BELFAST RB BOOKLET 2020 - Flipbook - Page 106
Ci t y of Belf ast Grand Bl ack Chapt er - Dem onst rat i on Bookl et 2020
On arrival the crew of the
Hence the courageous
frigate, now protected from
Royal Naval submariner and
any enemy air interference
Orangeman from the noble
by HMS Kenya, attached a
Shankill Road merely got a
crane hook to the Russian
nod of appreciation, but with
plane, quickly brought it to
no award to show for his
the surface and swung it
braver than the brave action.
onto the deck of the
However as time marched on
Cardigan Bay then stealthily,
and more unrest heralded, this
but post-haste, returned to
time in 1969 and on our own
base with the captured jet fighter (above).
shores in Ulster, Bobby stepped forward and
In so doing it further enabled the air faced up to the rebel insurgency, using his
intelligence boffins to examine this far superior fighting skills to take the war to the enemy.
aircraft (brought into service in 1949) to those
Unfortunately like many a brave Loyalist
used by NATO and in turn, officials in the who, through STRENGTH AND GUILE, defended
London Foreign Office were, albeit privately, his kith and kin during those troubled years,
able to confront Stalin's stooges' with their Bobby ended up as a Loyalist Prisoner of War
irrefutable evidence that NATO were now fully in Long Kesh POW Camp, being detained in
aware that the Soviets were indeed assisting cages behind barbed wire, and ironically
both the Korean and Chinese military.
guarded by … British Military personnel.
Britain finally ended its involvement in
HOWEVER HIS ADVENTUROUS LIFE DIDN'T LAST
another unnecessary war by disengaging
TOO MUCH LONGER, FOR WHILST LEISURELY
during July 1953; unfortunately given the
EXERCISING ROUND THE INTERIOR OF A PRISON
nature of how a Soviet Union MiG fighter
was procured had to remain a mystery to COMPOUND IN 1980, OUR BOBBY DIED FROM A
avoid an international incident, so much so FATAL HEART ATTACK, AGED JUST 51; BUT LIKE
that the Whitehall mandarins quietly red- THE SAS HERO, HAVING SERVED HIS COUNTRY
taped and secreted it to the MoD basement WITH DISTINCTION, COURAGE AND HONOUR, HE
TOO WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. FOR VALOUR
files, never to be released to the public.
A SYMBOL OF HOPE … The British Library in London, reportedly
holds more books than any other literary establishment in the world
and that said, many of them must be filled from cover to cover, with
pages and pages, recording stories of heroism, bravery and self
sacrifice throughout centuries of global conflict and combat.
Over the past few years of commemorating a decade of centennials
amongst other anniversaries, and in publishing our Annual Demonstration
Booklet, we have reverently sought to highlight some of those valorous acts
of unselfish bravery undertaken by British Service personnel and others, many, (secretly
unknown) in the background, but all of whom have, in one way or another, dedicated their whole
being to the cause of freedom, nationally and internationally.
The aforementioned piece cites just two
Undoubtedly there are/have been many
of those fearless heroes who, in such such courageous heroes down through the
stouthearted way, performed their duty to years, indeed too many to mention yet too
the full, one in a conflict a few years back, few to forget. In this commemorative year
and the other, a wee bit more recently.
as we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the
But as members of the British Special cessation of hostilities; VE Day and later
Forces both saw it as their duty in protecting VJ Day, during 1945, to also centre on a
our freedom, whereby they did engage the true 'heroine' and a simple, symbol of hope
enemy quietly, efficiently and without fuss!
that helped her through an unimaginable
IN MEMORY OF THE FALLEN - 104 - AND THE FUTURE OF THE LIVING