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Child Item

British soldier describes the technique of using children as human shields in Ireland

Harryd225

Here's a quote from a British soldier speaking about the IRA

''if you start to stand next to kids, and that might sound callous and cruel but they were cowards and they wouldn't shoot at you because they didn't want to risk shooting any children because that wouldn't look good''.

It's common knowledge to a lot of people that the Brits would use children as human shields but skip to 14.15 on this documentary and you will hear the quote posted above, there was an older American ABC documentary from the early 80s which goes into more detail about it which must have been taken off YouTube as I can't find it anymore.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DMZULAbyfs0k&ved=2ahUKEwi6wI7k6p_1AhUDhlwKHX1PDUUQwqsBegQICRAE&usg=AOvVaw3f1n96aqlJsHqgLbk4M936

MOD Note: see post 24.

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UrbanFret

If the Brits stood behind kids I'd say it was them that were the cowards.

El Tarangu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058226477/british-soldier-describes-the-technique-of-using-children-as-human-shields-in-ireland

That's awful, genuinely.

Although the IRA, who you seem quite fond of, used children as human targets, but this you do not seem to find so disturbing.

Harryd225

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118433889#Comment_118433889

Again with the whataboutery, anyway there's barely any difference in how many children were killed by the IRA and how many were killed by the British army, there's a difference of about ten or so and the Brits killed far more children 12 or under than the IRA did, and bare in mind none of those figures factor in collusion with loyalists.

You won't find the IRA targetting a child as blatantly and brutally as this.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2020/10/06/news/majella-o-hare-12-was-shot-in-the-back-by-british-soldier-and-treated-like-a-piece-of-meat--2089723/&ved=2ahUKEwj17erI-5_1AhWilFwKHQBjCrYQFnoECDkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3UBbuXI3SKfxOWECPo9RWZ

Harryd225

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118433846#Comment_118433846

Not in their eyes.

Harryd225

Although Tom Barry and the rest of the boys in the old IRA used to burn down protestant orphanages, imagine those lunatics in the 1920s with semtex explosives?

BalcombeSt4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118433889#Comment_118433889

"used children as human targets"

Well, that's a lie.

Is this the History forum or the Mythology forum?

BalcombeSt4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118434200#Comment_118434200

They had access to gelignite, which was much more unstable than semtex, they used it in attempts to blow up RIC & Army barracks, like at Rosscarbery.

El Tarangu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118434893#Comment_118434893

Well the IRA blew up a boat knowing that there were several children on board, if that doesn't count as targetting children, I don't know what would.

BalcombeSt4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118435016#Comment_118435016

True, I completely disagreed with that action, not only the children on the boat but everyone.

But the topic was about British soldiers being targeted by IRA snipers & them using children as shields from snipers, IRA snipers did not target children.

Quantum Erasure

[are we the baddies?]

Harryd225

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118435016#Comment_118435016

Well they were teenagers 15 years old not exactly children, but I agree they shouldn't have went ahead with it knowing there were two teens on board.

The british army also murdered many teenagers and children like the 12 year old girl I linked an article to above, they shot her multiple times in the back then dragged her around like a piece of meat and threw her head first into a helicopter.

Do you think the British army also targeted children or is it just the IRA?

BalcombeSt4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118435261#Comment_118435261

That whole operation was pointless. I'm not a fan of Mountbatten but he was an old man with little political sway. All that did was piss off the British public & gave the right-wing press plenty of ammo to target legit Republican political objectives. Oddly it wasn't so much the fact that children & two old people had been blown up that made people mad, it was more "look at the cheek of the Irish putting their hands on our Royal family" that fueled right-wing headlines in the next few days.

And yes, the British targeted plenty of children. Julie Livingstone (14), Carol Ann Kelly (12), Anne McGavigan (14) & Majella O'Hare (12) just of the top of my head

Harryd225

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118435380#Comment_118435380

[Mod removed], forget his war record he is also long suspected to be linked to the VIP paedophile ring at the Kincora boys home, he was a war mongering paedophile nothing more nothing less.

MOD NOTE: The removed comment falls outside the guidelines of the History forum, as it promotes violence.

Jequ0n

Let’s all ignore the context of that soldiers quote…he described how they were constantly moving for fear of being a target, but that they were “safe” when standing or kneeling down next to children.

Makes perfect sense and I can’t see what’s deemed so offensive about this. It’s not like they were holding on the children and pushing them in front of them.

Harryd225

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118437648#Comment_118437648

Here come the war mongering right wing British sympathiser apologists clutching at straws trying to justify this on the basis that they were scared.

What planet are you living on? He clearly wasn't merely mentioning that they were safe when standing next to children, he clearly states in the video they would intentionally do it as much as possible because they knew the IRA wouldn't attack them if children were close by, there's an American ABC documentary which also clearly states they would always try to cross roads with children and move alongside them.

The video is there for anyone to see, they can make their own minds up and I very much doubt most people will come to the conclusion you came to.

Jequ0n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118437659#Comment_118437659

“War mongering right wing British sympathiser”?

Of course, of course…

As I stated it makes perfect sense to move, stand, walk besides children if that’s what keeps you alive. Are you claiming that it was just the British army that did this?

I can assure you that I am totally impartial to the Northern Irish situation, but it doesn’t sound like you are in the same position.

Harryd225

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118437671#Comment_118437671

Well that's your opinion, I would guess most people in Ireland wouldn't agree with that behaviour, and yes I don't think Loyalists or Republicans ever used human shields and it certainly wasn't common practice.

Jequ0n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118437674#Comment_118437674

It is indeed. I wouldn’t know if most people in Ireland would disagree or not. I can accept when someone has a different opinion on this matter.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118437674#Comment_118437674

Everyone uses shields or cover when there's a chance they'll get shot at. The people banging pots and pans on the road as the army patrolled around was human shielding. What would be a problem is if they'd forced to the people to walk in front of them as human shields, they just stood beside something that wouldn't be shot. While the IRA may not have used human shields they weren't angels, neither side in a war has a moral high ground.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118437671#Comment_118437671

That makes you a despicable coward to be honest. It's literally using children to shield yourself.

Jequ0n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118437782#Comment_118437782

I’m ok with that, if that kept me alive. One life isn’t more important than another.

It makes no sense to get yourself killed if it can be avoided by such simple means.

sydthebeat

Well that says a lot about you.

Soldiers using children as shields.....

Manach

MOD Note:

This thread is veering into ad hominen against fellow history posters, contra forum rules. Please consider this the one warning on such.

Harryd225

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118437912#Comment_118437912

Sure.

Finty Lemon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118435091#Comment_118435091

The highly trained IRA sniper units would never target civilians, especially children. It wasn't in their interest or their nature.

Of course, this also means that that children were in no danger of being shot when standing in front of a British soldier.

It was bad practice on the part of the soldiers but not as risky as it sounds, due to the diligence and skill of the snipers.

MakersMark

The IRA murdered kids and so did the British.

Let's rehash it over and over for no good reason.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118437782#Comment_118437782

I'd rather be a live coward then dead. I'd like to see what you do when your live is under treat all the time you are doing your job.

Harryd225

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438770#Comment_118438770

I don't see why people are claiming it was just to prevent sniper fire it was also to stop anyone opening fire with a machine gun or assault rifle.

Harryd225

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438788#Comment_118438788

Well this is the history forum?

May as well leave it here for people to read and let them make their own mind up if this was justifiable and moral.

Harryd225

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118438809#Comment_118438809

The soldier in the video claims it was the IRA who were the cowards because they didn't want to risk shooting any children, it's a bizarre statement to say the least.