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Ulster Special Constabulary
Common name
B Specials
Abbreviation
USC
Agency overview
Formed
October 1920
Dissolved
31 March 1970
Superseding agency
UDR
Employees
5,500
Volunteers
26,500
Jurisdictional structure
National agency
Northern Ireland
Operations jurisdiction
Northern Ireland
Map of Ulster Special Constabulary's jurisdiction
Size
13,843 km2 (5,345 sq mi)
General nature
Local civilian police
Ulster Special Constabulary memorial
The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC; commonly called the "B-Specials" or "B Men") was a quasi-military[1] reserve special constable police force in what would later become Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the partition of Ireland. The USC was an armed corps, organised partially on military lines and called out in times of emergency, such as war or insurgency.[2] It performed this role most notably in the early 1920s during the Irish War of Independence and the 1956–1962 IRA Border Campaign.
During its existence, 95 USC members were killed in the line of duty. Most of these (72) were killed in conflict with the IRA in 1921 and 1922. Another 8 died during the Second World War, in air raids or IRA attacks. Of the remainder, most died in accidents but two former officers were killed during the Troubles in the 1980s.[3]
The force was almost exclusively Ulster Protestant and as a result was viewed with great mistrust by Catholics. It carried out several revenge killings and reprisals against Catholic civilians in the 1920–22 conflict. See The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922) and Timeline of the Irish War of Independence.[4][5] Unionists generally supported the USC as contributing to the defence of Northern Ireland from subversion and outside aggression.[6]
The Special Constabulary was disbanded in May 1970, after the Hunt Report, which advised re-shaping Northern Ireland's security forces to attract more Catholic recruits[7] and demilitarizing the police. Its functions and membership were largely taken over by the Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.[8]
^English & Townshend (1998), p. 96.
^Parkinson (2004), pp. 83–84.
^"Ulster Special Constabulary 1921–1970". National Police Officers Roll of Honour and Remembrance. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
^Hopkinson (2004), p. 263.
^Cite error: The named reference HI, Unholy War was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Hennessey (1997), p. 15.
^"CAIN: HMSO: Hunt Report, 1969". Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
^Elliott & Flackes (1999).
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