Testimony to Courage: The History of the Ulster Defence Regiment, 1969–1992

The story of the British regiment created in Northern Ireland after the Troubles erupted in 1968, and the members who were killed amid the violence. The outbreak of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland in 1968 found many of the local police and army auxiliary units outmoded or discredited. A new and unique force of part-time soldiers was created: The Ulster Defence Regiment. Drawing on roughly 125 interviews, A Testimony to Courage vividly describes the threat under which not just the soldiers but their families had to live, and records the murders of some of the 197 members killed as a result of terrorist attack. It addresses how the Regiment became mainly Protestant as a result of the loss of Nationalist support and recruits, and the constant criticism of the Irish government and Nationalist politicians. A final chapter records objectively the lessons to be learned from this unique experience. This book is not an official history, but a thorough record of the UDR's dramatic twenty-three-year existence and the experiences of its brave members.