Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive is a free public access resource for teachers, students, historians and anyone who has an interest in moving images. Spanning from 1897 to the present day, the films in the Digital Film Archive cover all aspects of life in Northern Ireland and includes everything from dramas to documentaries, newsreels and features, animation to amateur footage.
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The Army in Ulster - The Men in the Middle
The fate of Dover Street hangs in the balance. The frustration is tangible and tempers fray on all sides. Meanwhile children play happily with the British Army’s equipment.
From the collection of:
Overview
Explore the role of the British Army during the early weeks of the 1969 civil disturbances in Northern Ireland. The programme focuses on Dover Street - one place that encapsulates the difficulties faced by soldiers trying to mediate between two communities riven by mistrust and fear. Created from a British broadcaster’s perspective part of the fascination of this film is the range of voices present. Dover St remains severed by a Peaceline that runs along Beverley St.
We have access to the prominent military personnel charged with bringing down the system of makeshift barricades erected by the two communities. See the difficulties everyone face in trying to negotiate the placement of a peace line. Also interviewed are the military rank and file and the ordinary people embroiled in the turmoil of the early ‘Troubles’. This film is from the BFI collection. It is part of the Thames current affairs television series ‘This Week’, broadcasting regional issues to a national UK audience. The series often provoked controversy, reportedly the demise of Thames was not helped by Thatcher’s anger over their coverage in 1988 of the killing of three IRA members in Gibraltar.
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