Billy Reid | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | William Reid |
| Born | (1939-01-01)1 January 1939 |
| Died | 15 May 1971(1971-05-15) (aged 32) Academy Street,Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Allegiance | Provisional Irish Republican Army |
| Branch | 3rd Battalion of theBelfast Brigade |
| Known for | Killed the first British soldier duringThe Troubles |
William Reid (1 January 1939 – 15 May 1971[1]) was a member of theBelfast Brigade of theProvisional Irish Republican Army.[2] Reid killed the first soldier of theBritish Army inthe Troubles and was later himself killed as he attempted another ambush of British Army personnel.
Reid was from Sheridan Street in the upperNew Lodge area of NorthBelfast.[2] He grew up in nearby Regent Street, Carrick Hill. He attended Catholic schools in North Belfast and became ajoiner by trade. Reid boxed at amateur level for the local Holy Family Club.[1]
Reid is reported to have shot deadGunner Robert Curtis of theBritish Army in the New Lodge, Belfast on 6 February 1971; Curtis was the first on-duty British soldier to be killed in Ireland since theAnglo-Irish War of the 1920s.[3][4]
The day after the shooting of Curtis, theunionistPrime Minister of Northern Ireland, MajorJames Chichester-Clark 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, thegovernment of Northern Ireland, which at that time still controlled thesecurity forces, banned the wearing of military-style uniforms by "subversive organisations".[5]
On 15 May 1971, a foot patrol of the British Army was ambushed in Academy Street in the centre ofBelfast 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.[3][6]
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 theWolfe Tones. The song was included in the songbookSongs of Resistance 1968-1982.[7]
A mural depicting Reid and other Irish republicans Sean McIlvenna, Rosemary Bleakley and Michael Kane is painted on the New Lodge Road in Belfast.[8] A republican flute band fromGlasgow, Scotland named itself the "Volunteer Billy Reid Republican Flute Band" in memory of Reid.[9]