Great Britain. Army. - Sir, theyre taking the kids indoors: the British Army in Northern Ireland 1973-74

In 1974 the MoD declared that Northern Ireland was not a war-zone and that none of the fallen soldiers would be honoured on war memorials. Four decades on Ken Wharton has put that right. Sir, Theyre Taking the Kids Indoors stands as a memorial in its own right. With every word he writes, Ken honours these men.

Steven McLaughlin, bestselling author of Squaddie: A Soldiers Story

A riveting and authentic account of a sobering and seminal period of British and Irish military history. These pages are redolent with random, chaotic and hate-fuelled violence so epitomized by the chilling phrase Sir, theyre taking the kids indoors but they also speak of the heroic sacrifice, patience, humility and self-restraint which were and remain the hallmarks of the British soldier when faced with terrorists hell bent on wreaking death and destruction, whether in 1970s Belfast, or in Helmand province today. Ken Whartons work is both a hugely important record and a highly readable account. Lest we forget.

Damien Lewis, bestselling author of Apache Dawn: Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned and Fire Strike 7/9

As a soldier who served in Northern Ireland in Belfast in 1973 and in Crossmaglen in 1976, Ken Whartons book of soldiers true accounts brings back the emotion, the smells, the images, the grinding hours, the constant bombs and bullets and the squalor in which we lived and worked. Only through reading this book can anyone begin to realise what we experienced in the service of our country.

Tony Clarke, former Paratrooper and author of Contact

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Published by Helion & Company 2012
Designed and typeset by Farr Out Publications, Wokingham, Berkshire
Cover designed by Euan Carter, Leicester
Printed by Gutenberg Press Limited, Tarxien, Malta

Text Ken M. Wharton 2012
Photographs as individually credited within the book
Maps of Belfast and Londonderry originally appeared in The British Army in Northern
Ireland by Michael Dewar (1985) and are Weidenfeld & Nicolson, a division of The
Orion Publishing Group (London).

Front cover photo Belfast Telegraph
Rear cover photo Brian Sheridan

The opinions expressed in this book are those of the individuals quoted and do not
necessarily accord with views held by the author or publisher.

ISBN 978 1 907677 67 0
EPUB ISBN: 9781908916778

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Dedications

To every soldier, no matter which regiment, no matter which arm of the British Army you served in Northern Ireland. You learned to walk backwards with such style

To the Royal Green Jackets and my many friends in that superb regiment: Celer et Audux

To Mick Hill, Andy Thomas and Steve Norman and the royal Anglians

To Tommy Clarke, Kev Wright, dead horse and the royal Corps of Transport.

To Paddy Lenaghan, George Prosser, Cav and the Kings Regiment

To Slapper and the Tankies

To slops and the Catering Corps lads who kept us going

To Andrew Macdonald and the Kings own royal Border Regiment

To Mike Sangster, the Swaine Brothers, Mick Potter and the rest of the Seven Mile Snipers of the Royal Artillery

To Ken, Stevie, Ronnie Mark and the other magnificent lads of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and sad that it is still too dangerous to use their surnames.

To Haydn and Roy Davies, Arfon Williams, Andy Bull and Ken Donavan and the Royal Regiment of Wales: Gwell Angau na Chywilydd

To my many Australian and New Zealand friends, especially the ever patient Rebecca Kolsteeg and Rachel Barnard

To my cousin John Leighton; a Territorial long Range Sniper

To the memory of my late parents, Mark and Irene Wharton

My partner, Helen Macdonald who comforts me and whose love keeps me going

As always to my children: Anne-Marie, Anna, Jonathan, Jenny, Robbie, Alex and Nathan and grandchildren: Sheriden and Kelsey Wharton, William and Sammy Thomas and Layla-Mae Addy-Wharton

To my lovely Aussie friend, Sophie Sheldon

To the memory of the late Pete Whittall of the Cheshire regiment who passed away in 2010; the IRA couldnt beat you, sadly Cancer did. 18/11/2010.

To the late Eddie French, Kings Regiment who also lost his fight with Cancer, august 2011

To everyone who served with me and to all who followed
And if you come, when all the flowers are dying
And I am dead, as dead I well may be
Youll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.
(From Danny Boy, traditional Irish ballad)

An for each an evry underdog soldier in the night, we
gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
(From Chimes of Freedom Bob Dylan)

There was a checkpoint Charlie; he didnt crack a smile. But its no
laughing party when youve been on the murder mile.
(From Olivers army Elvis Costello & the Attractions)

Some say troubles abound; someday soon theyre gonna pull the old town
down; one day well return here, when the Belfast child sings again.
(From Belfast Child by Simple Minds)

In my mind, I can still smell the acrid smoke of Brompton Park burning from end to end, see the petrol bombs and nail bombs coming over the peace wall opposite Holy Cross; the fireman lying on the road, shot through the chest; the RUC inspector hit by a petrol bomb on Butler Street, and the snipers shots that missed us embedded in the wall at the Woodvale Junction. I still have vivid pictures of the young Marine, holding his guts in with one hand as he carried his rifle with the other after getting hit by a nail bomb, and the Ferret Scout Car in a sea of flames.

Over forty years have passed since I saw, heard and smelled all this, witnessed the grief, and shed the tears over fallen comrades, yet here we are again, same place, same circumstances and same the hatred. My heart is heavy at our wasted sacrifice
Dave Von Slaps, Royal Tank Regiment

On a small residential road beside the chapel, about 30 metres up was a small girl; probably about five years old, she was playing with her dog and was wearing a white dress. She looked very pretty, against the drab backdrop of terraced housing. Upon spotting me kneeling down, she pointed to her dog and gestured in my direction, sending her dog to attack us. I think the dog got a kick in the head and went scampering back. Nothing unusual, but another generation of hatred was being produced by her parents.
Jamie Tyrell, RAF Regiment

In 1972 and 1973, the IRA really tried so hard to make their boast of killing a British soldier a day, come true. I was based at North Howard Street Mill and the minute we burst onto the streets, you could sense the hatred; the loathing that the people had for us was so thick that you could have cut it with a knife