(from Belfast Born Bred And Buttered by Joe Graham)

Buck Alec Robinson was a cocky wee lad of eleven years when he first stood in front of a Belfast Court, 29^th January 1913, and on this his first charge of larceny he was discharged. Brought up in the shadows of Belfast’s docklands, at Back Ship Street, which very name conjures up dank images of run down property and squalid living conditions, the future for this little boy looked far from ‘Rosey’ - yet his name is synonymous with the birth of this “Northern Ireland”. By the time he was nineteen years of age. Alec had made ten return visits to the courts before he was finally recognised as of potential worth to those involved in setting up a ‘protestant parliament for a protestant people’. 

‘C.V ’, no doubt, was his criminal record, below, which depicts a reckless, violent man. It would seem some one deemed him good material for a “Special Police Constable”

Date Offence Judgement

29-1-1913 Larceny Discharged

9-1-1916 Larceny Discharged

10-1-1916 Larceny Probation Act Order

27-7-1916 Larceny Discharged

24-3-1919 Assault Fined 10 Shillings

15-9-1919 Assault & Robbery Probation

21-1-1020 Assault Discharged

15-11-1920 Indecent Behaviour Fined 40 Shillings

11-4-1921 Breaking Curfew Fined 40 Shillings

28-7-1921 Riotous Behaviour Fined 40 Shillings

8-8-1921 Assault & Robbery 2 Months Prison

With a record like that one must seriously ask , how could he become a 'Special Constable' . Not a lot is known about the young Buck Alec Robinson, other than what can be gleaned from the court records above, but the last item on the above list greatly interested me so I thought I would look a bit closer at the circumstances behind it and I feel I stumbled onto Alec’s initiation into the “Ulster Army”. Apparently, Alec, then nineteen years old, was taking a stroll along the Glencairn Road, which was then merely a beautiful lane with a few houses splattered here and there, a beautiful Irish Glen. As he came close to a big house there, coincidently called “Stormont House”, the home of the wealthy Unionist Thompson family, a young man came charging down the lane brandishing a hammer, he was in pursuit of two young lads. The young lads grabbed onto Alec and begged for protection and Alec, left with little choice, tried to remonstrate with the hammer waving upper class young man, who told him that the lads had been trespassing on his family property. Thompson. Jun. continued trying to grab at the lads who by now cowered behind Alec fear alight in their eyes and for ever dodging the swipes of the hammer. At that Alec grabbed the hammer and wrenched it from the rich man’s son and gave him a clout, sending him scurrying off to his mansion. He then sent the boys off safely home and continued on his stroll. Some short time later as he made his way homeward down the Ballygomartin Road, a black sedan car screeched to a halt alongside Buck Alec. Thompson Jnr, jumped from the car, but now he was accompanied by another man armed with a shotgun, an employee of the family, they ordered Alec into the car at gun point and drove to the Shankill Road R.I.C Barracks where Alec was promptly arrested and charged with assaulting Thompson Jnr. and with stealing his hammer. In my opinion, for what it’s worth, if Buck Alec ever deserved a medal he deserved one that day for his actions, he received two months prison. No doubt some astute figure approached Alec at some point around this time and suggested he could put his fighting ability to a ‘better’ use, and he was enlisted as a “C” Constable, of the R.I.C.

And so young Alec Robinson became a ‘Soldier of Ulster’ and soon he became known as Buck Alec , hated and feared by the Catholic citizens of Belfast, who were living under a concerted campaign of ethic cleansing by murder and arson, led by a special unit within the police force, the Royal Irish Constabulary (R.I.C).

“ A Throw Away” in any American gangster murder movie refers to a weapon that can be discarded and not traced back to the culprits who used it to carry out a murder. The unionist masters were faced with a similar dilemma in 1922 when they felt it expedient to call off their dogs of war, the working class loyalist monsters whom they had created to carry out their blood letting. A new beginning was dawning. “Northern Ireland” (Carsonia) had been established, it was time to polish off the rough edges ..time to throw away those that could be reminders of the murderous depths the unionists had sank in their murky recent past. They had to ’throw away’ their hired killers, their monsters, their job was now finished, they were expendable. The Carsonia ‘authorities’ had given guns, rifles and bombs to petty criminals and street hardmen, pointed them in the direction of Catholic people , telling them. “They are out to take over our beloved ‘Ulster’. And remember these enlisted thugs were not the brightest, “Buck” Alec Robinson, a nineteen year old labourer could not write or spell his own name, Fred Pollock and Joe Arthurs ,were 20 Year Old Heater BOYS !.. “Snatch” McCracken, an infamous Shankill Road gunman, as his nickname suggests was no ’catch’ for anyone, in fact even the unionists decided to ‘throw him back’.

Fred Pollock who lived at 23 Lord Street, was a complete nutter, and the R.U.C were not passed declaring this in their files when they felt he had outlived his usefulness and perhaps it was time he was ‘interned’’. (imprisoned without charge or trial, a practise they usually reserved for Catholic people),

Buck Alec Robinson, the Dockland Bomber, Gunman and hard man was another who felt the fight was not yet over, the mission had not yet been completed. He had to be brought into step, his services were no longer required by the Orange Junta, who were now setting up their “Northern Ireland Parliament”. A Police( R.U.C) report recommending his internment read.....

Buck Alec Robinson, was a stubborn, head strong young man of twenty three years of age by now, he seemed to be beyond anyone’s control, ‘ a loose cannon’ that Unionist handlers had lost control of, he would have to harnessed, and perhaps a spell inside would give him time to reconsider his position, so they set about interning him, the case they presented makes interesting reading.....

Interestingly, at this point, they then listed “Buck’s” previous convictions, as listed earlier in this book ..is it not strange that his previous convictions did not bar him from becoming a ‘Special Constable’, nor were his previous convictions mentioned when the Lord Lieutenant , “Highly Commends Alexander Robinson .. for his good police work “, shortly before his internment papers were sought?.

It appears the woman murdered was named Rafferty, and not Cafferty, perhaps this is an indication of the lack of interest shown by the ‘authorities’ were when investigation the cruel murder of the unfortunate Catholic woman, who was married to a Protestant seaman. She lived only ten doors from “Buck Alec”, a soft target if indeed it was carried out by “Buck” as the secret file states..

Apparently on the streets people were openly saying that “Buck” had done the shooting and many say that what happened next was only a smoke screen to take the heat of him, it was only the Loyalists ‘looking after their own’. The R.I.C promptly arrested a one legged man and charged him with the murder. They claimed this one legged man climbed over several back yard walls to get into the back yard of the woman‘s house, entered through the back door, shot her and then walked out the front door of course the whole case was threw out the window, and a ruse was created , a fudge, everyone was asking did the one legged man really do it or not, “Buck’s” name became less prominent when the poor woman’s murder was discussed, and news of new horrific murders overtook in any such discussions as the gruesome topic of the day.

The “Young Fellow .. shot on the top of a Tram Car“, was twenty year old Owen Hughes from 16 Skegoniel Street, he was shot at York Street, 4^th March 1922 . “Buck” at a later point moved into 12 Skegoneil Street, two doors from his alleged victim‘s house.

“The man shot in the Picture House” referred to by the R.U.C, was sixty five year old Peter Mullan from 109 Joy Street in the ‘Market’ area of Belfast, he was shot dead 29^th August 1922, at the “Crumlin Picture House” where he worked as an usher, needless to say he was a another innocent man whose only crime was that he was a Catholic.

In June 1922, with the setting up of the new R.U.C it was agreed with the various Loyalist militant groups to tone down the murder campaign but you will see by the above date, the August shooting of Peter Mullan, “Buck” and some of his gang had carried on with their campaign and bad blood was building up between them and their former partners in the R.I.C/R.U.C. And indeed the U.V.F. The very fact “Buck” had to travel all the way to the Crumlin Road to shoot Mr Mullan (if it was he) suggests that a local gunman could not be found to undertake the murder. One could not be blamed for suggesting there are similarities between Buck Alec Robinson and the more modern Loyalist hard men, Billy Wright and Johnny “Mad Dog ” Adair. Buck Alec, just like “Mad Dog” as you will read later, was put out of the country, and like Billy Wright he had seriously fallen out, for exactly the same reasons as Wright and Adair had, with main stream militant loyalism.

In 1922 the new R.U.C was attempting a zero tolerance policy to loyalists who continued to riot, who they seen as ‘out of control protestants‘, renegades. Even the U.V.F having had secret discussions with the Unionist Government agreed it was time to call of the ethnic cleansing campaign, their “Ulster”, (Six County), was safe. Now the new police force had a new task, to call of their former dogs of war, “Buck” and his cronies. The R.U.C ran over one Protestant rioter in their caged car, and on 22^nd September 1922, they shot dead fifty year old Protestant James Spratt, of 21 Wigton street, Shankill Road. The writing was on the wall for “Buck” and his gang, they were no longer needed, now that the statelet had a ‘tailor made’ force to protect its interests. But the boys went hard at it to score a few more murders before they would even consider handing back their guns. “B” Special, Eddie Gill, organised a bombing in the Catholic Falls area in which thirty year old Louisa Cannon was killed, around the same time “Buck” is alleged to have shot dead four Catholics, three men and a woman. Joe Arthurs is said to manage two more murders and Fred Pollock three more murders under his belt, including the Protestant “C” Special mentioned in the report, in thinking he was a Catholic in the Britannia Bar. The Unionists monster was out of control, so its creator’s had to do something quickly to bring them to heel, if their new statelet had any hope of survival ..the candles burned late in the mansions of the War Lords.!

On the 23^rd of October 1922, some loyalists were arrested and interned, brought to Derry Prison, among them were Buck Alec Robinson, Joe Arthurs and Fred Pollock and Geordie Scott, of Downing Street who was the Officer Commanding the Shankill Road Brigade of the U.V.F. The very thought of being in Derry jail must have been a nightmare to the loyalists, for the prison housed many hundreds of the most dedicated republicans, so perhaps the sending off them to Derry by the ‘authorities’ was no mere coincident. The loyalists felt vulnerable in Derry jail they could easily be got at by republicans. Immediately the loyalist hard men pleaded to be removed to Belfast Prison, and within two weeks of his arrival in Derry jail “Buck Alec” lodged a petition against his internment, reminding those in authority that he had been “..highly recommended by his Excellency, the Lord Lieutenant for his good police work”. ”Buck” went on to say, “I have always considered it a great honour to be loyal to my King and country, I beg of you to investigate ,my case and release ,me as soon as possible”. The petition had been written by the prison Governor and “Buck” signed it with an “X”, as “Buck” was illiterate.

Fred Pollock, whom the secret papers state murdered 44 year old Catholic Mary Sherlock of Vulcan Street, Short Strand, she was one of the last , if not the last victim of the 1920 troubles, also petitioned for release, He pleadingly wrote the following....

Three days later, 26^th October 1922, Dawson Bates, Northern Ireland Minister, and the man who incorporated the U.V.F into the infamous “Specials”, received a note from a Loyalist spokesperson, a Mrs. A. Armstrong, The address on the note was premises on Peters Hill (rooms above Robert Adgey’s pawnshop), the note read....

The meeting took place and no doubt Mrs Armstrong explained fully, and clearly , the hidden message contained in the note, she brought an iron clad guarantee that the U.V.F who had already entered into a deal to ’stand down’ , would see to it that these boys would toe the line. Bates readily agreed to what really was a suggestion that suited the Unionist Party extremely well, here he had a chance to isolate those who just weeks earlier could not be reined in, once again thanks to his loyalists cohorts, who were always there when the Unionist Party needed them. A package deal was offered to the renegades and no doubt Mrs Armstrong prompted them to accept it or face the wrath of the U.V.F. It would take one to be blind not to draw comparisons with what went on away back then and what is going on today( 2005) with the loyalists, Johnny Adair and his brigade put out of the country, and others permanently removed.. by their own.!.. And they say there was no collusion?, history is repeating itself.

As part of the deal “Buck Alec“, Arthurs and Pollock had to agree to effective ‘deportation’, go away to England for a period , expenses paid for by the new “Northern Ireland Government” , so as to give time for things to settle, but they were warned, if they returned before they were told they would be re-arrested. (Smacks of modern day events that surrounded Johnny Adair and his loyalist cohorts), Each man was given a Five Pound Note, a sizeable amount in those days, as they boarded the boat for England. Some years later “Buck” threw this secret back publicly in the faces of his masters when he was once again arrested he declared, “What the hell are you lot playing at, first you pay me £5 for killing Fenians now you are arresting me”?.

Buck Alec Robinson developed many interests through his later years, he took to keeping greyhounds which he raced at Dunmore Stadium, both named after his favourite expression, “It’s Geg”, he done a bit of wrestling around the country at shows, he kept an old lion, actually two, which he would often be seen walking with on a lead. A court had ordered “Buck” to have his lions teeth removed in the interests of safety to the public before he could walk around with it. His introduction to wild animals came through a travelling fair ground family who used to park their caravans on the waste ground next to his house at Back Ship Street in the 1940’s and ’50’s. Buck had ownership of the waste ground and had it fenced in and he would rent it out to the show people, no doubt it was they too who introduced him to the travelling wrestling shows. They would have first hand knowledge as to his fighting ability, for once he had a disagreement with three brothers who had parked their caravans on his site and he ended up beating all three in one fight. Not happy with his victory he then pulled out their caravans from his site by hand, not bothering to yoke up the horses to do it, he was a strong man. “Buck” was agreeable to meet any man for a bare knuckle fight, most often he won , but, one fight he did not win was that with a Great-Uncle of mine, Hugh Marks, a Republican from Sailortown who had been a prisoner on the “Arjenta” prison ship, Hugh knocked him sparko. Hugh, an uncle of my mother’s had the first ever Republican funeral from Ballymurphy in the late 1960’s where he and his family had went to live. “Buck” went to Canada sometime in the 1920’s where he worked for a munitions factory, he then went to the States for a while.

Suddenly on the 13^th February1927 a shooting tool place and “Buck Alec’s” name was once again on everybody’s lips. A Catholic barman, Patrick. J. Kelly of 27 Springfield Road was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital with a gunshot wound, but Kelly had accidentally shot himself in the foot, and where “Buck Alec’s” name came into the picture was that he Kelly said “Buck” had sold him the gun with which he had accidentally shot himself. it seemed Buck had now became a gun salesman. The R.U.C immediately went after “Buck”, and the man in charge was a D.I McKenzie, who lived at St. James on the Falls Road, he was a Presbyterian married to a Catholic woman. He and “Buck” were deadly enemies, both hated each other, McKenzie had been a soldier, an Irish Guard, in the Great War 1914-1918 and had came home having to have a metal plate inserted in his head where he had been badly wounded, It was known that he had little time for any of the murder Squad members or their henchmen, such as “Buck”, for he was known to have said they where nothing but cowards, they should have had the courage to join the army and fight in the war than go around murdering innocent people in their beds.

An interesting and strange story can be gleaned from the following arrest and charge sheet of “Buck Alec”, I will here publish it in its entirety. It is stamped with an official stamp of the “District’s Inspector’s Office”, R.U.C Belfast. 14^th February 1927.....

Buck had ironically been prosecuted under two laws that had been designed to curb the activity of the I.R.A in the 1920’s and the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the 1880’s.

However, no mention had been made that Buck Alex Robinson had appeared in court earlier in August 1925 and charged with being in possession of a revolver, obviously he carried a personal firearms for years after the cessation of the 1920’s troubles, he had been fined a mere £3 on that occasion. It was at that time that he had made his infamous “I was paid £5 to shoot Fenians” remark, he even threatened to expose the Dawson Bates Government in their involvement in the murder squads if they did not recognise his services to his ‘country’ and take a lenient view of his gun carrying.. the Unionist Party’s monster had came back to haunt them,

On this, “Buck’s” most recent arrest, 14^th February 1927, the Unionist Government kept a keen eye but a low key interest. The Home Affairs Secretary wrote to the Inspector General’s Office and asked to be kept informed of the developments of “Buck Alec’s” case. The Inspector General’s Office replied on the 12^th April, when the case was over, the letter went as follows....

Also on this letter, of which I have a copy, are some very interesting hand written notes, again pointing at just how closely the Unionist Government were monitoring the whole events, there was no doubt that “Buck Alec” had his former Masters and partners in crime sweating blood but he could not have been other than happy with the result, he was out of prison in seven weeks after his three day trial ended. He was never charged with selling the gun to Kelly, or two other Catholic men named Courtney and McKelvey, although there is written evidence now available that the Prosecutor had secretly asked the Governments Home Affairs for “Direction On this Case”, again damning evidence of political conspiracy, intrigue and expediency.

D.I. McKenzie on retirement opened “The Guards Club” on the corner of West Street and Smithfield on premises above a bar. He befriended many Catholic men, not just those who like him had fought in the 1914-1918 war, although he knew quite well how shabbily Catholic men who had fought in that war had been treated , some had survived the horrors of war only to return home to be murdered in their beds or dragged into desolate fields to be tortured and their bodies mutilated by cowards who refused to join the war as soldiers. These Catholic men had joined that war having been told by the Nationalist Party leaders that they were fighting for “the freedom of small nations”, that their actions would somehow help bring about the freedom of Ireland. One Nationalist Party Leader, Joe Devlin. later, at the height of the slaying of Catholic people in the 1920’s troubles, said he regretted urging men to do so. At one point Devlin, who was the M.P for West Belfast, wrote to the then British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, “ I am angry and disgusted to learn that a Catholic ex-service soldier, who had lost a leg in the war was beaten up by “Specials” in Belfast .. I am ashamed now of having asked these men to join the British Army to fight for the freedom of small nations when this is the treatment they receive in their own country from those who are supposed to be upholders of law and order”. To date no apology from Unionism has been forthcoming. It is all to wasy to pass off what I have here wrote as 'propaganda..as no doubt some will attempt, but I defy anyone to explain why it has been kept out of the public domain for so long.. I can bet you it was not to protect  Buck Alec..oo noo. of that you can be sure. I hope I have pointed the finger clearly at the rich linen barons ,, and those who locally governed etc,as being  perhaps even more violent in their purpose as it is alleged Buck was in his actions. To this day Unionist’s are in denial of their actions, they won’t even discuss the possibility that perhaps they perpetrated wrong doings. They bull headedly plough on with the ‘not an inch’ philosophy of the which suggests no change in the future, There are even those today who would attempt to silence any reference to the cruel, brutal and inhumane treatment of a large section of this community, they advocate nothing short of a form of book burning and censorship and we should never ever allow it, we have been silenced too long. People bottling up the long term injustices was always part of the problem here in the six counties. The lessons for our tomorrows, for our children‘s, our grandchildren tomorrow’s are glaringly there, for Protestant and Catholic alike, for it is only by discussion can we learn the lesson. If we ignore that lesson which can be plainly seen in history , then as the man said, ‘ we are condemned to repeat it ’.

But if anyone ever suggests to you that Buck Alec Robinson was a mere quaint character who kept toothless lions, I hope you give them the answer they deserve, and don't forget to mention who supplied him with his guns......

From.. Belfast Born Bred And Buttered By Joe Graham

Contact JoeGraham  Rushlight123@hotmail.com