| Culzie | Date: Saturday, 2012-02-25, 10:59 PM | Message # 1 |
|
Generalissimo
Group: Administrators
Messages: 1750
Load ...
Status: Offline
| Protestant persecution and the Rev Robert Bradford a Methodist Minister later murdered by the IRA,
He negotiated with the police and army personnel,putting the people's point of view,trying to enlighten new battalions of troops as they changed over. On one occasion an army colonel just wouldn't listen and we had the ludicrous situation of a mob of several hundred descending down the hill on Suffolk to burn Protestants out of their homes and the army being told to guard the mob from the people defending their homes,numbering no more than twenty or thirty,as most men were at work!
With the exdous of sixty Methodist families in one night we began to think we would have the opening and closing ceremony of our building in one day.
Lenadoon Avenue was emptying from the top down and we soon realised the tactics. A spearhead force of about ten famlies took over each home that was vacated by a fleeing Protestant and gradually worked their way down the hilll. No one wanted to be the end house as it took the brunt of any attacks,and therefore home by home was vacated,generally late at night so that neighbours who had vowed to support them didn't see them leave.
Robert and many of the men of the area tried to hold these houses in a vain attempt to halt the terrorists progress. Each person took an empty house and took turns at occupying it despite the torrential rain and cold. Robert came home simply to wring out his sopping wet duffle coat,have a hot bath,some food and return.
Twinbrook Housing Executive Estate futher out of town towards Lisburn was growing in size and several displaced families from Suffolk had been given homes there. A set of three huts in the centre of the estate were designated for the use of churches. A Roman Catholic Chapel,a Community Centre and the Protestant denominations shared the third. It worked very well. Protestants and Roman Catholics living together amicably in a fifty-fifty estate,until an influx of about one hundred and thirty Roman Catholic squatters arrived overnight. The residents banded together,but were told they could not block the roads and the influx continued. The small congregation that Robert had carefully nutured found themselves outnumbered two to one and started looking elsewhere for accommodation once again.
Since August 1971 about five hundred Protestant families had found it necessary to move from West of Stewartstown Road area in Suffolk. This left only about one hundred Protestant families still living that Lenadoon side of the road. Twenty-two houses and flats in this Horn Drive and Doon road area that had been left vacant had acted as a buffer zone for about six months. The decision had now been taken to allocate these houses to Roman Catholics on the Emergency Housing list. The Suffolk Tenant Association wrote to Mr Whitelaw,the then Secretary of State,asking that some Protestants be considered for these houses also to stem a futher exodus of the few remaining families in that area. Robert was now taking a very active part in writing letters on behalf of the residents to Members of Parliament or other Goverment officals. The continued intimidation of the people was still making inroads. The threats,rattling of bin lids,whistle blowing at all hours of the day and night and window breaking were sufficent to keep everyone's nerves streched taut. The church had been broken into three times,the Girls Brigade and Boys Brigade flags ruined and their cermonial Union Jack stolen.
People often found their back doors knocked by children instructed by the IRA,asking when they were moving out. Rubbish was dumped into gardens, Housing Executive transfer forms were posted to people and when investigated it was originated by a phone call supposedly from the tenant himself.
'We are sorry to hear about your church.' 'Our church?' our mouths dropped open. 'What about our church?' 'It was on the news,blown up it said.' We were into Dublin before we were able to phone and find out what had really happened. It was the wooden hall beside the church that had gone,not the new building. When we knew no-one had been hurt we were immensely relieved. The papers reporting the incident stated:
'The main shooting was in the Suffolk area where from mid-day yesterday until early today five hundred shots were fired at troops in the Army post at Lenadoon,the main target.'
In the same area residents foiled two attempts to burn down a Methodist Church Hall at Stewartstown Road. The first attempt was at five p.m. when residents found a five gallon drum of petrol at the rear of the building. Two hours later two men and a women were seen near the buildings and a shot was heard. When local people went to the scene,the men and girl left on foot,one of them carrying a rifle and it was discovered that the lock on the door had been broken. A second drum of petrol was found at the scene.'
They finally suceeded the next morning in blowing it up. As no windows of the new building faced that direction there was little or no damage to our church itself.
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
|
| |
| |
| RSAUB | Date: Sunday, 2012-02-26, 2:11 AM | Message # 2 |
|
Colonel general
Group: Moderators
Messages: 871
Load ...
Status: Offline
| A forgotten piece of history, some of my own family were forced out of this area.
|
| |
| |
| Culzie | Date: Sunday, 2012-02-26, 12:11 PM | Message # 3 |
|
Generalissimo
Group: Administrators
Messages: 1750
Load ...
Status: Offline
| Shocking what happened to those people who lived there and sorry to hear that some of your own family were among those who suffered. If it had have been the other way about and RCs were the victims the media would have been shouting it from the rooftops.
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
|
| |
| |
| RSAUB | Date: Sunday, 2012-02-26, 1:06 PM | Message # 4 |
|
Colonel general
Group: Moderators
Messages: 871
Load ...
Status: Offline
| Yip, indeed the taigs are experts at propaganda, but when all is said and done, we have lost the territory and have no chance of getting it back.
The same way we are losing territory all over the Province, and we are even allowing them to move into territory that are considered are loyalist heartlands, don't our people ever learn?
In Western Europe, I don't think you'll ever meet a more stupid people and brain-dead than the modern day Ulster loyalist community, now that sounds a bit stupid to say, but it's the truth a blind man could see whats going on around them in this Country.
|
| |
| |
| Culzie | Date: Sunday, 2012-02-26, 9:12 PM | Message # 5 |
|
Generalissimo
Group: Administrators
Messages: 1750
Load ...
Status: Offline
| I agree,think if a lot of our people are allowed to ''play bands'and parade then they are happy enough. They get into a 'tizzie' over a re-routing or some similar occurance but with the things which really do matter they are as you say...brain-dead
If they prize their right to parade so much,then make sure those areas stay as they were..Prod. But no! They let it happen then have to cause uproar knowing by now surely that they are on a loser. Prevention is better than cure they say,but that doesn't seem to have penetrated the brain of the paraders.
Mentioning bands I just read something in the NL about a band on the Shankill called Conway Young Volunteers. Now I may be wrong,i'm not sure,but there is (i think) a street on the Shankill called Conway St and that probably where they take their name from. However,as far as I'm aware that particular street is named after an RC Archbishop.
I was wrong there Conway was a Cardinal,but maybe he became a Bishop afterwards. But whatever he was RC.
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
|
| |
| |
| RSAUB | Date: Sunday, 2012-02-26, 9:25 PM | Message # 6 |
|
Colonel general
Group: Moderators
Messages: 871
Load ...
Status: Offline
| Silly idiots, you would think they would have taken the time to research the name of the place they were naming themselves after.
Instead of just trying to name them themselves with the initials YCV. I know this might be an over-sight on the bands behalf, but it speaks volumes about loyalism, act first without engaging their brains.
|
| |
| |
| Culzie | Date: Sunday, 2012-02-26, 10:16 PM | Message # 7 |
|
Generalissimo
Group: Administrators
Messages: 1750
Load ...
Status: Offline
| Couldn't speak truer words. They'd probably come out with ''better us to claim it than let them claim it''  They are silly enough to come out with something like that. Or maybe even the usual ''does it really matter what its called''
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
|
| |
| |
| Culzie | Date: Sunday, 2012-02-26, 10:30 PM | Message # 8 |
|
Generalissimo
Group: Administrators
Messages: 1750
Load ...
Status: Offline
| Oops I may be wrong about Conway St. Just did a search and can't find anything to say who or what the street is named after. Conway was born in Dover St so maybe I'm getting my wires crossed. But I thought I'd read it a few years back where a street had been named after a catholic bishop.
Ulster Protestants consider themselves to be a separate nation. This nation they call Ulster
|
| |
| |
