“Aye ready. In loving memory of Thomas (Tom J.) Johnston, died 11 November 2002. Will always be remembered by his family and friends.” Thomas Johnston was died after being assaulted not far from his home on North Boundary Street, Belfast. (BBC-NI)
“This plaque is dedicated to the memory of Lt. Col. Trevor King, died 9th July 1994, Major Wm. (Frenchie) Marchant, died 28th April 1987, Davy Hamilton, Died 17th June 1994. These brave men died near this spot [the corner of Spier’s Place and Shankill Road, Belfast] by the enemies of Ulster. No sacrifice is too great for one’s country. They paid the ultimate sacrifice. ‘They shall grow not old/as we that are left grow old/Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn/At the going down of the sun and in the morning/We will remember them.'” King and Hamilton (along with Colin Craig, an RUC informer and not included on the plaque) were shot by the INLA and died of their wounds three weeks and one day later. Frenchie Marchant was shot by the IRA outside The Eagle chip shop. The plaque is surrounded by a garland of three nation’s flowers: shamrock, rose, and thistle.
UDA/UYM insignia and volunteers with sunglasses on the Shankill Road, Belfast. Bridgeton is a neighbourhood on the edge of Glasgow, Scotland, home to the Bridgeton flute band (Fb) and headquarters of the Grand Orange Lodge Of Scotland.
The Ulster Volunteers were formed in 1912 as a response to the threat of Home Rule. When WWI broke out they became the 36th (Ulster) Division and went over the top at the Somme.
These three murals are at the Rex Bar (Moscow Street, Belfast), celebrating resistance to Home Rule – Covenant Day September 28th 1912; the formation of the Ulster Volunteers, being reviewed at Fernhill House in Glencairn Park by Edward Carson; “Deserted! Well I can stand alone”; and (in post-partition Northern Ireland) “a [masked!] Protestant farmer’s wife guards her husband against sectarian attack from across the border”.
UDA and UVF murals on opposite corners of Northumberland St at the Shankill Road but with the same flute band – the Shankill Protestant Boys USSF (Fb | tw). “Ulster’s No 1 band, Shankill Protestant Boys, supports Drumcree.” The UVF side would outlast the UDA side, though the UFF board up above the Harp ad would remain until 2014 when the corner was redeveloped (into Conor’s Corner).
On the left, “this mural is a memorial to the volunteers of ‘A’ Coy 1st Batt who served the Shankill community so bravely during the years of conflict. Gone but not forgotten. Here lies a soldier.” On the right, landmarks in the history of the Ulster Volunteers and UVF: “1912 – newly formed Shankill Volunteers train at Fernhill Estate, Glencairn. 1916 – RIR (West Belfast UVF) go over the top at the Somme. 1969 – Volunteers defend Shankill community from republican attack. 2002 – At the crossroads?” with PUP leader David Ervine pictured holding a copy of the Good Friday Agreement. Canmore St, Belfast.