End of an era: Saluting 38 years of service and sacrifice in Northern Ireland

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THE British Army’s longest-running military campaign, codenamed Op Banner, will draw to a close at the end of this month.

The 38-year continuous commitment has involved the service of more than 300,000 soldiers and tragically resulted in significant sacrifice and suffering – 763 Service personnel were killed and 6,116 injured as a direct result of terrorist action.


Moving on: Op Banner, the British Army’s longest-running military campaign, comes to an end on July 31

Support to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary) in public order and counter-terrorist operations began on August 14, 1969 when soldiers were deployed onto the streets of Londonderry and subsequently Belfast to help restore order after a confrontation between Nationalist residents of the Bogside, police and members of the Apprentice Boys of Derry, culminated in serious rioting.

Since 1969, the sheer scale of the military’s presence in Northern Ireland in response to the deteriorating security situation has been staggering. An entire generation of Servicemen and women have deployed on countless tours of duty covering the hotspots in Belfast, Londonderry, East Tyrone, Fermanagh and South Armagh.


Border duty: A Black Watch soldier remains vigilant at the permanent vehicle checkpoint on the main A1 road from Belfast-to-Dublin

Before violence broke out in the late 1960s there were just three infantry battalions garrisoned in Northern Ireland, but numbers rose in response to serious civil unrest and the increasing terrorist threat.

At the height of the troubles in 1972 there were approximately 25,700 Army personnel deployed, with 15 battalions stationed in
Belfast alone.

The countdown to the end of Op Banner began on August 1, 2005 after the Provisional IRA announced the end of its “war”.


Street wise: LCpl Colin Easton, BW, on a foot patrol in South Armagh in 1991

Since then there has been a steady reduction in the number of military personnel and installations as part of a phased process of normalisation.

By July 31, troop numbers will have reduced to a peacetime garrison of no more than 5,000, made up of units from 19 (Light) Brigade and elements of RAF Aldergrove. The three Home Service battalions of The Royal Irish Regiment will officially disband and just ten military bases out of an original total of 105 will remain in use. From August 1, a new regional brigade will be formed – 38 (Irish) Brigade – made up of mostly Territorial Army personnel.

Well-known campaign infrastructure such as Bessbrook Mill, formerly the busiest heliport in Europe, the controversial but vital towers of South Armagh and the observation post atop Divis Flats no longer exist.

Although Northern Ireland is still a deeply divided society, significant political progress has been achieved in recent months.

On May 8, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin took control of the Northern Ireland Assembly. This new power-sharing government, once an unimaginable concept, offers a real prospect for lasting peace.

Gen Sir Mike Jackson, former Chief of the General Staff, wrote in his foreword to an analysis of Op Banner: “The military operations which started in Northern Ireland in 1969 will, without a doubt, be seen as one of the most important campaigns ever fought by the British Army and its fellow Services. That campaign is the longest to date; one of the very few waged on British soil; and one of the very few ever brought to a successful conclusion by the armed forces of a developed nation against an irregular force.

“Service in Northern Ireland has affected a whole generation of Servicemen and women. But while honouring their service it is critically important to learn from their successes, which were considerable. It is no less important to learn from mistakes, where they were made, and to ensure that they are not repeated.”

Many of the lessons learned during the campaign have been adapted and exported elsewhere in the world. Operations in the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan have benefited from the training, tactics, equipment and experience developed in Northern Ireland.

Counter-terrorism capabilities such as high-risk search techniques and equipment, world-class explosive ordnance disposal expertise, intelligence-gathering, sophisticated surveillance equipment, electronic counter measures and developments in force protection remain a living legacy of Op Banner.

Over the coming months, the pages of Soldier and our website will chronicle the key events during the four main decades of the military campaign.

Next month’s Op Banner coverage will focus on the Ulster Defence Regiment and its successor, The Royal Irish Regiment (Home Service), highlighting the contribution, commitment and courage of the locally recruited men and women of its ranks who were determined to “do their bit” despite the considerable threat to themselves and their families.

Soldiers, serving or retired, are invited to email recollections of their time in Northern Ireland to awebb@soldiermagazine.co.uk.

A "troubled" timeline

1100s – First Anglo-Norman intervention in Ireland came in

1167. Henry II of England landed with a large army in 1171, and by 1175 had gained nominal control of most of the island.

1600s – ‘Plantation of Ulster’ when English and Scottish Protestants settled on land confiscated from Irish Catholics

1641 – Irish Rebellion against the Plantation resulted in inter-communal violence

1690 – The Battle of the Boyne

1801 – Act of Union binds Ireland and Great Britain

1916 – The Easter Rising organised by the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The rebellion was crushed by British forces – both sides suffered major losses.

1919 -1921 – Anglo-Irish War between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and British forces

1921 – Establishment of an Irish Free State of 26 counties, with the six counties of Northern Ireland remaining British

1956 – IRA launched six-year border campaign. British soldiers garrisoned in
Northern Ireland helped the Royal Ulster Constabulary
guard border areas.

1967 – The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) formed

1968 – Civil Rights march in Londonderry resulted in serious rioting and is
considered by many as the beginning of the Troubles

April 1969 – British soldiers guarded utilities such as reservoirs, pipelines and power stations against loyalist attacks

August 1969 – Battle of the Bogside: Serious rioting erupted in Londonderry on August 12. British Army units are deployed on Aug 14.

September 1969 – British soldiers constructed “peacelines” between Catholic and Protestant areas in Belfast

December 1969 – A split formed in the IRA, creating the Official IRA and
Provisional IRA

UK Soldier Magazine

From peace to public disorder – veterans recall beginning of Op Banner

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