It Was Forty Years Ago Today

It's the fortieth anniversary of the Battle of the Bogside, from 12 to 14 August 1969, when resistance to Orange triumphalism and the oppression of the Royal Ulster Constabulary by residents of the Bogside area of Derry eventually forced the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, James Chichester-Clarke, to request the deployment of British troops.

This was the first direct intervention from Britain since the partition of Ireland in 1921 and the battle involved the first use of CS riot gas.

Here's a terribly posh lady to tell you all about it: