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 C ...

paramilitary organisation that was in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

during

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 "i ...

. 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 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 ...

, and brought up as a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

on the

Shankill Road The Shankill Road () is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill. The road stretches westwards for about from central Belfast ...

. Although his full name was Winston Churchill Rea, he was better known by his nickname Winkie. Sometime after the outbreak of

, 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 John Dunlop McKeagueWD Flackes & Sydney Elliott, ''Northern Ireland A Political Directory 1968–1993'', The Blackstaff Press, 1994, p. 222 (1930 – 29 January 1982) was a Northern Irish loyalist and one of the founding members of the paramilit ...

and closely affiliated with the larger

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaign ...

(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 mensu ...

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 Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

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 UTV (formerly Ulster Television, branded on air as ITV1) is the ITV region covering Northern Ireland, ITV subsidiary and the former on-air name of the free-to-air public broadcast television channel serving the area. It is run by ITV plc an ...

'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 tra ...

'' 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 Crumlin Road is a main road in north-west Belfast, Northern Ireland. The road runs from north of Belfast City Centre for about four miles to the outskirts of the city. It also forms part of the longer A52 road which leads out of Belfast to t ...

. 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 The Combined Loyalist Military Command is an umbrella body for loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland set up in the early 1990s, recalling the earlier Ulster Army Council and Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee. Bringing ...

ceasefire, in 1994. He became active in the

Progressive Unionist Party The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volun ...

(PUP), linked to the

, and was the last candidate on the party's "top-up" list for the Northern Ireland Forum election of 1996, but was not elected. However, he formed part of the PUP's

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

negotiating team.

Later activity

In 1998, Rea was arrested and questioned about the murder of

Frankie Curry Frankie Curry ( – 17 March 1999)McDonald & Cusack, p. 284 was a Northern Irish loyalist who was involved with a number of paramilitary groups during his long career. A critic of the Northern Ireland peace process, Curry was killed during a loy ...

, 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 John Adair (born 27 October 1963), better known as Johnny Adair or Mad Dog Adair, is an Ulster loyalist and the former leader of the "C Company", 2nd Battalion Shankill Road, West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). This was a ...

. They destroyed many of his possessions. Rea later founded the 1st Shankill

Supporters' Club, and acted as its treasurer. In 2011, he attended the wake of Michaela McAreavey, where he was warmly embraced by Martin McGuinness. McAreavey was the daughter of Mickey Harte, the

Tyrone GAA The Tyrone County Board ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Chontae Tír Eoghain), or Tyrone GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games ...

manager. She was murdered while on her honeymoon in

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

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 classified ...

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 Irel ...

. 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