“King William III, King of England, Scotland and Ireland 1689-1702. ‘Prince of Orange’. “The enemy made some resistance but at length gave way, and we routed them entirely.” King William III, writing to Queen Mary after the battle of the Boyne: 1st July 1690″.
The “parchment” in the lower-left corner describes the crisis in Protestantism caused by James II’s (conversion to Catholicism and) second marriage and birth of a son, thereby threatening to establish a Catholic line of monarchs.
It then includes some of the letter from the Immortal Seven inviting William, who was already married to James’s (Protestant) daughter (and presumptive heir) Mary, to take over. As the dates-of-death on the board make clear, Mary died young, at age 32, of smallpox (WP), leaving William to rule alone for another eight years.
The rocks in Westwinds estate have been repainted. The poppy in the foreground was previously a YCV emblem (as seen in 2018). In the distance, Scrabo Tower overlooks the estate.
These UVF and UDA board are on adjacent walls at the entrance to the Glen estate, Newtownards; above and directly below, a North Down UVF and graffiti, while directly above it (final image) two UDA hooded gunmen take aim at the viewer on the pavement.
The poppies in this new mural suggest WWI, but the “pants” over the wheels of the planes shown here as they pass Scrabo tower suggest a post-war plane (or a modern light aircraft).
Gymnast Rhys McClenaghan is a European, World, and Olympic champion, competing in the pommel horse. He has been awarded both the BEM and the MBE, as well as receiving the freedom of the borough of Ards And North Down (News Letter) – McClenaghan hails from Newtownards.
This new mural, by Jossie Pops (web), is in South Street.
This entry updates the images seen at the end of 2022 (in Loyalist Movilla). The UDA board with hooded gunmen (above) remains as before but the tarp below it is new (though perhaps relocated from the Glen estate). The other two tarps are also new: “Newtownards supports British Armed Forces – They served us all” with the emblems of the Paratroop Regiment, the SAS, the RIR and the UDR, and, “North Down First Flute [Fb], LOL 111 Newtownards – Ulster’s chosen few”.
These two boards in the West Winds estate, Newtownards, were removed by the NIHE in May (BelTel) but restored in August (News Letter). One (above and immediately below) is from the First Newtownards Somme & Historical Society (old Fb page) and the other from the “East Belfast And North Down Veterans’ Association”, which does not appear to have an on-line presence.
The original NIHE statement cited in the BelTel piece mentions both the removal of paramilitary imagery and boards being placed on NIHE properties without permission. A meeting took place between the NIHE and the Somme Society which secured the return of the pieces (News Letter) and in August they were mounted again.
Blenheim Drive, Newtownards. Also included is the Society’s board on the Dakota Avenue shops.
West Winds received its first residents back in 1970 but celebrations of the estate’s fiftieth anniversary were made impossible by the coronavirus lockdown (Supporting Communities). The long board shown here – official title “West Winds Through The Decades” – was launched in 2022 and recounts the development of the estate and the institutions that support it.
Here (from the Fb group 50 Years Of West Winds) is an image of the area before development, which began with Canberra Gardens and the houses along the bottom of Blenheim Drive. The streets are named after RAF aircraft, as illustrated by the second panel.
The third panel gives “A Brief History Of The Estate” (included below) while others describe West Winds primary school, First Newtownards Somme & Historical Society, Scrabo Presbyterian church, West Winds Community Centre, Towerview adult care, Little Doves childcare centre.
In Shackleton Walk, with support from the Housing Executive and West Winds Development Association (Fb).
“The first sod cut early 1969 and the initial tenants hailing from the Oldpark, Shankill, Ardoyne and Newtownards Road areas, arrived under Scrabo Hill to the new West Winds Estate in January of 1970. With the close location to Ards Airport, the street names were derived from RAF military aircraft which were used in WW2 through to the early stages of the Cold War. With the initial streets being Blenheim Drive and Canberra Gardens, this eventually developed into the wider estate as it is today with the help of a Residents’ Association and the Estate being taken under the wing of the newly formed Housing Executive, the street designers’ road layout provided a clear flight path to the airport in the growing roads. The Estate was planted with trees to reduce the strong winds prevalent in the area. Hence the name. Early tenants of note included the parents of Sir James Galway, ‘The Man with the Golden Flute’ and Lt Col Simon Nichols MBE, who instructed our future King, Prince William, and his younger brother Prince Harry at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy. The Tenants’ Association, formed by John McClelland in 1972 as Chairman and Miss Ruth Irvine as Secretary and assisted by other members including Miss Pat Shirley, Deaconess of the local church and Mr James Ingram began work in earnest with the development of the community centre, a sports complex with two football pitches, a tennis court, a hockey pitch, a playground, improved street lighting and a bus service for the growing number of tenants. There was also the West Winds Roadhouse Hotel, initially a part of the Officers’ Mess during the Second World War. It wasn’t long before the Towerview Resource Centre and Loch Cuan Nursing Facility were built. Both are still in operation today, with The Apex Housing Association taking over Loch Cuan, which now includes a supportive living complex on the grounds. In 1997 the West Winds Residents’ Association became active working with the local Housing Executive and various other statutory bodies to continue upgrading the Estate. Funded by SPOD [Small Pockets Of Deprivation] They are now now known as the West Winds Development Association and have been involved for the last 25 years, in Youth Clubs, Pensioners’ Clubs, upgrading of the park, formation of a ‘MUGA’ pitch, fun days, addressing housing problems, community gardens, teenage drop in, girls’ groups, boys’ groups, raised beds, Christmas Parties and numerous other activities and events to mention but not forgetting, the day to day striving to make the Estate a better place in which to live.”
The streets of the West Winds estate in Newtownards are named after RAF aircraft: Lysander, Beaufort, Shackleton, Valetta, Sunderland, Catalina, Auster, Canberra, Lancaster, Dakota, Hampton, Stirling, Blenheim, Anson, and Halifax. (See 50 Years And Counting for a picture of the aircraft.)
The first units built in the estate, in 1970, were Canberra Gardens and Blenheim Drive, just off the Comber Road.
“English Electric Canberra – bomber, photo-reconnaissance, trainer, interdictor, radio countermeasures, drone & target tug … the world’s first jet bomber … first jet aircraft to make a nonstop transatlantic flight … world altitude record”
“Bristol Blenheim – light bomber, night bomber, aerial reconnaissance, heavy fighter, maritime patrol & trainer … the fastest light/medium bomber in the world”
Also celebrated is flautist James Galway, whose parents lived in the estate for a time, and Greenwell Star (Fb) – “Bridging communities through football”. Club members were involved in painting over the UVF mural on the side of the club’s changing-rooms in March (Fb), in preparation for the new board being mounted in April.
West Winds Development Association and Newtownards Cultural Society with support from the Housing Executive (Newtownards Chronicle)
Paddy Duffy Collection 