Defence Personnel

Bob Stewart Excerpts

Thursday 6th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the right hon. Member for North East Hampshire (Mr Arbuthnot) on setting the scene so well, providing some focus for many of us. I thank other hon. Members who have also made significant, worthwhile and knowledgeable contributions to the debate, and those who will do the same in a few moments.

I begin by saying that I stand in support of the tremendous sacrifice and work that our defence personnel carry out every day of their lives. As a member of the armed forces parliamentary scheme—there are others dotted around the Chamber—I have been privileged to see a lot of what our soldiers, sailors, airmen and women do around the world, and it makes me even more thankful for the job they do, away from friends and family on the front line or in training or when stationed elsewhere. We do not always know what they daily go through—I know membership of the armed forces parliamentary scheme provides some indication of it—in service to Queen and country. We know that because of them there is freedom and democracy not only in this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but right across the world—and for that we are truly and immensely grateful.

Many of us will have watched films on TV based on the wars in the past—from the American war of independence, the American civil war and on to the Great war—and we all have seen the march of troops head on into the firing line. That is not the way wars are fought today: warfare has evolved, and the British Army has evolved with it, remaining the foremost Army in the world. I believe that this must remain so. We have obligations worldwide in the security of our nation and in playing our part to help those who are oppressed or living in injustice. Those aims must continue to be fulfilled by whatever shape the new Army takes. The British Army and this Government have not been found wanting when it comes to promoting those good objectives—in Iraq, in Afghanistan and elsewhere across the world.

I want to focus on the changes that will follow the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the draw-down from Germany, and to do so from a Northern Ireland perspective. I want to reflect on what the Army expects to look like then, and, more important, on Northern Ireland’s role in the 2020 British Army.

Northern Ireland has a rich military history. Although we are such a small part of the United Kingdom, our incredible level of military service—which is backed up by the figures—demonstrates that we are intrinsic to the make-up of the greatness of that great nation. It is clear from the fact that Northern Ireland contains only 3% of the United Kingdom’s population but provides 20% of the reserve forces on active service that we more than play our part. We have much to offer in Northern Ireland as a major part of the evolution of the armed forces.

[Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con)]

I understand that more Victoria Crosses have been awarded to Irishmen than to the English, the Scots and the Welsh put together. I congratulate the Irish on that.

[Jim Shannon]

The hon. Gentleman’s facts are absolutely correct. I thank him for what he has said. Let me also take the opportunity to thank him for the immense contribution that he has made in his former role as a soldier, both in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the world, and in particular for the part that he played, as an officer in his regiment, in the peace that we now have in Northern Ireland. His contribution is not often mentioned, and I wanted to put it on the record.

By tradition, we in Northern Ireland have never had to be conscripted to provide service personnel. We go above and beyond our duty, and that should be acknowledged and respected. Although in many instances the troubles in Northern Ireland highlighted segregation, the Army and the cadets now recruit from all sectors of the community. I want to stress to the Minister the importance of our cadets and reserve forces to community involvement and community-building. The Army works hard in those different parts of the community to show people what a great career can be enjoyed in the forces.

Our cadet force recruitment has been second to none, crossing the religious and political divides. The highest levels of recruitment are from areas that are traditionally less supportive of the military—Strabane, Londonderry, Limavady and Enniskillen. The importance of the cadet forces to our society cannot be sufficiently underlined. Northern Ireland, in my view, has the most rationalised and efficient cadets in the United Kingdom. We develop a higher proportion of our soldiers and sailors on operations than any other region, and we have the most and the best recruitment in the UK.

The main link between the Ministry of Defence and the communities in Northern Ireland is first through the cadets and secondly through the reserves. The success story lies in the fact that people from what are, perhaps, the traditionally less supportive areas are now joining the cadets in rising numbers. The position must be enhanced in the future, and that demands a commitment from the Ministry of Defence: cadets today, reserves and a full-time Army tomorrow.

I believe that there is much scope for Northern Ireland to house and facilitate the training of troops in buildings that are already owned and operated by the British Army. I suggest that Thiepval barracks in Lisburn, which currently houses the 38th Brigade, should be retained and enhanced. The draw-down from Germany will provide an opportunity for that to be done. The garrison at Ballykinler and Palace barracks in Holywood provide accommodation and training facilities that are ready and waiting to be fully utilised—and, of course, we must not forget the facilities at Aldergrove, from which forces have already withdrawn. Again, the draw-down from Germany will provide scope for development.

Those buildings are already intrinsic parts of the community. Officers in the barracks ensure that there is co-operation with young people, and with the community as a whole. It makes a great deal of sense to me—and, I know, to other Northern Ireland Members, who unfortunately are not present today—for facilities that are already available to be part of the 2020 plan for the Army, and I ask the MOD to give that serious consideration. I look forward to the Minister’s response.

It is essential for the plan for the reserve forces to constitute 30% of Army numbers by 2018 to be realised through the use of the many troops that are currently trained and ready to go. Through the armed forces parliamentary scheme, I have had the opportunity—along with others, including the hon. Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart)—to visit our base in Cyprus, and to note the strategic importance of Cyprus in a very uncertain middle east. We need to be able to call upon fully trained and equipped personnel at any time, and I believe the reserves are a way to achieve that. Although these men and women are not in the Army full-time, they are trained to a very high standard. We must ensure the strength of the reserves does not diminish. We have built up expertise, and it should be utilised as needed. The reserves should form the foundation for the proposed changes, and the Northern Ireland reserve members are an important part of them. Given that, the Ministry of Defence must give commitments on Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and its role in respect of the armed forces.

Everywhere I go in the world, I always come across serving personnel from Northern Ireland with links to my constituency. Fellow members of the armed forces parliamentary scheme have observed that, and they have expressed amazement that there are always such connections. From Afghanistan to Canada, and from Kenya to the Falklands to Cyprus, there is always a Northern Ireland link, which illustrates the commitment of people in Northern Ireland to Queen and country and the principles of freedom and democracy.

--- Later in debate ---

[Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con)]

Thirty years ago tonight, at eight minutes past 11, a massive explosion rocked my house. At the time, I was a major commanding A Company, 1st Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment. I rang the guardroom, because I was the duty field officer, and was told, “We think the Droppin’ Well—the disco has been blown up.” I jumped into my car and was there within a minute. There was blackness where the Droppin’ Well was meant to be—everything else was in light—and there was silence. I took a torch from my car and went into what was left of the building. The first person I met was a soldier who was only 18. He had a huge stomach and he was crying—not crying like a baby, but moaning. He was Private Mark Young, one of my youngest soldiers. I said to him, “You’ll be all right. You’ll live. Just stay there.” He had a broken back, although I did not know it.

I went further on into the building and there I found another soldier, Private Harthern, who said, “Come over here, sir. Through that gap.” I looked through the gap and saw a girl called Tina Collins underneath the concrete. She was the wife of my clerk. She said, “I think Clinton isn’t moving sir.” I said, “Don’t call me sir, it doesn’t matter. You’ve got to stay there, Tina.” I left Private Harthern with her. Lance Corporal Clinton Collins had been promoted by me that day. He and I had played squash until about 8 o’clock that night. I had taken him home and he had said, “In celebration, sir, I am taking Tina out for a drink.” But at eight minutes past 11 he was dead.

I went on, and a boy stood up and asked me whether I was a doctor. I looked like a doctor—I was wearing a coat. I said, “No, I am not a doctor.” He said, “She needs a doctor.” I looked down and saw a girl lying on the ground, entirely mashed—legs gone, arm a wreck. I knelt down beside her and said, “Are you all right?” She said, “I think so.” I said, “Oh.” She said, “What’s happened?” I said, “There’s been a bomb, darling.” She said, “Am I hurt?” I said, “Quite a bit.” She said, “Am I badly hurt?” I said, “Yes, you are.” She said, “Am I going to die?” I said, “Yes.” She said, “Will you hold me?” And I did. Of course, this young girl died. She died in a state of grace. She died fully conscious that she was dying. And, thankfully, she died with no pain.

I then discovered that four of my soldiers who had been round a table were also hit. The first was dead and, rather like a pack of cards, after the first one had gone down the next one, who was on top of him, died in two hours and the third one died in three hours. The fourth, Lance Corporal William Bell, was trapped. I spoke to William Bell and eventually, when the doctors arrived, they said that they would have to cut his legs off because it had been four hours and the rule of thumb was that gangrene sets in in four hours. I said to him, “Corporal Bell, we are going to have to take your legs off.” He said, “One hell of a way to get out of the cross-country run, isn’t it, sir? No legs—good excuse for the regimental sergeant major.” He said it rather more in soldiers’ language than that, but bearing in mind that we are in the Chamber of the House of Commons I have modified the language.

It was a hell of a night. Things got worse, of course, because in the morning I was ordered by the commanding officer to identify my soldiers. That took four hours in Altnagelvin hospital morgue. In total, I had six men killed and more than 30 wounded. Eleven soldiers died that night and six civilians, three of them girls and all of them young. Today is the 30th anniversary of Ballykelly. I have the honour and privilege to be going there this weekend to remember those people.

Here is the point—the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Ms Stuart) is not in her seat, but she has already made it: we have a responsibility to look after people into the future. It is very easy to concentrate on just the Afghanistan casualties or, indeed, the Iraq casualties, but we have had a lot of casualties in the armed forces and among our civilian population over the years, particularly during the troubles in Northern Ireland, where I lost far more men than anywhere else. In a way, it is understandable that we forget that we have lost so many people because we are concentrating on seeing our brave men and women coming back from Afghanistan.

Some people might see the people who have been hurt in previous wars, perhaps in a wheelchair or something like that, and say that they are a relic of the past. They probably do not say that, but they might think it. Those people might well be a relic of the past, but they live in the past. It is the past that has condemned their future. After all, Mark Young is only 48 and Lance Corporal William Bell cannot be more than 50, so we have a responsibility to them. I am using them as examples, because many more soldiers require to be looked after. We as a Parliament and we as a people are doing great things for our servicemen and servicewomen who are hurt now. As we have heard this afternoon, they get treatment that is world-beating.

I finish by saying this: remember that we also have men and women from previous conflicts who require world-beating care for the rest of their lives.