Brave sergeant surprises an illegal drilling party (1936)
A police sergeant had an exciting experience on the outskirts of Belfast during this week in 1936, reported the News Letter, when he had to courageously tackle over a dozen men whom he had found engaged in illegal drilling.
They managed to get away, but the sergeant, after a severe struggle, took a revolver from one of them.
The policeman, Sergeant T F Carney, got to grips with one of the men and succeeded in wresting a revolver from him. Shots were exchanged, but so far as it was known none of the drillers had been injured, and all succeeded in making their escape.
At 8.30 o’clock that evening Sergeant Carney, who was stationed at the Springfield Road Barracks, was walking along what was known locally as the Turf Loaning, “a quiet and net particularly well-lighted thoroughfare at the end of the Springfield Road”.
The News Letter reported: “There was bright moonlight, however, and ahead of him he saw from ten to fifteen men acting suspiciously. He stopped for a minute or two in the shadow of a shrubbery and then approached cautiously. The men evidently had scouts, posted, for as the sergeant moved up the group melted away.”
One of the men hid behind shrubs and as the sergeant hurried on he was suddenly confronted by him with a revolver, ordering him to put up his hands.
Instead of complying, Sergeant Carney closed with his assailant, and so unexpectoed was his move that the man was unable to use his revolver.
For a few seconds there was a grim struggle, during which the revolver went off twice without doing the sergeant, “who is a powerful man”, any harm.
Just as the sergeant succeeded in getting possession of the revolver another man arrived and kicked him violently.
The sergeant fell and was kicked again – this time on the head.
He was momentarily stunned, and his assailants made good their escape.
Sergeant Carney still had the revolver which he wrested from the first man, and he fired a couple of shots at the fast retreating figures.
Returning to the barrack as quickly as he could the sergeant reported the occurrence and policemen were rushed to the district.
A cordon was thrown around it and many persons were stopped and questioned.
Several were searched. Nobody, however, reported the News Letter, had yet been arrested in connection with the affair.