“It is our firm conviction that the vast majority of both religious communities long for peace, reconciliation and the chance to create a better future for their children.” UFF volunteers in the previous mural on this wall turn their back on violence and look towards Stormont for a political solution. The side wall is dedicated to the UDA’s Stephen “Benson” Kingsberry, who died from consuming tainted ecstasy (perhaps distributed by the UVF) – an early use of the poppy to commemorate a UDA (rather than a UVF) member.
“Remember the fallen, care for the living”. Five boards arranged into a single piece in Ebor Street, south Belfast. The large bottom panel features a silhouette of a (staged) photograph taken in Basra (DailyMail) of a soldier on a stretcher giving the ‘thumbs up’ sign.
The UVF flag contains the flag of England (St. George’s Cross) in one corner and in the other an orange star; “1912” – the year the Ulster Volunteers were founded – in this example is in the top right. The colour-scheme is the reverse of the Orange Order’s: its flag has the purple star of the Williamites on an orange field.
“We will not have Home Rule.” This mural is dedicated to the men and women of Willowfield. In 1912 the 3rd bill was introduced and passed by parliament and although defeated 3 times by the House of Lords it was sent for Royal assent. On 9th April 1912 over 200,000 unionists attended a rally at Balmoral including the Orange Order and Unionist Clubs which had marched from the city center. Here they were addressed by among others, Sir Edward Carson, leader of the Irish Unionist Party. On 28th September 1912 nearly 500,000 men and women signed the Ulster Covenant. Factories and the Shipyard in Belfast were idle and silent, allowing their workers the opportunity to attend church and then to congregate at the City Hall. 3,242 men and women from Willowfield signed the Covenant, some in their own blood. They then formed into the 2nd Willowfield Battalion of the East Belfast Regiment U.V.F. commanded by Dr. William Gibson. They drilled and trained in the Willowfield Unionist Club that was situated about half a mile from this spot. With the onset of WW1 in 1914, these same volunteers stood to the fore to defend the Empire as the 8th Battalion [East Belfast] in the 36th Ulster Division. Many did not return, but their bravery and honour will forever be remembered.
“They went with songs to the battle, they were young/Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow./ They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted/They fell with their faces to the foe./They shall not grow 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.”
A fourth plaque (shown above) has been added to the UDA memorial in Kenbaan Street, Belfast. The first three, along with the murals to either side, were seen previously, in 2006.
UDA 2nd battalion North Antrim & Londonderry emblem in Millburn, Coleraine (Linden Avenue) and a nail-up in Rosemary Place/Maple Drive, seen in M03660.
It took Allied forces two months (July – September, 1916) to take High Wood (Bois de Fourcaux – wood of the pitchforks, as made from the chestnut trees (Great War Forum)) as part of the battle of the Somme. The commemorative mural shown here replaces an earlier UFF piece for the Coleraine 2nd battalion of the Londonderry-North Antrim brigade. On the third side is the emblem of the UDA, surrounded with an Ulster Banner and the flag of the independent Northern Ireland – previously there had been two Ulster banners.
Peter Moloney Collection 