Troubles Gallery

Belfast riots, August 1920

A double page spread from the Illustrated London News, reporting on rioting in Belfast that began on the night of the 23rd August, and continued for a week. The feature is entitled "The worst rioting in the history of Belfast disturbances, which causes 500, 000 damage".Armoured cars and Lewis guns were used to quell the factions, with barbed wire barricades erected in the streets. Pubs and shops were set alight, and effigies were hung from lamposts by Unionists. Date: August 1920

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

Grafiti Wall, Belfast, 1973

?Graf?ti Wall?, Belfast, 1973 - Oil on board, by Ralph Lillford, 1973. Associated with Northern Ireland (1969-2007). During ?the Troubles?, Belfast street walls became a place for rival sectarian graf?ti, often painted layer upon layer. A form of psychological warfare which also demonstrated control of terrain, the slogans were often directed at the British Army, exhorting them to ?go home?, or else boasted of paramilitary loyalties, such as ?Provos Rule?. Periodically the Army would drive past these walls and throw paint bombs at the slogans. The soldier wears a fragmentation vest, commonly known as a flak jacket, over DPM (disruptive pattern material) jacket and trousers. He wears his visor up on his helmet and carries an anti-riot shield. Date: 1974

© The National Army Museum / Mary Evans Picture Library

Belfast, 1912, showing the football ground & Ulster Hall

Overhead drawing of Belfast, showing the football ground and the position of Ulster Hall. Illustration accompanied a feature in The Sphere reporting on Winston Churchill's visit to Belfast in 1912. He was scheduled to speak at the hall but had to abandon plans due to political tensions. It was at Ulster Hall that his father, Randolph Churchill, had given a speech where he proclaimed, "Ulster will fight, and Ulster will be right." Date: 1912

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans