The British army's operation in Northern Ireland finishes at midnight tonight, Tuesday 31st July, after 38 years.
Without their presence over the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, I really believe we would have had an religio/ethnic civil war of Bosnian proportions; as the Belfast Telegraph puts it so well in tonight’s editorial, "they held the line in Ulster" and for that I, along with countless others in N.Ireland and the rest of the UK, will be eternally grateful to them.
Unfortunately the BBC Radio 2 DJ, Jeremy Vine, has decided to mark the occasion by playing the hatesong "Go on home British soldiers", by the racist band, The Wolfetones. For those fortunate enough not to have heard it, this is a song which not only wallows in the slaughter of the last four decades, but also delivers up these delightful lines to all Unionists still left in Northern Ireland:
Throughout our history We were born to be free
So get out British bastards leave us be
Lovely stuff indeed for the BBC to be broadcasting on a Tuesday lunchtime.
Anyway, to finish on more dignified note, I thoroughly recommend the Palace Barracks Memorial Garden for a visit; here you’ll find memorials stones dedicated to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the Armed Forces, not only in Northern Ireland, but also the Falklands, Kuwait, Iraq and on the British mainland.
May they all Rest in Peace.
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