BELFAST RB BOOKLET 2020 - Flipbook - Page 32
Ci t y of Belf ast Grand Bl ack Chapt er - Dem onst rat i on Bookl et 2020
before the northern part of the Island
would be engulfed in a situation,
similar to that in the midlands and
southern areas, where individual
Police Officers and ordinary
Protestants were being openly
murdered by republicans, the
latter just because of their faith.
With the climate becoming
more volatile by the day, Sir
Basil Brooke MM advised the
British Chief Secretary that if the
Government did not act immediately,
then he would personally mobilise a force
of Special Constables or former Ulster
Volunteers to police the Province. Thus, in
October 1920, the Chief Secretary, for the
British Administration in Ireland, based at
Dublin Castle H/Q, empowered his UnderSecretary in Belfast, to implement the
relevant statutes within the 1932 Special
Constables (Ireland) Act.
Thereafter, the formation of the Ulster
Special Constabulary was designated
into three classes 'A' - 'B' and 'C'.
The 'A' Specials were made full time and
attached to the Royal Irish Constabulary
where they wore the same uniform and bore
the same arms, along with similar Officer
Rankings as with the RIC, whereby, for
example, the most senior rank would be
referred to as the 'Special Head Constable.'
The 'B' Class was a fully armed Reserve
Force wearing the same head-gear as the
RIC but no uniforms, wearing ordinary clothes
with a bandoleer and armband with the USC
lettering; officers wore a leather belt and
carried a .45 Revolver. Later issue involved
ex-British Army uniforms died black.
The 'C' Specials were listed as available
only for use in an emergency.
The 'B' and 'C' Specials were unpaid but
given a small allowance to cover wear and
tear of their clothes and if the need arose
'C' Specials would be issued
with permits to use their own
private firearms, and wear
caps and armbands, also with the
USC (bottom) lettering.
They would be commanded by
Lieutenant Colonel Charles
Wickham (left) RIC Divisional
Commissioner in Ulster who
believed it prudent to appoint
County Commandants for the
'B' Specials, from the sizeable
number of ex-service personnel
under his charge and in turn he
designated the following Senior
Officers to each individual County: Antrim & Belfast: Lieutenant Colonel
W E Goodwin C.M.G. D.S.C.
Down: Major D Kerr
Fermanagh: Captain Sir Basil Brooke
B.A.R.T. M.C.
Armagh: Captain C H Enson
Tyrone: Colonel J K McClintock
A number of Roman Catholic ex-service
personnel also joined up despite the IRA
branding them as traitors whereby they used
this denigratory slur to single them out for
murder and on the 4th December, in 1920
four republicans attempted to murder a
Special Constable McCullough although he
bravely retaliated by killing one of his
assailants and wounding two others.
However on October 15th, a year prior
to that event, a Government Committee,
chaired by Walter Long, a respected
member of the British Cabinet, met for
the first time, with the authority of the
Coalition Government (led by Premier
David Lloyd George) to formulate the
draft plans for a fourth Home Rule Bill
to partition Ireland.
In its final form, the Bill became known as
the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and,
within the provisions laid out in this statute,
Ireland was partitioned on May 3rd, 1921.
During the following year, twenty-six (26)
counties became under the direct control
of the so-called Free State
Government in Dublin; with
the six (6) other counties
IN MEMORY OF THE FALLEN - 30 - AND THE FUTURE OF THE LIVING