Pete

You do not say whether your Uncle died whilst in service with the RGJ or not.   If you look at the Book of Remembrance Nominal Roll from the main page, listed just under Guest Books, you will see that during 1974 a Brian Shaw was not killed or died during RGJ service anywhere in the World.

There is always a chance the book has made a mistake and B Shaw has not been included, however, most former Greenjobs would agree the Book is very comprehensive in its content.

Hi Peter,

I have checked also and cannot find ref to a Rfn Shaw in the time period of 1974.

You mention a case that was reviewed and questions, could you leave some details on here, or if you choose please send details to my Email - greenjackets_2001@yahoo.co.uk

And we will look into it for you.

Regards

Mark DWM

Hi Peter.

I have read some of the reports in the newspaper as to the death of your brother.

I am going to have a word with our boss and see what we can find out, but a lot of the files will be held by the Northern Ireland Police.

There is inserted a few paragraphs from a newspaper that might get a few memory cells reactivated as to your brothers death, and hopefully we can gather more information.

The Independent:

The hearing was attended by several relatives of Brian Shaw, the victim, who left the Army in 1974 to marry a Belfast woman. He was abducted from a bar and shot dead by the IRA within weeks of moving to Belfast. His widow, Maureen Hall, who has re-married and has two teenage children, said after yesterday's verdict: 'We felt that the Kennedy circus was designed to put extra pressure on the judges to find in Paul Hill's favour. Naturally we are disappointed with the verdict.

'We have to live with this decision, but we do not have to agree with it. Brian Shaw was the real innocent victim in this case.

Regards

Mark DWM

Hi Mark,

           No worries re Brother/Uncle. There are no issues around privacy and am happy to discuss on this forum as it might provoke reccollection with an old friend of Brian's. We have Brian's service record and his service number was 24150004. I'm not sure if there will be anything on the official army records that will answer some of the questions, as they are more of a personal nature surrounding Brian in the last year of his service. I know the chances are perhaps remote, but if there is an old friend of Brian that could contact us then we'd be grateful.

Many thanks for your help,

Pete. 

Hi Chris

I am Brians brother, he was certainly in Celle in th early 70's as he came to visit us while we were serving in Paderborn. There are many areas of Brians service life that we as a family were not aware of. The RUC have recentley reviewed his murder and among the new papers that we have been given to us is a copy of his regimental service record. He seems to have gone AWOL for 4 days in May 1972 while posted to Belfast. I was serving in Belfast at the time myself and we met up while both of us were on seperate patrols. I know that going AWOL is perhaps something he might not have wanted to talk about, but I do feel that as we talked about most things and with our common experiences of being in the same area of operations at the time, it would have been the sort of thing that he would have told me about. As a family we are trying to understand Brians state of mind at this vital part of his live and any infromation that you might be able to give us would be a great help.

Do you recall this tour of Belfast? Was Brian in any way struggling with the tour?

Malcolm Shaw

I remember serving with Brian - I was C Coy 1RGJ for the 72,73,74 tours, but 74 was in Dungannon over the christmas.  There was nothing wrong with Brians mind in Celle, my memory is of a good bloke, may have been one of our company APC drivers I can't remember if he was in Dover before he bought himself out.  I do remember hearing of his death at the time.

Hope your searching is fruitful.  best wishes George Newman

Sorry -I joined the Bn in Belfast in 72 met bruan on his return.

http://www.lightinfantryreunited.co.uk/LIIreland/asoldiersdeath.htm

Do you have aphoto of Brian Please............

A Soldiers Death.................Murder by Cowards
That Bloody Stretcher!!

It was dark, not raining, at least as far as I can remember, I had been standing around the Ops Room when we got a slidex message in from one of the covert OP's. They had heard shots in a derelict house not far from them. They could not assist who had been shot because they would have compromised themselves. The OC and 2IC, with their escorts, crashed out with the standby platoon. I was in 2IC's crew that night. Really I was in who's ever crew it was that needed me. We drove out of the company base, Mullhouse, and into the Distillery area of Belfast, This was a run down, dirty, almost completely derelict area. Practically all the windows had been blocked up. It was a dull place, terraced houses, corners, back lanes, dark. We stopped in a street, I think it was Arundel Street off Grosvenor Road, opposite what was the Junction of Cullingtree Road that ran through the Falls area.

We then did a brief search of the suspected house that the shots had come from. Eventually we found him. The body. The human being who's life had just been snuffed out. The OC and 2IC walked into a house and came back out shortly afterwards and said there was a body in the passage. Someone, I can not remember now, possibly the OC (he was a good man the OC one of the best) took me to the house entrance and shone his torch to the very end. I looked along the line of the torch. My eyes focused on an empty passageway, you know the long passages you used to get in downstairs terraced houses. The walls had paper hanging off, I seem to remember maybe a door off to the left halfway down and what I imagined was a corner off to the left at the very end, possibly into a living room. The floor was not a floor, just joists running left to right and what looked like a void of darkness beneath them. I took all this in in an instance. Then suddenly I realised I had been looking at the body all the time. I somehow had taken the whole scene in two separate images within my minds eye.

The body was lying at the far end of the passage. I seem to remember crumpled up in a face down position. It was straddled across the end three or four floor joists. It was wearing a pair of green trousers that looked slightly flared at the bottom, brown shoes, brown shoes that looked soldier polished and a car coat, a short mid thigh thing that was brown with cheap vinyl edging. Someone said "He's dead, shot in the head". The torch went out and I backed away from the door and stood by the landrover. A bit shocked.

Then the van arrived. I honestly can't remember if there was a policeman there or not. There probably was, but I just can't recall. The van........that bloody van, black. It was, I am sure a Morris Van, the type that was used extensively by delivery drivers in the last 60's and early 70's. You must remember. The steering wheel was almost forward of the windscreen and parallel to the ground, the engine was between the drivers seat and passengers seat. It has stayed in my mind ever since..........the van and oh yes! that bloody stretcher. The stretcher was white or cream. I was not sure in the darkness, I would say white. What is your idea of a stretcher?. Two wooden poles with canvass stretched between. We have all seen them. Thats my idea of a stretcher. But not this stretcher. Not this Bloody stretcher. It was metal, yes metal. A metal frame, a metal frame that has steel mesh instead of canvass. I looked at it as it was carried past me into the passageway of the house. I knew what I would feel whenthat bloody stretcher came past the next time. I did feel what I thought I was going to feel. Revulsion, sickness in the pit of my stomach. My God, could they not even take this body away decently on a proper stretcher. Like they would at a road traffic accident. Why not? this was a human being, this was once a living thing. Why on this bloody stretcher?. They opened the back doors of the van and for me, pushed the bloody stretcher in far too fast to be respectful. Like something in the butchers shop, it was a nothing to them, those horrible men who tossed that bloody stretcher into the back of that van. Someone said "Thats another one for the Meat Wagon". Then I understood.............it "was" a piece of meat. They slammed the doors and drove off. Just like that. It was nothing to them just another job...........they had probably got used to it living and working in that horrible place.

After awhile a man in plain clothes walked up to where the OC. 2IC myself and someone else were standing and said "He had been shot twice in the head, once in the back with a trussion at the front and once in the front with a trussion at the back". I pondered what this word trussion was and the OC told me it was where the bullet had stopped but failed to come out..........................simply a lump. We all went back to base................

Later, not much later I had been informed that the body was that of a soldier an ex Royal Green Jacket who had recently married his Belfast girlfriend. He had been in a bar in the Markets area of Belfast and had been kidnapped, taken to the house and shot. But I can't remember his face, perhaps I never actually saw his face. I have seen a photograph of him.

..................all I can remember is that Bloody Stretcher.

His name.................Brian Shaw aged 21

It troubles me that I can not remember the face of this poor soldier who was Murdered.

Chris Wagstaff wrote:

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I Knew a Brian Shaw,he served in 1 RGJ in the early 70s, Celle then on the op banner tours,

I believe he met a local girl whilst on the 71 tour at Albert street mill also that when he was murdered he was no longer serving in the Regiment.

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colin Atkinson ie Geordie I new brian in celle and Ireland he was a driver in the mt I had many a night out with him he was a good mate I new his wife very well have only just got into computers that's why its taking so long  

I knew of Brian Shaw when I served with 1RGJ in Belfast during 1973. I seem to recall he was attached to ATO. I only saw and spoke to him a few times. He always seemed a nice fair bloke. I only heard of his death through a newspaper article. Such a nice chap.

colin atkinson ie geordie wrote:

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I was a good mate of brian and his at the time girlfriend .we served together in celle in the mt platoon.ive only started to get intrested in computers and was looking up anythink to do with royal green jackets  when I found the message about him .I hope you find message.

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 Hi Geordie

Replied to this post good to know you are still about I am on face book

All the best Keith Montague (Monty)