Operation Banner

A comprehensive chronicle of the British Army’s decades-long campaign in Northern Ireland by a military historian and veteran of the conflict.

In the summer of 1969, annual Loyalist parades known as the “marching season” sparked violence in the city of Londonderry. The unrest quickly spread across Northern Ireland, and the British Government deployed troops in support of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. So began Operation Banner, which would continue on for decades before the Peace Process officially ended the campaign in 2007.

In Operation Banner, historian and British Army veteran Nicholas van der Bijl offers a compelling chronicle of that difficult time. Beginning with a historical overview of The Troubles, he recounts how British troops were initially welcomed by the Catholic community, and how the events of Bloody Sunday—January 30th, 1972—galvanized the IRA. Other notable events, including the burning of the British Embassy in Dublin and the bombing of a British Parachute Brigade headquarters are also covered.

This detailed narrative demonstrates how thirty years of sectarian violence and a remorseless counter-terrorism campaign deeply affected the lives of the Northern Irish people as well as several generations of the British Army.