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Commemoration Service for UK Forces who served in Northern Ireland

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE News Release (107/2008) issued by The Government News Network on 5 June 2008

The Ministry of Defence is holding an official service to honour members of the UK Forces and civil servants who lost their lives or were injured in Northern Ireland. It will also pay tribute to over 300,000 personnel who served in the Province on Operation Banner, the official title for military operations in Northern Ireland, between 1969 and 2007. There are 2,000 tickets available for people to attend the event, which is being held on Wednesday 10 September 2008 at St Paul's Cathedral, London.

The service will be an opportunity to give thanks to the many servicemen, women and civil servants who served in Northern Ireland and to remember those who gave their lives helping to bring stability to the Province over 38 years.

Veterans Minister Derek Twigg said:

"The Armed Forces made an enormous contribution towards the peace and stability that now exists in Northern Ireland. Operation Banner lasted for 38 years, with several generations of servicemen and women taking part in often extremely challenging circumstances. We should never forget the loss of so many Service personnel and the thousands who were wounded over that period. The service at St. Paul's will be an opportunity for us all to pay tribute and say thank you for their considerable efforts."

Andrew Bennett, now Chair of the Northern Ireland Veterans Association, was a member of the Royal Corps of Signals. He served in Northern Ireland between 1986 and 1990 as an Electronic Counter Measures Operator with a Bomb Disposal Team, and with a Brigade Signal Squadron. He said:

"Operation Banner is the longest campaign in British military history, and those who served, and in some cases lost their lives over the years, deserve this national recognition. As a Northern Ireland veteran I am proud to have the opportunity to attend this service alongside former colleagues and families."

Tickets are available for the Commemorative Service for Armed Forces veterans of Operation Banner, including MOD civilians, and the families and friends of those who lost their lives. An application form can be downloaded from
http://www.veterans-uk.info or by calling the free ticket line on 0800 169 2277. Each application will receive two tickets.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Prince of Wales' Own Regiment was the first unit to be deployed in Northern Ireland in August 1969.

2. During the worst period of The Troubles between 1972 and 1973, 27,000 military personnel were stationed in Northern Ireland, the majority of them Army.

3. Over the course of Operation Banner, 763 servicemen and women were killed as a direct result of terrorism. This includes 651 Army and Royal Marine personnel; one Royal Naval Serviceman; 50 members of the former Ulster Defence Regiment and later Royal Irish Regiment; 10 members of the Territorial Army and 51 military personnel murdered outside Northern Ireland. 6,116 members of the Army and Royal Marines were wounded over the period.

4. At one stage there were 106 military bases or locations in Northern Ireland, however, since the first Provisional IRA cease-fire in September 1994, 80 per cent of these were closed. The closure of the bases was accelerated after the Good Friday Agreement of April 1998.

5. The process of steadily reducing military presence began on 1 August 2005. Peter Hain, the then Northern Ireland Secretary, announced that the security situation had improved. and routine military support to the police would no longer be needed

6. Operation Banner officially ended on 31 July 2007. It was superseded on 1 August 2007 by Operation Helvetic, a garrison of no more than 5,000 military personnel in 10 locations, trained and ready for deployment worldwide.

7. The closing date for ticket applications is Wednesday 13 August 2008 and the MOD aims to contact all successful applicants by 27 August 2008.

8. The names of the UK service personnel who lost their lives during Operation Banner are listed on the Armed Forces Memorial, Staffordshire. The Memorial, which opened to the public in October 2007, remembers all those killed on duty in conflicts or on training exercises, by terrorist action or on peacekeeping missions - http://www.forcesmemorial.org

9. In addition to specific commemorations such as Operation Banner, veterans of all ages are the focus of attention each year on Veterans Day, 27 June. The 2008 celebrations will be hosted by Blackpool in 2008 -
http://www.veterans-uk.info/veteransday08/index.htm