1st Battalion
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
West Belfast
6th May - 9th November 1994
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1st Battalion The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
West Belfast 6th May - 9th November 1994
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All photographs are the property of RHQ Argylls and may not be reproduced or copied without permission from RHQ Argylls.
On 6th May the battalion took over responsibility as Belfast Roulement Battalion. The Tactical Area of Responsibility (TAOR) that the Battalion covered was the predominantly the Catholic area of West Belfast running from the Peaceline to the south of the Shankhill Road to Twinbrook and Poleglass in the south, and from the Black Mountain in the west to the Ml Motorway in the east. Apart from the 2 small Protestant estates of the Highfields and the Orange Suffolks, the remainder forms the "Republican Heartland". The areas regarded as hard "Green" (Catholic) include the Lower Falls, Beechmounts, Distilleries, Ballymurphy, Turf Lodge, Lenadoon, Poleglass and Twinbrook estates. It is in these areas that several Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) Active Service Units (ASUs) operate. The majority of people are law-abiding citizens, but many are intimidated and therefore give tacit support to the Republican movement.
Click on picture to enlarge Army/RUC Co-operation
1. a b c d e f g h i
The role of the soldier in Northern Ireland was a difficult one — for 99% of the time he aims to be invisible, but then has to be prepared at any second to react to an incident which may well be life threatening. He is the subject of regular abuse but has to go out of his way not to cause offence. The natural good humour and great pride in the manner in which he sets about the task makes the Jock an expert at this task. Enormous responsibility is placed on his shoulders — invariably it is the Private Soldier whose suspicion is aroused that leads to the discovery of a terrorist device or the frustration of an attack. It has often been said that it is a JNCOs war in Northern Ireland, and that certainly is true, although the role played by Officers and SNCOs is no less important. The motivation of soldiers over a 6 month period demands considerable leadership — particularly when the day runs routinely to 12 hours on the streets, and frequently up to 16, every day of the week in all weathers. The look of amazement from visitors when it is explained that the soldiers receive no time off apart from their savoured 9 days R&R is something to behold.
Command and Control Off Duty Observation
2. a b c d e f g h i j k
The Battalion worked in support of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the TAOR conforms to 2 sub-divisions of B Division, Grosvenor Road and Woodbourne. Each of the sub-divisions is divided into 2 company TAORs. The Battalion's deployment is as follows:
Company Base TAOR
TacHQ N Howard St Mill
A Company N Howard St Mill Grosvenor Rd East
D Company Fort Whiterock Grosvenor Rd West
B Company Fort Whiterock Woodbourne North
2 PARA Coy (opcon) Woodbourne RUC Woodbourne South
Echelon Musgrave Park Hospital
Mobile Patrols Foot Patrols
3. a b c d e f g h i j
The battalion’s strength was about 580 men, but with attachments the Belfast Roulement Battalion is some 800 strong overall. Apart from the company from 2 PARA, there were specialist search dog handlers and a troop of RLC drivers who support the BRB.
The announcement of a PIRA ceasefire from 1215pm on 31st August changed the whole tempo and perspective of the tour. As Belfast experts the Jocks were very aware of the momentous events unfolding around them. It seemed almost too good to be true to believe that the 25 years of violence might have come to a halt. Many sceptics said that it would never last beyond Christmas and others that January was definitely going to see a return to violence. Now, in early February, the ceasefire is still holding and the Protestant Paramilitaries have joined in giving their support to the cessation of violence. With every quiet day the determination by the people of Belfast not to throw away 'normality' and to slip back into violence hardens, and the better the prospects for lasting peace appear to become. Now the RUC patrols move around the streets of Belfast by day without the protection of a 4 team (16 man) military patrol, and the whole military presence on the streets has been reduced, leaving the roulement battalions confined in the SF bases.
Company Bases On Patrol
4. a b c d e f g h i j k l
As the ceasefire continued so the Battalion reverted to Glengarry's on the streets, a sight not seen since the 1977-78 tour. The good Public Relations fostered by this and other gestures and the obvious affinity of the Jocks for the people of Belfast and vice versa, meant that the Battalion was rarely out of the headlines. In the full glare of the world's press scope for putting a foot wrong, possibly causing a rekindling of the violence was huge. It is no exaggeration to say that very few other units in the British Army could have achieved what the battalion did in the last 3 months of the tour, and the credit for that must go primarily to the Jocks and to the junior NCO team commanders for their tact, forbearance, behaviour and great good sense in avoiding possible set-ups and pitfalls, while maintaining a reassuring presence on the streets.
At the end of a long 6 months it was with no great sorrow that the Battalion handed over the West Belfast TAOR to the 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment, with whom it had worked on the 1991/92 tour in Belfast.
Echelon Hope for the future
5. a b c d e f g h i j k
If anyone can put names to faces with rank, company, date and location. Please e-mail with page name, row number and picture letter to ayoung287@msn.com
Updated: 11 October 2014