt-prison-reform-is-not-about-emblems/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32251-video-thousands-mark-remembrance-sunday/ http://www.u.tv/News/Thousands-mark-Remembrance-Sunday/10e48ce3-535a-40bb-902b-e8995e8b017b

Thousands of people across Northern Ireland have attended services to mark Remembrance Sunday.


In Belfast, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the cenotaph at City Hall in memory of those who died in the two World Wars and other conflicts.

The city came to a standstill as thousands gathered for the two-hour event, led by Deputy Lord Mayor Alderman Ruth Patterson and Olympic hero Dame Mary Peters.

The service began at 11am with the official Act of Remembrance and traditional laying of wreaths. A two-minute silence was also observed.

Amongst the dignitaries in attendance were First Minister Peter Robinson, Secretary of State Owen Paterson and PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott.

Mr Robinson said: "It is a very poignant and special occasion and I'm delighted I'm here to represent all the people of Northern Ireland.

"It is important we continue to remember those who sacrificed for the freedom we now enjoy."

Commemorations have been taking place in towns and cities across Northern Ireland as part of UK-wide events to honour British soldiers killed in conflict.

Bangor saw its largest parade in recent years as young people turned out in numbers for the walk through the town to the war memorial.

Gordon and Susan Dalzell - the parents of Ranger David Dalzell who was killed in Afghanistan in February - laid a wreath for their son.

In the Co Fermanagh town of Enniskillen, relatives of those who died in the Remembrance Day bombing of 1987 were amongst the hundreds who gathered.

The service at the cenotaph - which was rebuilt after the IRA attack which killed 11 - took place after the traditional parade through Belmore Street.

It was attended by dignitaries including unionist politicians Arlene Foster and Tom Elliott, who both laid wreaths.

Meanwhile the Queen laid a wreath at London's Cenotaph, where more than 7,000 ex-servicemen and women marched by, followed by civilians including 60 war widows.

Other members of the royal family, Prime Minister David Cameron and military chiefs also left floral tributes as they attended the service.

NI Secretary Mr Paterson said: "This is the one day of the year we can all turn out and show our deep and profound thanks.

"Every time any one of us goes in a public place we're safer thanks to the bravery of some incredible young men and women carrying out their duties today."

A two-minute silence was also held at City Hall on Remembrance Day on Friday - on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - led by the Deputy Lord Mayor and a representative of the Royal British Legion.]]> Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:05:42 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32251-video-thousands-mark-remembrance-sunday/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32232-mayor-of-limerick-laying-wreath-with-limerick-branch-of-the-royal-british-legion-and-other-associations/
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.239169899477809.57271.216588828402583&type=1



]]> Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:43:26 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32232-mayor-of-limerick-laying-wreath-with-limerick-branch-of-the-royal-british-legion-and-other-associations/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32029-army-unit-moving-to-former-air-base-at-kinloss/ Army unit moving to former air base at Kinloss
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-15668827
RAF Kinloss ceased routine military flying operations on 31 July

More than 900 soldiers and their families will move to the former RAF base at Kinloss from their current base near Cambridge, it has been announced.

A total of 930 personnel and relatives will be moved to the new barracks in Moray. The move is expected to take place by next summer.

RAF Kinloss was closed as part of the UK government's defence cuts.

It ceased to be an operational air base in July after more than 70 years of service.

The moving unit, 39 Engineer Regiment from Waterbeach, provides engineer support to both the Royal Air Force and the Army.

HQ 12 (Air Support) Engineer Group will move its 44 service personnel and their families, also from from Waterbeach, to RAF Wittering in the summer of 2013.

Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore said: "Today's announcement is excellent news for Moray, bringing a large, highly-skilled unit to the area.

"This move will take place a great deal earlier than expected. This is a demonstration of our good faith and commitment to ensure that changes in Moray - and throughout Scotland - take place with the minimum of disruption."

Jim Royan, chairman of the Moray Economic Partnership, said: "The RAF has been at the heart of our Kinloss community for 70 years and we wish those who are leaving the very best.

"But we are delighted to welcome the men and women of 39 Engineers who are coming to Moray and they will find a warm welcome at their new home."

Moray MP and SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson said: "It is welcome that the Army will move to Kinloss. However, the base will have a considerably reduced number of personnel.

"It is worrying that numbers will be 41% down on the RAF unit establishment total at Kinloss.

"Moray is the most defence-dependent constituency in the country and the local economy and community has suffered terribly because of MoD cuts.

"While welcoming the new Army unit to Kinloss, many questions remain to be answered by the Ministry of Defence."

General Sir Peter Wall, Chief of the General Staff, said: "The new basing arrangements being announced today allow the Army to reinforce vital links with local communities in the UK, as well as continuing to provide a high level of support to our soldiers and their families."]]> Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:41:58 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/32029-army-unit-moving-to-former-air-base-at-kinloss/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/31973-who-what-why-which-countries-wear-poppies/ Who, What, Why: Which countries wear poppies?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15637074

The poppy plays a big part in Sri Lankan ceremonies

England footballers are not allowed to wear poppies when playing Spain at the weekend, says world football's governing body, Fifa. So what countries wear poppies to respect the war dead?

Premier League footballers were sporting poppies stitched on to their shirts while playing last weekend, but there will be no such gesture when England take on Spain at Wembley on Saturday, the day before Remembrance Sunday.

A Fifa edict says wearing them would break the rules about displaying political symbols, prompting the British Sports Minister, Hugh Robertson, to write a letter of complaint.

But the practice of wearing a poppy at this time of year is not solely a British one. Indeed, the adoption of the poppy had a very international birth.

In November 1918, a poem by Canadian military doctor John McCrae inspired American humanitarian Moina Michael to wear and distribute poppies in honour of fallen soldiers.


In total, 120 countries outside the UK are sent 3m poppies by Royal British Legion, mostly ex-pats
They include Spain, France, Germany, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Cyprus and Argentina
The Royal British Legion
Poppyscotland
In Flanders Fields describes the first sign of life after death - small red plants that grew on the graves of soldiers buried in northern France and Belgium during World War I.

Two days before the armistice agreement was signed, Ms Michael bought and then pinned a red poppy to her coat. She gave other poppies out to ex-servicemen at the YMCA headquarters in New York where she worked.

The poppy was officially adopted by the American Legion at a conference two years later. At the same conference, a French woman named Madame E Guerin saw an opportunity for orphans and widows to raise money in France by selling the poppies.

Since then, they have become an international symbol of remembering fallen soldiers, especially in Commonwealth countries.

Why the poppy?


Scarlet corn poppies grow naturally in disturbed earth throughout Western Europe
Only plant that grew in battle-scarred fields of Northern France and Flanders during WWI
Canadian doctor John McCrae wrote In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row... in memory of fallen comrades
It inspired American secretary Moina Michael to sell poppies to raise funds for ex-soldiers
Poppy became US national emblem of remembrance in 1920, and 1921 in the UK
Where did the idea to sell poppies come from?
The ways we remember
Watch Remembrance Week on BBC One
The Royal British Legion, which adopted the poppy in 1921, distributed 45 million in 2010 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This year, it hopes to raise £40m ($64m) in donations, which will be used to assist retired or injured soldiers.

Three million poppies are sent to 120 countries outside the UK, says Nick Buckley, head of the legion's Poppy Appeal.

These are mostly for British expats living in countries such as Spain, Germany and France, he says. But the poppies, which are made in a factory in London and sent to British embassies in countries as varied as Argentina, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka, are sometimes used by the local community as well.

In Scotland, about five million poppies are distributed each year by Poppyscotland, but they look slightly different. Unlike the standard two petals and a single green leaf, the Scottish ones have four petals and no leaf.

The Scottish poppy pin "is botanically correct", says Leigh James, spokeswoman for Poppyscotland. There's also a financial reason for the difference - adding a leaf would cost an extra £15,000 ($24,000) a year.

South Africa has seen a recent boom in the popularity of poppies, says Mariette Venter, national secretary at the South Africa Legion. "The poppy pin is now taking root here," she says.


Australia's rugby team have worn poppies
After a recent visit from Prince Charles, who wore a poppy on his lapel, the legion saw a spike in phone calls from people asking where they could get one. The legion in South Africa had 300,000 poppies shipped from England's poppy factory this year, along with 50 wreaths.

Ms Venter says she also sent 200 poppies to Malawi for use in ceremonies there.

Canada is distributing 18 million poppies for Remembrance Day this year, says Bob Butt of the Royal Canadian Legion. Canadian poppies, which are made in Toronto, have four petals with a black centre and no leaf - like Scotland's.

In New Zealand, Poppy Day falls on the Friday before Anzac Day, which was on 25 April this year.

Continue reading the main story
WHO, WHAT, WHY?


A part of BBC News Magazine, Who, What, Why? aims to answer questions behind the headlines

The reason is a historical one - the ship carrying the poppies from France for the first Poppy Day in 1921 came too late for them to be used in November's Armistice Day.

In the same year, Australia bought one million poppies from French orphans. Nowadays, they are made locally and are laid next to names on the Roll of Honour.

In the US, the country where the first poppies were worn in this way, the sight of them has diminished around the armistice anniversary.

The 11th day of November is known as Veterans Day, when a more common adornment on the lapel is a red, white and blue ribbon. But there are some poppies laid and worn for Memorial Day in May, in parts of the US.

The poppy has been a divisive issue in Ireland, particularly Northern Ireland, where it is regarded by many Republicans as a mark of loyalty to the British Crown.

One of the blackest days in the Troubles saw the IRA bombing a Remembrance Day ceremony in Enniskillen, when 11 people were killed and more than 60 injured.

In France, the blue cornflower, "le bluet" is also worn, but not as widely as the poppy in the UK.]]> Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:49:47 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/31973-who-what-why-which-countries-wear-poppies/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/31969-memorial-arch-in-bangor-opens-its-doors-to-public/ Memorial Arch in Bangor opens its doors to public
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15616506?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

British Legion members will supervise the monument while it is open to the public

A landmark war memorial commemorating those from north Wales who died in World War I has opened its doors to the public.

The Memorial Arch in Bangor, which was completed in 1923, was recently restored following an appeal for funds.

Its first floor is lined with oak panels inscribed with the names of more than 8,500 soldiers, sailors and airmen who died.

It is open during remembrance week from 7-13 November (10:00 - 16:00 GMT).

Royal British Legion members have volunteered to supervise the monument, which is within the Bangor University campus on Deiniol Road, for the week.

"The Memorial Arch is a highly moving tribute to those from across north Wales who gave their lives during the First World War," said Bryn Hughes, secretary of the Bangor and district branch of the Royal British Legion and deputy mayor of Bangor.

"As we approach the anniversary of the start of the First World War, we are delighted to work with the university so that people from across the region are able to visit and see this commemorative building for themselves."

Virtual tour
As part of the appeal to restore the Grade II-listed arch, 400 letters were sent to out to people who might have interest in World War I or local history.

Posters were also placed on buses throughout the area highlighting the campaign, and a website set up which included a virtual tour of the inside.

Bangor University provided over half of the £200,000 required, while other funds came from historic monuments body Cadw, councils, the War Memorials Trust and other donations.]]> Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:27:33 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/31969-memorial-arch-in-bangor-opens-its-doors-to-public/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/31965-prison-service-hopes-over-500-prison-officers-over-50-will-retire-early/ Prison Service hopes over 500 prison officers over 50 will retire early
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-15636067

The Northern Ireland Prison Service is currently going through a period of reform

Radical reform
The Prison Service has published details of a redundancy scheme that will cost around £60m over the next two years.

Justice Minister David Ford said it is hoped that more than 500 prison officers aged over 50 will volunteer to retire early.

Those who do will receive almost three years' salary.

Almost 1,800 prison officers work with just over 400 civilian staff supervising fewer than 1,600 prisoners.

More than 600 of them are aged over 50 and are eligible to apply for the redundancy scheme announced on Tuesday.

Colin McConnell, director general of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, said the move was part of wider plans to transform the service.

"The scheme launched on Tuesday gives us the opportunity to allow some of our staff who have been in the service for many years to make some informed choices about whether they want to stay with a significantly transformed NIPS in future or perhaps where they want to leave our service and move on to pursue other interests," he said.

"I think it is a critical issue for the NIPS, it is an important day for the NIPS, and I think the package that is being brought forward is a fair and balanced one.

"It is not just simply about making the organisation smaller or cheaper.

Sacrifices
"It really is about end-to-end changing the way the Northern Ireland Prison Service works."

Jim Wells, DUP justice committee member, said it was important to remember the sacrifice that many prison officers had made.

"We have lost 29 of them who were murdered, many of them have been attacked, some have had bombs placed under their cars," he said.

"These man have given a lot to the community over the last 30 or 40 years and I think that should be recognised by an adequate scheme, but it has to be a fair one and it has to be voluntary.

"There has to be a system where if people wish to leave that's fine.

"My concern arises if it becomes compulsory and people who do not wish to leave the prison service are forced to do so."

Sinn Fein justice committee deputy chair, Raymond McCartney said Northern Ireland's prison system had to change.

"I see the need for people to leave the service, for new blood to come in to create a new atmosphere, because I think it's accepted that over many, many years customs and practices have led to the prison service not being run in the most efficient way," he said.

"That meant many prisoners who went into prison were never part of a proper rehabilitation service.

"We know that if we can prevent people from returning to prison how much that can save us in many many aspects in terms of monetary and social costs."

Payments to individuals will depend on salary and length of service.

An officer with 40 years service on a salary of £37,000 would receive a payment of just over £120,000, plus an annual pension of £18,500.

Cost
The prison service said its target is 540 redundancies and those who are eligible to apply have until 28 November to express an interest.

If that target is achieved, the scheme will cost an estimated £60m.

If there aren't enough volunteers, a scheme for prison officers aged under 50 will be announced next year.

More than 400 new staff will be recruited to new lower grades on lower salaries.

Mr Ford said the changes will generate savings of £180m over the next 10 years.

The annual cost of keeping a prisoner in Northern Ireland is £95,000 - more than double the cost in England, Scotland and Wales.

A report published in February said despite the high costs, the Northern Ireland Prison Service was dysfunctional, demoralised and ineffective.

Dame Anne Owers and her review team said fundamental change was needed, including a redundancy scheme for prison officers.]]> Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:19:37 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/31965-prison-service-hopes-over-500-prison-officers-over-50-will-retire-early/ http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/31958-killings-of-ruc-officers-wrong-baggott/ http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/killings_of_ruc_officers_wrong_baggott_1_3214668
PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 26/10/2011: PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott at PSNI headquarters. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON

Published on Friday 4 November 2011 08:47

THE murder of RUC officers was wrong and republican glorification of it impacts on current police morale, the PSNI’s most senior officer has said.

In an interview with the News Letter to mark a decade since the PSNI replaced the RUC, chief constable Matt Baggott said that he thought the murder of any police officer was an atrocity.

But he also acknowledged that republicans would take a different view of the Troubles, and he said that it was important to look to the future.

Mr Baggott’s comments were echoed by his deputy, Judith Gillespie, who said it was a “very sad reflection on anybody who chooses to rejoice in the death of another human being”.

Despite now supporting the police and condemning dissident republicans’ killing of PSNI officers as murder, senior Sinn Fein figures continue to address republican commemorations at which they laud IRA men who murdered RUC officers.

Mr Baggott, who has been chief constable for more than two years, also defended the RUC as a force which at the outbreak of the Troubles had very limited resources but had attempted to keep the peace.

He said he was concerned that reports and inquiries now sought to judge that force without taking into account the context of the age in which it operated.

Ms Gillespie, who had spent two decades in the RUC, said that the force had “dealt with its past with great dignity”.

Asked how he and his officers feel about the fact that so long after the start of the ‘peace process’ some republican commemorations still eulogise the murder of RUC officers and that members of Sinn Fein still defend the IRA’s killing of police officers before 1998, Mr Baggot said: “I think it must affect confidence when you have a celebration of murder and that to me – as an individual and as a chief constable – is something which is wrong.

“But that’s not to say, of course, that they wouldn’t have a different perspective on the last 30 years.”

He added: “The reality is that I think we have to look into 2011 and look forward. I’ve not been here (during the Troubles) but I’m a police officer of 35 years and the murder of any police officer is wrong and it is an atrocity.

“Police officers are peace-keepers.”

Deputy chief constable Judith Gillespie said: “I think it’s sad that anybody should rejoice at any murder. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a police officer, a member of the community, a member of a paramilitary organisation, a member of the British Army or whatever. I think it’s a very sad reflection on anybody who chooses to rejoice in the death of another human being.

“I think the RUC has dealt with its past with huge dignity — over 300 colleagues were murdered, some of those I knew very well — and to think that anybody would rejoice in the death of a colleague again would make me very sad.

“However, I think we are moving forward into a different era where there is an acknowledgement that killing people is not the way forward.”

Many unionists fear that the history of the Troubles is being subtly rewritten to justify the IRA and demean the security forces.

Mr Baggott said that is a debate for others, but added: “What I am concerned about, and I have a right to speak about, is that we should never lose sight of the context of the time.

“I joined the police service in 1977 — it was a different world, different planet.

“I mean the degree of regulation now — Police and Criminal Evidence Act, Justice Act, Regulation of Investigative Powers Act, Police Act, police commissioners — the world is a completely different place.

“When it comes to making judgments on policing, I think it’s very, very important that context is clear.

“In 1971 and the RUC it was a case of 4,000 unarmed officers dealing with over 600 murders a year. I can’t get my head round how they even coped with that.

“If you are making judgments on what policing did or didn’t do against today’s standards you have to be very, very clear that you’re talking about a different place, different time, different world.”

“My concern is often that when reports or investigations look back into the past they judge then by today’s standards in a very critical way rather than being very clear that the context was different. I think we have to be very, very clear about that context.”

But he added: “Sometimes people have to agree to disagree and I’ve been very clear about that. You give some of the scenarios that I’ve been asked to look at to six historians and you’ll get six different interpretations so therefore why do we expect anybody to come up with a definitive judgment?”]]> Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:59:55 +0000 http://orange-order.co.uk/topic/31958-killings-of-ruc-officers-wrong-baggott/