Gusty Spence - Ulster Volunteer Force

Ulster Volunteer Force

Spence had claimed that he was approached in 1965 by two men, one of whom was an Ulster Unionist Party MP, who told him that the Ulster Volunteer Force was to be re-established and that he was to have responsibility for the Shankill. He was sworn in soon afterwards in a ceremony held in secret near Pomeroy. Because of his Army experience Gusty Spence was chosen as the military commander and public face of the UVF when the group was established although Special Branch believed that his brother Billy, who kept a much lower public profile, was the real leader of the group. Whatever the truth of this intelligence Gusty Spence's Shankill UVF was made up of only around 12 men on its formation.

On 7 May 1966, a group of UVF men led by Spence petrol bombed a Catholic-owned pub on Shankill Road. Fire also engulfed the house next door, killing the elderly widow, Matilda Gould (77), who lived there. On 27 May, Spence ordered four UVF men to kill an Irish Republican Army (IRA) member, Leo Martin, who lived on Falls Road. Unable to find their target, the men drove around in search of a Catholic. They shot dead John Scullion (28), a Catholic civilian, as he walked home. Spence later wrote "At the time, the attitude was that if you couldn't get an IRA man you should shoot a Taig, he's your last resort". On 26 June, the same gang shot dead Catholic civilian Peter Ward (18) and wounded two others as they left a pub on Malvern Street, Belfast. Two days later, the government of Northern Ireland declared the UVF illegal. Shortly after, Spence and three others were arrested.

In October 1966, Spence was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Peter Ward, although Spence has always claimed he was innocent. He was sent to Crumlin Road Prison. During its 12 July 1967 march, the Orange lodge to which he belonged stopped outside the prison in tribute to him. This occurred despite Spence having been officially expelled from the Orange Order following his conviction. Spence's involvement in the killings gave him legendary status among many young loyalists and he was claimed as an inspiration by the likes of Michael Stone. Indeed Tim Pat Coogan has described Spence as a "loyalist folk hero". The attack was however repudiated by Ian Paisley and condemned in his Protestant Telegraph, sealing the earlier split between the two.