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The Fifties Campaign
Introduction to 1950's and death of Arthur Leonard.
After the partition of Ireland the old all island police force, the Royal Irish Constabulary, was disbanded and the two new states had to form new forces of law and order.
Part of Northern Ireland's new policy was the Special Powers Act of spring 1922 which allowed the Minister of Home Affairs, Dawson Bates, virtually unlimited powers and imposed the death penalty and flogging for certain offences.
At the same time the new prime minister James Craig appointed the notorious Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson as a police advisor and Major General Solly-Flood as military adviser.
The latter wanted to give the new Special Constabulary tanks and planes and had to be restrained by Craig and the war office in London!.
The new police force consisted of three strands. The' A', 'B' and 'C' specials, were from the beginning notorious. One of their first acts on April 1st 1921 was to run amok in Belfast and kill five Catholics. The dead were a boy of seven and four men, one killed with a sledge- hammer. Michael Collins, in the south protested and demanded an enquiry that never happened. Catholics, especially in Belfast, were desperate and those who could, fled south. The' B' specials were made up of an Association who by the autumn of 1921 had been turned into an efficiently organised gang of hooligans dedicated to the extermination of Catholics. Prime Minister Craig allowed them to join the newly established 'B' special constabulary and even used some of them in a newly established secret service. The spirit of the specials is perhaps best conveyed. by the words of an early commander who rallied recruits in Magherafelt by shouting 'I want men and the younger and wilder the better'. People in South Armagh were to remember this in 1955.
The specials were effective in areas like ours because they were local men who knew the area and the people. Their main task was setting up roadblocks and generally letting their Catholic neighbours know they were living in a Protestant state. They 'mobilised' and went on manoeuvres even though there was no trouble of any sort. Nationalists throughout the six counties naturally resented their Protestant neighbours stopping them at roadblocks and questioning their movements, especially when these neighbours were armed. Many commentators felt that the 'B' specials were a safety valve for unemployment amongst Protestants. Hardly a reason for their existence. It was on one such 'manoeuvre' that a young boy from Clady lost his life. When reading the story of Arthur Leonard it is worth while to note that an enquiry the day after the shooting exonerated all the specials involved.
The nationalist population of the area hadn't just the notorious 'B' specials watching their every move. Ex-servicemen were employed in various positions such as postmen and people were constantly on their guard because it was well known that these officials were liable to report people for such trivial offences as not having dog licences and radio licences.
1950's Campaign
The 1950's campaign against the Unionist dominated Six counties could probably be described as a failure in every sense apart from passing on the tradition of struggle to the next generation. Even though the threat to this Orange State was minimal, it did not prevent the powers that be bringing out their 'B' Special death squads.
As in the past, being Nationalist was enough reason for assassination.
On December 5th 1955, Arthur Leonard was driving an Austin 10 van from Keady in the direction of Newtownhamilton. Beside him in the passenger seat sat Claire Mallon and in the back of the van were two people, a girl called, Alice Mallon and Pete Mc Kernahan. They weren't too far into their journey when Arthur spotted a security patrol up ahead.
He pulled the van onto his side of the road on the grass verge, but almost immediately as he did so the shooting began.
Three or four bullets came through the window screen, hitting Arthur in the face, killing him instantly.
His passenger Claire was wounded in the leg. Three or four more shots were fired at the back door of the van but luckily enough no-one else was shot.
The 'B' Special who fired the fatal shots was a marksman called Mc Allister.
The other person was named Gibson. Both came from Temple outside Keady. A Sergeant Watson it seems, was in charge of the patrol.
While waiting for the R.U.C. and ambulance, the 'B' Specials went into a huddle, obviously fabricating an alibi for themselves.
Needless to say, no-one was charged with the murder of Arthur Leonard, but rather, having proved himself a loyal soldier of the Orange State, Mc Allister joined the R.U.C. about a year later and received rapid promotion within this force down through the years.
For services rendered, he was well rewarded and so confident was he in his popularity that he was challenging for the position of Chief Constable in that organisation, until the Sunday Mirror exposed him by revealing that part of his ,sordid past.
One can only speculate as to how the Sunday Mirror got hold of such sensitive material; whether it was good investigation methods or a deliberate leak. I suspect the latter.
However, it was Jack Hermon who became Chief Constable of that discredited force, and he proved very capable as he presided over some of the worse atrocities perpetrated by the State Forces under what was known as daubed "the shoot to kill policy."
These were then justified by the courts as highlighted by one infamous Judge Gibson, in his delivery of the verdict. But then they were all well taught by their forefathers. |
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