T HE T ROUBLES AND OPERATION BANNER

‘The Troubles’ is a commonly used term to describe the 30 year conflict in Northern Ireland which raged from 1968 to 1998. Although labyrinthine in nature, the central issue was fairly simple, a debate about Northern Ireland’s constitutionalist status, a question that still remains unresolved. The Unionists, mainly Protestants, seek to remain part of the United Kingdom, whereas the Nationalists, or Republican movement, believe in a united Ireland. The difference between now and the period covered by the Troubles is that both sides have agreed to continue the debate by political, rather than violent means.

Following a civil rights march in October 1968, tension between the two communities escalated into violence. By 1969 the situation had deteriorated to a point that the British Government decided to restore order by deploying troops, subsequently referred to as Operation Banner. The first deployment was made on August 14, 1969, but it wasn’t until July 31, 2007, that the operation was finally stood down, making it the longest ongoing deployment in British military history.

Operation Banner remains something of a forgotten conflict, yet its scale was staggering. At its peak in 1972 there were 27,000 military personnel based in the province. Putting that number into perspective it’s a thousand more troops than were assembled for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the peak British military deployment to Afghanistan was around 9500.

The number of deaths caused by all sides in the conflict will never be truly known but it’s thought to be in excess of 3600 with at least 50,000 being physically injured.

(Statistics from MOD/BBC)