Times of troubles: Britain's war in Northern Ireland

Abstract

This title shows how 'The Troubles' in Ulster defined the Scottish and British military experience post-WW2. 'Bloody Sunday' is one of the iconic moments in British History, but what were the experiences of the soldiers in Ulster, many of them Scottish, and how did the wider events of the Troubles figure in their minds? Wood and Sanders give voice to these soldiers, with many new documents, interviews and diary entries now released to the public domain. On top of the seismic findings of the Saville report, this analysis is a timely revisit to events which still echo in the political consciousness of Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. It is a period of history which prompts many questions about a liberal state. If it feels under armed threat within what it claims are its own borders, how should it respond and what are the rules of engagement? How accountable should they be to politicians, the public and the media? At what point do such operations become definable as war and how do they affect those who are called upon to carry them out? This book attempts to answer those questions.