Category: History

Wartime Radio: The Secret Listeners BBC (1979) Radio Amateurs

Radio Amateurs Voluntary Interceptors (VI’s)

Illustrated with archival film and photographs, as well as interviews with those involved, the documentary traces the evolution of civilian involvement in radio-based intelligence during both world wars. It was the tireless work of amateur radio enthusiasts during World War I, that initially convinced the Admiralty to establish a radio intercept station at Hunstanton. Playing an integral role during the war, technological advances meant that radio operators could pinpoint signals, thus uncovering the movement of German boats, leading to the decisive Battle of Jutland in 1916. Wireless espionage was to play an even more important role during World War II, with the Secret Intelligence Service setting up the Radio Security Service, which was staffed by Voluntary Interceptors, a band of amateur radio enthusiasts scattered across Britain. The information they collected was interpreted by some of the brightest minds in the country, who also had a large hand in deceiving German forces by feeding false intelligence. (BBC 1979)

INSIGHT: OPERATION MOTORMAN Northern Ireland 1972 (UTV)

Naturally, some republicans interviewed during the filming promote the IRA view but that’s to be expected.

For the first time on television, the story of Motorman is recounted – from its planning and execution, through to its impact in shaping the outcome of the conflict. The one-hour programme includes interviews with key players like terrorist Martin McGuinness, Baroness May Blood, Sir Kenneth Bloomfield and Billy Hutchinson, as well as a number of soldiers involved in the operation. (UTV)

Britain’s Secret Intelligence War Against the IRA: Agents of Influence, by Aaron Edwards (due to be published March 2021)

Dr Aaron Edwards who I have known for several years is well known for his ground-breaking research on the intelligence war in Northern Ireland (Operation Banner) and his last publication UVF Behind the Mask has become widely recognised as an important addition to the written history of the ‘troubles’.

Agents of Influence Britain’s Secret Intelligence War Against the IRA

Recruited by British Intelligence to infiltrate the IRA and Sinn Féin during the height of the Northern Ireland Troubles, they were Agents of Influence. With codenames like INFLICTION, STAKEKNIFE, 3007 and CAROL, these spies played a pivotal role in the fight against Irish republicanism. Now, for the first time, some of these agents have emerged from the shadows to tell their compelling stories. Agents of Influence takes you behind the scenes of the secret intelligence war which helped bring the IRA s armed struggle to an end.

Historian Aaron Edwards, the critically acclaimed author of UVF: Behind the Mask, explains how the IRA was penetrated and betrayed, with explosive new revelations about the hidden agendas of leading figures like Martin McGuinness, Joe Haughey, John Joe Magee and Freddie Scappaticci, and how British Intelligence was able to read the minutes of the IRA s top-secret meetings before they were distributed to its membership.

With extraordinary profiles of Britain’s top spy masters, their strategies and tactics, as well as the role of MI5, the RUC and SAS in deadly covert action missions, Agents of Influence offers a rare and shocking glimpse into the hidden world of secret agents during the vicious decades of the Troubles.

https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Agents-of-Influence-by-Aaron-Edwards-author/9781785373411

Operation Banner (Northern Ireland) News Reels and other Material from the Period.

South Armagh – “Bandit Country” (1976)

Northern Ireland: A 1976 BBC Panorama report looking at British Army operations in the south of County Armagh. Ending with an interview with then Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

British Army in Northern Ireland

What Was It Like Serving In Northern Ireland During The Troubles? | Forces TV

British Troops in Northern Ireland | Northern Irish troubles | Peace Wall | This Week | 1969

Life in Northern Ireland | Sectarian Violence | Belfast | This Week | 1971