Union Flag

Spirit Of ’93

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The house in Bond’s Place that had been home to an Eddie mural for many years was torn down in the summer of 2021; it had been used since at least 1982 for images of the Commonwealth, King Billy, and, since 1996, Eddie The Trooper. The final Eddie board that was on the wall has been moved one neighbourhood over, into Lincoln Court. It was the first to include the words “Spirit Of ’93” – presumably a reference to the Greysteel Massacre in which eight people in the Rising Sun bar were killed in reprisal for the Shankill Bombing (BelTel). The “raid” was planned in – and both gunmen rented rooms at – the UDP office on Bond’s Place, just across Bonds Street (NI Judiciary).

“SLMFB” is the Sergeant Lindsay Mooney Flute Band, though it is more fully the “SLM Memorial FB“.

Eddie has his own Visual History page.

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The People’s Band

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“Shankill Protestant Boys [Fb] “The People’s Band” 45th anniversary, 1980-2025.” The band held a parade on August 1st to commemorate the anniversary, with nearly forty other bands attending (Fb).

For “USSF”, see the Peter Moloney Collection. The band’s club is in Bell Close – see SPB Way.

Shankill Road, west Belfast

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Your Culture Needs You

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Here is a gallery of small boards on flower boxes in “the Village Green community park of remembrance”:
“The Protestant faith we will maintain. Your culture needs you. Join your local band, Orange lodge, Apprentice Boys, Royal Black historical group”, with Kitchener pointing at the viewer;
“Deserted – Well, I can stand alone!“;
“Ulster Day, 28th September, 1912“;
“No Home Rule. Let our flag run out straight in the wind. The old red shall be floated again. When the ranks that are thinned shall be thinned. When the names that are twenty are ten“;
– Edward Carson and the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1913;
– All nine counties of Ulster are “Hands up!” “against Home Rule”.

The Village, south Belfast

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VE Day 80

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The memorial wall in Erskine Park, Ballyclare, marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day – May 8th, 2025 – with a pair of printed boards wrapping around the corner of the low wall.

For views of the gable and the low wall with armed-forces emblems and plaques to Girvan and Erskine, see The Men From Ballyclare.

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Ballysillan UVF

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Six memorial plaques to members of the UVF’s 1st battalion (West Belfast), D company (Ballysillan) have been re-instated and two new one added alongside the 100 Years Of Conflict boards at Carr’s Glen. The plaques to Bingham, Phillips, McEvoy, the “officers and volunteers”, Stewart, and Taylor were on the old UVF mural on this wall (see the Peter Moloney Collection); the two new ones are to Kenny Howie and to Scottish supporters.

Left:
“Lt Col John Dowey Bingham killed by the enemies of Ulster 14th September 1986. Remembered by officers and members of the 1st Batt D Coy Ballysillan. Lest we forget” [(WP)]
“In memory of Major Patrick McEvoy. Lest we forget”
“In memory of Kenny Howie 21.4.1977 – 8.4.2013. Lest we forget”
“In proud memory of the officers and volunteers of D Company 1st Battalion Ulster Volunteer Force. For God and Ulster”.

Right:
“In memory of Major Thomas Stewart. Lest we forget” [d. 1996 in a dispute over money (Irish Times | BelTel)
“In memory of Martin Chin Taylor. Lest we forget” [d. 2000 killed by the LVF (BBC)]
“In proud memory of Volunteer David (Davey) Phillips, taken by cowards Sunday 12th July 1998. Sadly missed by his friends and comrades of ‘D’ Company Ballysillan. Lest we forget” [possibly d. 1998 (BelTel)]
“In memory of fallen volunteers 1st Battalion D. Company Ulster Volunteer Force Scotland”

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Ballynafeigh Remembers

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Three plaques at the Ballynafeigh Apprentice Boys social club on Blackwood Street:

“In loving memory of Allison Jane Smith – you’re missed so much by so many who knew you in Ballynafeigh”, “Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Northern Ireland – Northern Ireland centennial 3rd May 2021”, “In memory of all our past members”.

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Loyalist Village

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“Loyalist Village, south Belfast.” UVF markings in the Village continue to proliferate with the recently-added board shown above (from the top of Tavanagh Street) alongside a slew of other boards, some of which are included below.

The “Village team” is not Linfield FC but the UVF (the phrase was also used by the Village UDA); “VTOT” (standing for “Village team on tour”) has previously been used as graffiti – see Welcome To Hell!!!

The purple hoarding below gives “1913” as a creation-date for the battalion. The Ulster Unionist Council organised the signing of the Covenant in September, 1912, and in January 1913 voted to bring together the militias that had been formed in various places into an Ulster Volunteer Force. One of these was a South Belfast battalion that had formed in 1912 (History Ireland). Hence, both “1912” and “1913” are given as dates for the creation of the battalion. When the Volunteers were integrated into the Ulster Division for the Great War, the South Belfast Volunteers joined the 10th battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles.

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“The prevention of the erosion of our identity, our culture and our heritage. We will preserve this no matter the cost. We will not be the generation to fail Ulster. No surrender. 2nd battalion South Belfast” “What we have we hold”

In Memory Of Ian Ogle

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This is (at least) the third different tarp at the entrance to Cluan Place in memory of Ian Ogle, who was killed on the evening of January 27th, 2019. Five people have been found guilty of the murder and officially received their sentences in March; four others have been convicted of lesser charges (BBC | ITv | Belfast Media | Judiciary NI).

The small board “In memory of Ian Ogle” (immediately below) is also a recent addition.

For the previous tarps and background on Ogle’s death, see 2022 (burned), 2022 (unmolested), and 2020.

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From D-Day To VE Day

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39 Allied divisions – 12 of them British – participated in the Normandy Landings – officially “Operation Neptune” – that took place on June 6th, 1944; in planning for the operation, the original “D-Day” was June 5th, but bad weather postponed it until the following day, when 160,000 troops stormed the beaches of the Bay Of The Seine. By the end of August, Paris had been liberated, and by the following May, victory in Europe had been achieved. 2024 was the eightieth anniversary of D-Day and 2025 the eightieth anniversary of VE Day, on May 8th.

This D-Day board and VE Day mural are in Edlingham Street, Tiger’s Bay, north Belfast. Also included below is a WWI memorial electrical box in Mervue Street, though as can be seen from the board (immediately below) the ‘graveside mourner’ silhouette is becoming a generic symbol of lost UK forces.

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VE Day Celebrations

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The eightieth anniversary of VE (“Victory In Europe”) Day is May 8th. Commemorative events in Belfast include a walking tour of the city centre (City Council) and a dance on the HMS Belfast (IWM); for events elsewhere in Northern Ireland, see VE-VJDay80. Pubs will be open for an extra two hours (until 1 a.m.) on the day.

Shore Road, north Belfast. For the monument and the “Lest We Forget” board in the background, see Remembrance Sunday.

See also: VE Day | The Shankill Remembers VE Day | From D-Day To VE Day

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