Families of murdered Scottish soldiers ask for CCTV to protect memorials

Family members of three Scottish soldiers murdered by the IRA in Belfast are to request that CCTV be installed to protect memorials to them.
Three Scottish soldiers roadside memorial daubed with graffitiThree Scottish soldiers roadside memorial daubed with graffiti
Three Scottish soldiers roadside memorial daubed with graffiti

Family members of three Scottish soldiers murdered by the IRA in Belfast are to request that CCTV be installed to protect memorials to them.

Dougald McCaughey, 23, was killed along with brothers John and Joseph McCaig, 17 and 18 respectively, from Ayr in 1971.

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Memorials to the three soldiers of the 1st Battalion, Royal Highland Fusiliers at White Brae, Ligoniel and at Ballysillan in north Belfast have been repeatedly attacked.

In total they have been attacked 27 times since they were installed in 2010 following fundraising by the Oldpark/Cavehill branch of the Royal British Legion.

The White Brae memorial, at the remote roadside where the soldiers were killed, is the most frequently targeted.

They are among the most attacked memorials in Northern Ireland.

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In the most recent incident at the weekend, a flower pot was stolen.

Previously, paint was poured over the memorial stone at Ballysillan, and during other incidents IRA slogans were daubed on the memorial and poppies destroyed.

Kris McGurk, director of the Three Scottish Soldiers Campaign for Justice group, said he will be writing to Belfast City Council on behalf of the families on Tuesday to request CCTV be installed at the sites.

“If these people cannot once and for all leave the memorials alone and let our boys peacefully be remembered, we are left with no other option but to request the assistance of Belfast City Council in adding some prevention measures in the area,” he said.

“In 2018 it would be a terrible shame if CCTV were required to simply stop a memorial to three innocent boys being disrespected.”

Before the weekend, the last incident had been in November 2016.

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