On This Day / December 5, 1920
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
19201205
Reference Date
19201205
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 5th December 1920, UVF commander Wilfred Spender outlined the sectarian foundations of the new Special Constabulary, praising shipyard loyalists and predicting renewed conflict with Sinn Féin. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
UVF Man on Specials | On This Day – 5th December 1920
LIEUT.-COL. W B Spender of the UVF command who has been intimately associated with the organising of the Ulster Special Constabulary, made an interesting speech in Sandy Row Orange Hall, Belfast.
He said that the Government had asked the Unionists and Loyalists – and the two went together – to look after Ulster.
The Prime Minister [Lloyd George] had put it to Sir Edward Carson in this way: in three months or less you will have your own Parliament and for the credit of Ulster you don’t want the things going on in your own province that were at present disgracing the fair name of Ireland.
Now, the future [NI] Parliament is going to have a very difficult time, continued the speaker, who said that the rebels down South would do everything they possibly could to prevent the new form of government being a success.
It was up to the Unionists to make quite certain that the rebels did not have a say in the matter.
When he first came over to get the UVF going [in 1913], he found that they could hold their own – and they did more than hold their own in Belfast, thanks to the men in the shipyard.
The UVF had done a lot of work at night, especially in the country districts…The Government realised that the rebels would make things as difficult as possible and had practically asked the Loyalists to look after themselves.
They could do this through the new police scheme.
They needed 1,590 men in the A Class [permanent constables]. These men would form the future backbone of their own police.
Dealing with Class B, he said he was a little anxious about it in Belfast. What they wanted for this class was men who would sacrifice one night in ten.
The Government were going to let them appoint their own commandants. He then spoke of Class C which would only be called out if there was real trouble in the city.
It was almost certain that this class would be called out, because he did not believe that the Sinn Féiners would give in without one more effort.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: An ex-English officer, Wilfred Spender had resigned to train the UVF in 1913.
His speech in Sandy Row Orange Hall gives us a chilling insight into the origins, aims and blatantly sectarian basis of the USC.
Like Craig, he found it necessary to praise the shipyard loyalists responsible for the sectarian expulsions of July 1920.
He also confirmed that the revived UVF had been active in rural areas, a development which had alarmed nationalists in Armagh, Tyrone and Fermanagh.)
On This Day – 5th December 1920
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19201205
Reference Date
19201205
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 5th December 1920, UVF commander Wilfred Spender outlined the sectarian foundations of the new Special Constabulary, praising shipyard loyalists and predicting renewed conflict with Sinn Féin. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
UVF Man on Specials | On This Day – 5th December 1920
LIEUT.-COL. W B Spender of the UVF command who has been intimately associated with the organising of the Ulster Special Constabulary, made an interesting speech in Sandy Row Orange Hall, Belfast.
He said that the Government had asked the Unionists and Loyalists – and the two went together – to look after Ulster.
The Prime Minister [Lloyd George] had put it to Sir Edward Carson in this way: in three months or less you will have your own Parliament and for the credit of Ulster you don’t want the things going on in your own province that were at present disgracing the fair name of Ireland.
Now, the future [NI] Parliament is going to have a very difficult time, continued the speaker, who said that the rebels down South would do everything they possibly could to prevent the new form of government being a success.
It was up to the Unionists to make quite certain that the rebels did not have a say in the matter.
When he first came over to get the UVF going [in 1913], he found that they could hold their own – and they did more than hold their own in Belfast, thanks to the men in the shipyard.
The UVF had done a lot of work at night, especially in the country districts…The Government realised that the rebels would make things as difficult as possible and had practically asked the Loyalists to look after themselves.
They could do this through the new police scheme.
They needed 1,590 men in the A Class [permanent constables]. These men would form the future backbone of their own police.
Dealing with Class B, he said he was a little anxious about it in Belfast. What they wanted for this class was men who would sacrifice one night in ten.
The Government were going to let them appoint their own commandants. He then spoke of Class C which would only be called out if there was real trouble in the city.
It was almost certain that this class would be called out, because he did not believe that the Sinn Féiners would give in without one more effort.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: An ex-English officer, Wilfred Spender had resigned to train the UVF in 1913.
His speech in Sandy Row Orange Hall gives us a chilling insight into the origins, aims and blatantly sectarian basis of the USC.
Like Craig, he found it necessary to praise the shipyard loyalists responsible for the sectarian expulsions of July 1920.
He also confirmed that the revived UVF had been active in rural areas, a development which had alarmed nationalists in Armagh, Tyrone and Fermanagh.)
On This Day – 5th December 1920
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19201205
Reference Date
December 5, 2020
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 5th December 1920, UVF commander Wilfred Spender outlined the sectarian foundations of the new Special Constabulary, praising shipyard loyalists and predicting renewed conflict with Sinn Féin. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
UVF Man on Specials | On This Day – 5th December 1920
LIEUT.-COL. W B Spender of the UVF command who has been intimately associated with the organising of the Ulster Special Constabulary, made an interesting speech in Sandy Row Orange Hall, Belfast.
He said that the Government had asked the Unionists and Loyalists – and the two went together – to look after Ulster.
The Prime Minister [Lloyd George] had put it to Sir Edward Carson in this way: in three months or less you will have your own Parliament and for the credit of Ulster you don’t want the things going on in your own province that were at present disgracing the fair name of Ireland.
Now, the future [NI] Parliament is going to have a very difficult time, continued the speaker, who said that the rebels down South would do everything they possibly could to prevent the new form of government being a success.
It was up to the Unionists to make quite certain that the rebels did not have a say in the matter.
When he first came over to get the UVF going [in 1913], he found that they could hold their own – and they did more than hold their own in Belfast, thanks to the men in the shipyard.
The UVF had done a lot of work at night, especially in the country districts…The Government realised that the rebels would make things as difficult as possible and had practically asked the Loyalists to look after themselves.
They could do this through the new police scheme.
They needed 1,590 men in the A Class [permanent constables]. These men would form the future backbone of their own police.
Dealing with Class B, he said he was a little anxious about it in Belfast. What they wanted for this class was men who would sacrifice one night in ten.
The Government were going to let them appoint their own commandants. He then spoke of Class C which would only be called out if there was real trouble in the city.
It was almost certain that this class would be called out, because he did not believe that the Sinn Féiners would give in without one more effort.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: An ex-English officer, Wilfred Spender had resigned to train the UVF in 1913.
His speech in Sandy Row Orange Hall gives us a chilling insight into the origins, aims and blatantly sectarian basis of the USC.
Like Craig, he found it necessary to praise the shipyard loyalists responsible for the sectarian expulsions of July 1920.
He also confirmed that the revived UVF had been active in rural areas, a development which had alarmed nationalists in Armagh, Tyrone and Fermanagh.)
On This Day – 5th December 1920
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
On This Day is a daily column in the Irish News looking back either 50 or 100 years. The column was compiled by Dr Éamon Phoenix from the mid 1980s until autumn, 2022. The Foundation is very grateful to the Irish News for giving permission to reproduce Eamon’s columns. Funding gratefully received from Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and the Magill Trust.
* The Foundation has worked hard to recreate Eamon’s distinctive voice through AI. Since this is an emerging technology, occasional imperfections may be audible.