William Reid (1 January 1939 – 15 May 1971) was a member of the Belfast Brigade of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

. Reid shot the first

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

soldier on duty killed in

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

and was later himself killed as he attempted another ambush of British Army personnel.

Background

Reid was from Sheridan Street in the upper New Lodge area of North

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. He grew up in nearby Regent Street, Carrickhill. He attended Catholic schools in North Belfast and became a

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in ...

by trade. Reid boxed at amateur level for the local Holy Family Club.

Shooting of Gunner Curtis

Reid is reported to have shot dead Gunner Robert Curtis of the

in the New Lodge, Belfast on 6 February 1971; Curtis was the first on-duty British soldier to be killed in Ireland since the

Anglo-Irish War The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mi ...

of the 1920s. The day after the shooting of Curtis, the unionist

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as with governo ...

, Major

James Chichester-Clark James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola, PC, DL (12 February 1923 – 17 May 2002) was the penultimate Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party between 1969 and March 1971. He was Member of the N ...

stated that "Northern Ireland was at war with the Irish Republican Army Provisionals". The following week, following clashes at an IRA funeral in North Belfast, the

government of Northern Ireland The government of Northern Ireland is, generally speaking, whatever political body exercises political authority over Northern Ireland. A number of separate systems of government exist or have existed in Northern Ireland. Following the partitio ...

, which at that time still controlled the

security forces Security forces are statutory organizations with internal security mandates. In the legal context of several nations, the term has variously denoted police and military units working in concert, or the role of military and paramilitary forces (su ...

, banned the wearing of military-style uniforms by "subversive organisations".

Death

On 15 May 1971, a foot patrol of the British Army was ambushed in Academy Street in the centre of

by the Third Battalion Belfast Brigade. Billy Reid, aged 32, was engaged with the foot patrol when a comrade was wounded. Billy Reid told his two comrades to run and he would hold off the patrol. His gun jammed and he tried to escape. He was shot in the back.

Memorial

Reid is the subject of a song called "The Ballad of Billy Reid", written by Brian Lyons, which tells the story of his death; the song has been recorded by a number of bands including Shebeen, Terry O'Neill, Spirit of 67, The ShamRogues and the

Wolfe Tones The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double meaning ...

. The song was included in the songbook ''Songs of Resistance 1968-1982''. A mural depicting Reid and other Irish republicans Sean McIlvenna, Rosemary Bleakley and Michael Kane is painted on the New Lodge Road in Belfast. A republican flute band from Glasgow, Scotland named itself the "Volunteer Billy Reid Republican Flute Band" in memory of Reid.Billy Reid band anniversary
republican-news.org; accessed 23 December 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Billy 1939 births 1971 deaths Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland Paramilitaries from Belfast People killed by security forces during The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Provisional Irish Republican Army members