Where the hell are they John?

To John. • Where are they?• • Where the hell are they.• I shouted again to John. And I nearly passed out with shock as a soldier spoke right into my ear. • Get the f**** out of here mate before I blow your f*****g Brains out.• My eyes opened wide with shock and I realised that I was right in the middle of a squad of soldiers and I was actually resting against a Saracen armoured troop carrier, that I thought was a car. Peering into the darkness I saw dozens of soldiers with black- ened faces all around all looking at me, and five armoured troop carriers in a row and here was I right in the middle of them with my milk bottles in my hands. All I could say was • Oh shit!• And slowly make my way back towards John, who was falling about laughing. On reaching John, my bravado again took over and I turned and began throwing the milk bottles at the kind soldiers who let me go. IM sure they were very annoyed at me because they began firing rubber bullets at John and I and some other neighbours who had just arrived and were carrying their own supply of milk bottles.

{I personally think, In Derry at that time the milkman never got his empties.}

Bullets and Bottle tops

John and I were in the thick of battle we would charge the Brits. They would retreat and then they would counter charge and we retreated. For hours this type of battle raged. {By the way there were thousands also battling not just John and I. Just in case you thought it were only John and I fighting hundreds of British soldiers.} We were running out of ammo so we did the only thing left to us, we liberated some milk bottles from outside a woman• s door, promising to return any unbroken ones after the battle.

John always liked to be in the thick of the battle while I liked just enough distance between me and the soldiers to get a good running start. In those days I exercised my right arm a lot, and had a good throwing distance of about twenty people in front of me, and could still reach British lines. Front line troops usually got caught by the snatch squads if they weren• t quick enough on their feet. And I always made sure there were others more stupi* braver than I between the soldiers and I. In Derry at that time there was a lot of discussion about the Olympics and how well we all could do at the running jumping and throwing events, including the high jump, and it was mainly due to our every day battles. We were honed athletes of a different sort. We noted with pride we could out run any Belfast visitor on the battlefield, and out throw our visitors also. We were finely honed running, ducking and weaving fighting machines.

The shout rang out • Gunman,• and as always just before there was any shooting the shout always rang out, giving everyone time to get out of the way. Then the I R A would open fire at the soldiers who were busy chasing the stragglers thus catching soldiers out in the open. On this occasion John had replenished his ammo supply and was charging back to the front lines when the shout went up. So he was a bit slower in getting away. He had three Old City Dairy milk bottles in his right hand in a row.

Bang, bang ,bang, shots rang out. John just made it over the top of a little wall where I was taking a short rest and landed beside me grunting. • The stupid b*****ds.• I looked at him wondering what he meant when he held up his hand and the tops of the Old City Dairy milk bottles were all that was left of his milk bottles. A bullet had smashed through the three bottles in his hand and left him holding just the milk bottle tops. After the shooting stopped everyone had rested and then once again stoning resumed. John fired his little bottle tops at the soldiers urging his bottle tops on with a few choice curses, towards their targets. By the way John was over 70.

{I personally think he was very brave.}

This is John as a young man.

Stop the war there• s a shopper crossing

William street and Waterloo place in Derry was the daily setting for a pitched battle. There was never a day there wasn• t a battle fought. Usually around 3 - 0 - clock, just as the schools were getting out. Soldiers gathered in William street and Waterloo Place in anticipation. Then the battle would begin as soon as both sides settled in. Hundreds of Derry fighters began pitched battles which lasted long into the night and sometimes all night long. The fighters would charge and the soldiers retreat. Then with the whine of the Saracens engines revving up the counter charge would begin. And the soldiers would come screaming charging out of Waterloo Place and charge up William street and over Rossville street, the crowd running in retreat. Stopping only on occasion to stone the charging soldiers as they caught a fighter or two, which then seemed to drive the Derry fighters into a frenzy, and they counter charged with an intense ferocity, trying to save their poor captured hero• s, thus driving the soldiers back into the safety of Waterloo Place. On many an occasion the battles raged with such intensity it was hard to see. C S Gas was like a heaven sent cloud to the poor fighters of Derry who had become so accustomed to the smell and stinging of the eyes that it didn't really bother them much anymore. {And I personally believe many had become

addicted to the C S Gas because the same people day after day would be there in the thick of the wondrous cloud getting their daily fix.}

Besides the British soldiers didn't like the CS Gas themselves

They had to wear breathing apparatus and it was difficult to see through this rubber mask.

In the heat of battle came the now familiar shout of • hold it, hold it.• This shout came from the ranks of the fighters from both sides. And as the calls to hold it, rang out, all fighting would cease. Soldiers put their guns down by their sides relaxing for a few minutes, lighting up a cigarette, and all fighting stopped, with no exceptions. Then all had a quick smoke break. Emerging from out of the cloud of C S Gas making their way through millions of pieces of broken glass and rubble, and ‘all kinds of everything’ came two little old ladies with their shopping bags full of groceries. With calls from soldiers and fighters alike, • take your time girls, its all right. Soldiers and fighters smiled at one another during these lulls in battle as both sides seen the concern for the elderly was mutual. { I personally think Dana got the idea and title of

her Eurovision song ‘All kinds of everything’ from here.}

As soon as the old dears had gotten to safety and were walking up Rossville Street, sometimes being helped along by a fighter returning home for his or her dinner. Then the battle cry rang out again and all hell was let loose again.

At the corner of William Street and Waterloo place was Tracy’s bar, the local favourite with the older generation. Many a battle was held up as the occasional drunk made his way towards William street and Rossville street, instead of going up waterloo street and then down into the Bog Side, thus avoiding the battle field. But you cant reason with a drunk mind. Then as the drunk began to make his way

Through the ranks of soldiers the call to halt would go up and all side ceased firing. On many occasions the drunk would stop to hurl abuse at the soldiers as he passed by them, thus holding up precious fighting time. And sometimes he wasn't treated with the same dignity as the old ladies by either side. On some occasions the crowd of fighters would pause but then begin to loose patience with the drunk as he took too long, coming through. Some ventured right down to the soldiers lines and dragged the old fellow unceremoniously away from annoying the young soldiers. The soldiers never tried to arrest those young men who lifted the drunk out of harms way, even though these were the very same guys who were right at the front of the fighting. They seemed to have a grudging respect for them, or maybe they just wanted peace and the last thing they needed was a drunk annoying them. Ill never know.

{But I personally think it was out of respect for the fighters that they never tried to grab them, as they escorted the drunks away. }

Motorman the invasion

Things were looking bad there were rumours that the British army was about to enter the no go areas and take over these areas by force of numbers. They were hinting in parliament that Invasion would be soon. That day before they invaded, troops began stopping all cars from entering Derry City and Hundreds of tanks were reported arriving at Ebrington barracks the main army barracks and word was spread throughout the city. The local chemists done a roaring trade in hair dye that day as a local freedom fighters whose hair was blonde changed it to black and those with dark hair became blonde trying to disguise themselves as best they could. Two albino brothers changed their hair colour to a sort of orangey blue, the dye didn't turn out too well but the disguise worked as they were not arrested when troops flooded the area later.

{Personally I think this is where the punk rockers hairstyle was first invented.}

People who had stored weapons for the freedom fighters began throwing them outside into hedges as they knew every house would be searched by the invading soldiers. The freedom fighters themselves abandoned some cars with guns in them, after showing a token resistance to the invading army. They knew they were overwhelmed by the amount of armour and tanks and soldiers, and so only a token resistance was neces- sary. Then most freedom fighters went into hiding and changed their appearance to Avoid capture.