The contentious issue of the Irish border is not a new one. In secret documents uncovered at the National Archives at Kew, one page in particular highlights measures that were considered and dismissed by military planners. A ‘cordon sanitaire’ a mile or so wide along the Border. Illegal for those… Read More »The Hard Border
In order to separate crowds of protesters and offer some protection to security forces and members of the opposite community, a series of mobile sight screens were introduced; constructed out of hessian and timber and mounted on the side of a 4-ton truck, imaged above. The resulting screens were 16… Read More »Mobile Screens
On 8 April 1971, a high priority order was received for three vehicles to be fitted out for use as fish and ship vans in Northern Ireland. After some deliberation, it was decided to use the Bedford J Type (J2SZ2, code No. 2660-0149) Hawson Body large van, three of which… Read More »Armoured Fish and Chip Van
The introduction of the AP rifle launched grenade came after the lethal IRA ambush at Derryard just after 1600 hrs on 13 December 1989. This prompted an Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) to be issued; returning the Luchaire 40mm Rifle Grenade. Along the southern border of Northern Ireland, just north of… Read More »Derryard aftermath; the introduction of the rifle grenade into Northern Ireland
With any conflict comes a risk to national infrastructure by terrorist organisations as a means to exert power and create panic and unrest among the population in the name of their cause. Long before the official start of Operation Banner in 1969, local Government and security forces (SF) were concerned… Read More »Protecting Northern Ireland’s Infrastructure
I first published this article in 2018 when I had spent some time in Kent and after walking the River Medway around Maidstone realised that a large proportion of the Second World War pillboxes still remained. There is no interpretation with this article, it is purely a record of each… Read More »Lower Medway Pillboxes
As the war in Europe intensified and the struggle for the protection of Britain grew, so did the need for the storage of more and more ammunition. Storage predictions proved difficult, and soon the new but limited RAF underground storage sites became overwhelmed and the introduction of Air Ammunition Parks… Read More »Site Visit – Ide Hill Ammunition Park
In 1972 Brigadier Sir Ian Jardine had the task of writing a history of the Northern Ireland emergency including an annex on equipment development. The document below is the content of this annex, dated 22 May 1972, and undersigned by the Assistant Chief of the General Staff (Operation Requirements) or… Read More »The Development of Internal Security Equipment for Northern Ireland (1972)
The origins of a camp at Magilligan are difficult to ascertain, as I haven’t discovered any definitive records relating to the initial construction of the camp. A number of clues exist in the early Ordnance Survey maps of the area and in the local landscape that helps in charting the… Read More »Site Visit – Magilligan Point
The barracks and army ordnance buildings of Clancy Barracks are located on the south side of the River Liffy in Dublin. Constructed in around 1798 and originally known as Islandbridge (Island Bridge) Barracks, the site was renamed in 1942 after Peader Clancy killed during the War of Independence in 1920.… Read More »Site Visit – Clancy Barracks, Dublin