Winston Churchill Rea (born 1950 or 1951), known as Winkie Rea, is a Northern Irish former loyalist paramilitary commander who was the former leader of the Red Hand Commando (RHC)

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

paramilitary organisation that was in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Part of a leading loyalist family, he has been active in paramilitarism since the early years of the conflict.

Red Hand Commando

Rea was born in about 1950 or 1951 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and brought up as a Protestant on the

Shankill Road. Although his full name was Winston Churchill Rea, he was better known by his nickname Winkie. Sometime after the outbreak of the Troubles, his parents emigrated to Australia to get away from the violence.Taylor, p.138 In his youth he often attended the rallies of

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...

.Taylor, p.175 It is not known when he joined the Red Hand Commando, a loyalist paramilitary organisation founded in 1972 by John McKeague and closely affiliated with the larger Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). He eventually rose in its ranks to later become leader, succeeding McKeague. Rea met Elizabeth Spence, daughter of UVF leader

Gusty Spence Augustus Andrew Spence (28 June 1933
. ''

Long Kesh Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

Prison, where he obtained permission from Spence to marry her. Immediately after the wedding, Spence absconded, and he remained on the run for four months.

Imprisonment

In 1973, Rea was imprisoned for eight years after being found in possession of a Sterling

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

and for having driven two cars to and from the scene of a loyalist attack on Divis Street in nationalist west Belfast. On 18 February 1973, Catholic postmen Michael Coleman and David McAleese were gunned down and killed by a passing car. Rea was tried in a Diplock Court where he had protested his innocence to no avail.Taylor, p.113 Despite his association with the Red Hand Commando, he joined Spence in the UVF section of Long Kesh. In 1981, Rea was released from prison. The same year, he appeared on an edition of Ulster Television's ''

Counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

'' current affairs programme, arguing against

's evocation of a "Carson trail", and calling for young people not to follow his path. He staged a silent protest against Paisley, by hanging a placard outside his home near Carlisle Circus at the bottom of the Crumlin Road. The placard read: "Remember the loyalist prisoners for after all 50 per cent of them are ex-Orangemen". Carlisle Circus is the assembly point for

Orangemen Orangemen or Orangewomen can refer to: *Historically, supporters of William of Orange *Members of the modern Orange Order (also known as Orange Institution), a Protestant fraternal organisation *Members or supporters of the Armagh GAA Gaelic foot ...

at the start of their annual 12 July parade.

CLMC ceasefire

Rea played a role in negotiating the Combined Loyalist Military Command ceasefire, in 1994. He became active in the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force, and was the last candidate on the party's "top-up" list for the

Northern Ireland Forum The Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The forum was elected, with five members being elected for each Westmin ...

election of 1996, but was not elected. However, he formed part of the PUP's Good Friday Agreement negotiating team.

Later activity

In 1998, Rea was arrested and questioned about the murder of Frankie Curry, a former Red Hand Commando member and a relative by marriage of Rea. He was subsequently released, without charge. During a loyalist feud, in 2000, Rea's house was broken into by members of the C Company of the rival

Ulster Freedom Fighters The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

, led by Johnny Adair. They destroyed many of his possessions. Rea later founded the 1st Shankill Northern Ireland Supporters' Club, and acted as its treasurer. In 2011, he attended the wake of

Michaela McAreavey Michaela McAreavey, née Harte ( Irish: ''Micheáilín Mhic Giolla Riabhaigh'' née ''Ní hÁirt'', 31 December 1983 – 10 January 2011) was found strangled in the bath of a hotel room in Mauritius, where she had travelled for her honeymoon. ...

, where he was warmly embraced by Martin McGuinness. McAreavey was the daughter of

Mickey Harte Mickey Harte (born 1952) is an Irish Gaelic football Manager (Gaelic games), manager and former player. He has been manager of the Louth county football team, Louth county team since 2020. Harte managed the Tyrone county football team, Tyrone ...

, the Tyrone GAA manager. She was murdered while on her honeymoon in Mauritius.

Murder charges

In 2015 police attempted to gain access to interview tapes held at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

in relation to an investigation into Rea's activities. Police had stated that Rea was being investigated over offences of "the utmost gravity" after challenging an injunction Rea had obtained to prevent the transfer of the tapes. The tapes were part of project by the college in which both loyalists and republicans had been interviewed about their experiences and activities during the Troubles. The tapes had already been at the centre of controversy after police had attempted to obtain some in relation to the

murder of Jean McConville Jean McConville (''née'' Murray; 7 May 1934 – December 1972) was a woman from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who was kidnapped and murdered by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and secretly buried in County Louth in the Republic of Ire ...

. Police were awarded permission to hear the tapes by the courts in February 2015. In June 2016, following detailed examination of the tapes by police, Rea was charged with the murders of two Catholic civilians during the Troubles, two attempted murders, membership of the Red Hand Commando and several other lesser charges, with twelve charges in total brought against him.Winston 'Winkie' Rea charged with murders of two Catholic workmen
, BBC

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rea, Winston Churchill 1950s births Living people Paramilitaries from Belfast Progressive Unionist Party politicians Red Hand Commando members