Marmite!! Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Army Ends Longest Tour Of Duty After 38 years, the longest continuous deployment in UK military history is at an end. Peace has returned to Northen Ireland after the TroublesOperation Banner, which began when Harold Wilson sent troops to Northern Ireland in 1969, will end at midnight tonight and almost all the troops will be brought back to Britain. It is the end of an active security operation which saw more than 300,000 military personnel serve in Northern Ireland. 5,000 troops will remain, but security will be entirely the responsibility of the police. The British Army's role in the province began during riots and bombings in 1969. Since then, 763 military personnel have been killed and many more injured. The last soldier to die in conflict, Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, was shot dead while on duty at a road block in South Armagh in 1997. Praising the Army's "uncommon courage and conviction", the Queen said: "Your contribution to peace and stability in Northern Ireland is unique". http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1277879,00.html http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44028000/jpg/_44028921_welcome.jpg[/img] http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44029000/jpg/_44029010_gallery2.jpg[/img] http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44029000/jpg/_44029958_house416x300.jpg[/img] http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44028000/jpg/_44028971_derry1970.jpg[/img] http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44028000/jpg/_44028978_falls1970.jpg[/img] http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44028000/jpg/_44028932_helicopter.jpg[/img] http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44028000/jpg/_44028940_dismantle400.jpg[/img] http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44028000/jpg/_44028941_goodbye.jpg[/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Mayhem Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Read Max Hastings in today's Daily Mail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeEnfield Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 History in the making............. Lets all hope Peace remains, and Ireland prospers. With respects to who served there. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 History in the making............. Lets all hope Peace remains, and Ireland prospers. With respects to who served there. Andy Ireland, a beautiful country, full of beautiful people, spoiled by a handful of thugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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