UVF/RHC/YCV

Neighbourhood Watch

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Here is a selection of UVF boards on the fronts of houses in Whitehill (Bangor). Two flute bands are mentioned: Pride Of Whitehill (Fb) and Bangor Protestant Boys (Fb). In the final image, the date of the formation of the Ulster Volunteers is given in Roman numerals: MCMXII.

For David Gordon Dalzell, see Pride Of Whitehill. For the relationship between the East Belfast and North Down battalions, see East East Belfast and Always A Little Further.

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Long To Reign Over Us

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From before Queen Elizabeth’s death in September, a portrait in (fake) gilded frame below a Red Hand Commando board in Whitehill Drive, Bangor.

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Our Cause Will Always Remain The Same

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“Through the years the uniforms may change, but our cause will always remain the same.” On the left (of the main panel) are the Ulster Volunteers drilling in 1914 (photograph at the Library of Congress) and a UVF show of strength on Newtownards Road (seen previously in East Belfast UVF On Parade).

On a wall along Abbot Drive (Newtownards) with purple and orange coping stones.

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The Pride Of Whitehill

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This UVF hooded gunman board (above the Pride Of Whitehill flute band (Fb) mural) was previously a memorial to the 36th (Ulster) Division (see They Sleep Side-By-Side) but has now become part of the East Belfast battalion’s markings in Bangor (see Always A Little Further).

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At The Heart Of Bloomfield

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The hooded UDA gunmen stare down at you in the green in the middle of Bloomfield (Bangor) estate. The new printed board replaces the similar North Down battalion mural seen in Always Remembered. (The plaque to Andrew McIlvenny and Roy Officer has been moved to the right-hand side.) There are smaller UDA boards – one on top of some old “UVF” graffiti (third image) – and one RHC board on the other gables around the green; not included here is the somewhat odd history of Bloomfield that only shows images from the Shankill in Belfast – see A Journey Through Time And Space.

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On The Way To The Shops

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There are nine gable walls along Clanmorris Avenue, Whitehill (Bangor) which – more importantly – can be seen from the South Circular Road approaching the Bloomfield shopping centre. On many of these walls “UVF reserved” has now appeared, even on the one that recently acquired a UDA board (see third image, below). Above: a small “UVF pilgrims” board; bottom: “RIP GFA“; in between: “The media is the virus”.

Previously: Booked | Reserved | A Message From The Board

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Armed And Ready

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This is an example of a paramilitary mural replacing a cultural one – for eight years there was a giant Union Flag on this Westwinds gable, but it has been turned into a giant hooded UVF gunman instead.

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Andrew Cairns

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Andrew Cairns of the UVF was chased and beaten by about a dozen people before being killed by a single shot to the head (BBC). The killing took place next to the burning Boyne Square bonfire and the memorial (shown below) is on the other side of the bonfire site. Sutton attributes the killing to the UDA (Sutton); the Sunday Mirror reported that the killer was rejected by the UDA and was a member of the LVF (Free Library); see also BelTel | Guardian. One of the accused (Irish Times) was later UDA South East Antrim chief (BelTel).

Cairns was included in an old UVF mural, also in Wellington Green.

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Force

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Masked UVF gunman in Inverary Drive, east Belfast, in a style similar to UVF gunmen in Carrickfergus, Larne, and Millbrook.

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Be Prepared

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For this year’s Twelfth, the famous UVF “Prepared for peace, ready for war” mural that has stood over the entrance to Mount Vernon for twenty years was retouched. The most obvious change is in the apex, as a different UVF symbol – with flags – has been included, along with the words “3rd Battalion” which had been in the much earlier version of this mural on another wall.

The image above has been photoshopped to remove the lettering on the left.

For the previous version (and a link to the original wall), see Prepared For Peace, Ready For War.

Update 2024-12: The wall was damaged by Storm Darragh.

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