The Loyalist Roll of Honour

"Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names"

The Loyalist Roll of Honour is the ongoing process of documenting the names of all those loyalist volunteers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of the constitutional position of Northern Ireland. There have been many victims of the "troubles" in Northern Ireland over the last three decades of violence but in the course of time some victims have come to be perceived as deserving to be remembered, whilst others have come to be defined as not worthy of remembrance. Of all the victims of the troubles it has been the loyalist volunteers, from the various armed loyalist organisations, that have been most traduced and maligned. It is, however, these very people who of all those who died perhaps deserve most of all to be remembered. In our remembrance of them we not only show our collective respect for them but also remind ourselves to be grateful that there are volunteers prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of the loyalist cause.

Whilst in life many of those from the varying armed loyalist organisations have been killed in inter and intra-organisational loyalist feuding in death they should be remembered together, side by side, as death is the great leveler and all those remembered died for the same cause, the cause that loyalists are still fighting for - the cause of loyalism. No member of any of the armed loyalist organisations shall thus be excluded from this Roll of Honour, however, those killed in feud related incidents will not be included as to do so would only add to further such division as may already exist. This exclusion of certain names from the Roll of Honour is meant not to cause offence but this particular Roll of Honour is only to include loyalists who died whilst on active service or in prison.

It is to be hoped that over time the Roll of Honour will become more authoritative, and that the entries will become more detailed about each loyalist that will have a place on the Roll of Honour. It is hoped that those who view this Roll of Honour will help to add details to particular entries, and faces to names etc. in order that the project becomes truly interactive.

Unfortunately the fires of the conflict in Northern Ireland still endure and loyalists still make the ultimate sacrifice, thus the Roll of Honour will sadly be an ongoing project.

Some of the names that will be featured in the forthcoming Loyalist Roll of Honour

John Bingham

Harris Boyle

Thomas McDowell

John McMichael

Brian Robinson

Ray Smallwoods

Wesley Somerville

William "Billy" Wright

THIS SECTION IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

In the coming weeks entries in the Roll of Honour will be added gradually.