Letter: Loughgall museum will be a fitting tribute to members of the Ulster Special Constabulary

By Letters

Published 22nd Mar 2024, 00:00 GMT

I had the pleasure of being invited to attend a special evening on Friday, March 15, in Loughgall, Co Armagh, where it was announced that the Ulster Special Constabulary Association would be opening a museum within the coming months in the village which will remember the sacrifice made by members of the Ulster Special Constabulary between 1920 and 1970.

The evening was dedicated to the late General Secretary of the Ulster Special Constabulary Association Thomas Richard Scott BEM, a personal friend and mentor of mine who passed away on February 20.

Richard was awarded the BEM in 2018 for services to the Ulster Special Constabulary Association and it’s lovely that he will be remembered for the work he put into ensuring that this museum would come to fruition.

We owe a great deal of respect to those who gave their lives in defence of Ulster in this period.

I am very proud to be the Grandson of Charles F Craig BEM, a former Special Constable who went on to have a distinguished career in the then Northern Ireland Fire Brigade where he received the British Empire Medal for Gallantry.

I want to be sure that his sacrifice and that of his comrades in the USC are not forgotten.

We only have to look at this quote by Historian Tim Pat Coogan to see that without them a lot more would have been killed during the time of their existence.

Coogan is quoted as saying “The B Specials were the rock on which any mass movement by the IRA in the North has inevitably floundered."

This is a big step forward for the Ulster Special Constabulary Association and I look forward to see work commencing in the coming months to see this project come to life.

W J Craig, Belfast, BT5