Irish-British war (part 1)

In August 1969 there was a national call up due to problems in Northern Ireland as Nationalist refugees were heading across the border to the South. They were mainly from Belfast and Derry.
James “We shall not stand idly by” Prince was Prime Minister at the time. The man had never worn a uniform in his life – any uniform – a typical hurler on the ditch.
The Army had been starved of cash for decades and the defence budget was less than the budget for public toilets. We were at the bottom of the food chain and we now became instant heroes.
Thousands of reservists answered the call and many reserve officers came from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and other countries. I suppose you could say that ‘ We shall not stand idly by’ was a declaration of war on Great Britain and we were expected to do the business and get it sorted. The officers who answered the call were First Line reserve, none of whom belonged to the FCA referred to privately by regular officers as the ‘Viet Cong’.
The majority had served during ‘The Emergency’ of 1939-1945 and would have been in their late 40s and early 50s. Many had reached exalted heights in civil life and were presidents, vice presidents and chairmen of huge companies in the United States, Canada and other countries.
I was a youthful 24-year-old lieutenant and was privileged to be with these high fliers with massive capabilities and great alertness and fitness. What amazed me most was their unbelievable enthusiasm, their dedication, their spirit, their nationalism and their loyalty to their country of birth, prepared to sacrifice everything they worked for – even their lives, leaving their families, wives and relatives behind in their newly adopted countries.
It was seriously impressive to see men like this answering the call. The same could be said for many of the soldiers and I remember police and prison officers coming to the main gate when I was duty officer. We couldn’t take them as they were essential services and there was enough chaos without having them absent from their work. They all shared the same ethos, the same focus and were visually impatient to get moving and get things done and dusted. They were waiting for the green light to cross the border and were often on my back wanting to know the score.
They were impressive in their diligence and their readiness to learn new military skills and procedures, using all their capabilities for the love of their country. I was over most of these men, some of whom had children older than me, and sons who were as successful as their fathers with their own families. It was a shame that the wily unprincipled politicians were playing games with them.