The Strange Case Of Jimmy No Nose.

The Marrowbone in the 1920’s was a community under siege, residents merely coming and going to the district were literally dicing with death and perhaps the most dangerous route was the Oldpark Road, the direct route to or from the City centre. This would have brought them past the then fiercely loyalist ‘river streets’, Suir, Shannon, Liffey Street etc. The area was staunchly unionist and any Catholic family who had dwelt there had been driven out early in the 1920’s troubles.

Benwell Street was in this area and at number 17 lived James Causer and his wife and child, the couple had married only two years earlier although James at this time, September 1920 was thirty seven years of age. He was a familiar character in the area perhaps more so for the fact that he wore a false nose, apparently due to having been wounded in the Boer war. He was also well known for his hatred of ’Sinn Feiner’s’, a term generally used in those days by unionists to describe Catholic people. The local unionist paper the “Belfast Newsletter” in particular used this term frequently they also had the charming habit of describing rioters as “Catholic Mobs” and “Protestant Crowds”. It was 7.30 on the evening of 1st September 1920, a Catholic man had been spotted on the Crumlin Road making his way toward the Oldpark and obviously the Marrowbone area. Some unionists gave chase to him and soon were shouting that the man was a ‘Sinn Fein Sniper’. Bangs like gunfire were heard and this convinced them even more so that a sniper was at work. Jimmy Causer and his friend, Lindsay White of 2 Lyle Street joined in the hunt for the terrified man who ran up Cliftonpark Avenue. White called on some passing soldiers who rushed into the home of a man called Walley in Foyle Street and then upstairs to a window to get a vantage view of the back of Cliftonpark Avenue houses. The Catholic man had scurried into number 28 with Jimmy and his mob, sorry ‘crowd‘, entering the house after him. How close Jimmy came to capturing the ‘fugitive’ as the ‘Newsletter’ described the man we will never really know, for as Jimmy ran out the back door of the house after the man into the entry, a shot rang out and Jimmy fell dying to the ground. A soldier had shot him from the bedroom window of Walley’s house.

Meanwhile another crowd heard the shots and rushed up Summer Street hoping to corner the ‘Sinn Fein Sniper’ , they in turn ended up invading number 28 Cliftonpark Avenue, not knowing that Jimmy lay dying in the entry.. shot by a soldier !.

The crowd had by now grown to 1,000, all rushing in and out of houses searching for the ‘fugitive’. Eventually the R.I.C were able to convince them that the ‘fugitive’ had escaped and that the earlier bangs were merely fireworks being let of , ‘Slam Bangs’ , as they were called back then. They even explained that the later bangs were shots from the military But all this was to late for the ‘Newsletter’ they had already rushed to press with a story about a ‘Sinn Fein Sniper’ and later had to publish a retraction that they did not mean to imply a Sinn Fein Sniper could find refuge at 28 Cliftonpark Avenue, a loyalist home.

There was certainly no Catholic sniper and it appears that the fireworks exploding just as Jimmy and his friends gave chase to the terrified man loaned to the excitement of the event. That ’excitement grew even more intense when the crowd realised Jimmy was dead, but their anger was not directed at the military who done the shooting. Instead they gathered on the Oldpark Road determined to attack the Catholic Marrowbone district and it was only by the military charging at them with fixed bayonets did they disperse. Meanwhile Jimmy’s body was removed to the Mater Hospital and his wife, Elizabeth, a pitiful soul, identified it.

One week later an inquest was held into the cause of Jimmy Causer’s death. Elizabeth told how her husband had left their home on hearing ‘shots’ and the next time she saw him was two hours later, dead in the Mater. Everyone, the Coroner, the peelers, the British Army, the neighbours all agreed that Jimmy was a public spirited man who only sought on the night of his death to lend a hand to the forces of ‘law and order’. Even the good old “Newsletter’ reported that Jimmy was ‘shot accidentally while helping’. No mention of the terrified Catholic, if there even was one, or what would have become of him had Jimmy and his friends had caught him.

But for now the authorities would have it that Jimmy was a hero, an upstanding right thinking citizen and told Elizabeth not to worry about her husband’s army pension being terminated now that he was dead. She was assured that they would see to it that payment would be maintained to her and Mr Fforde, the Coroner ruled that it seems Jimmy, ‘ had been accidentally shot by the military while assisting them’ . the jury agreed and they in turn ‘recommended the widow to His Majesty’s Government for consideration’ , (compensation).

When word got to the Catholic Marrowbone area the people there wondered who was the phantom ‘Sinn Fein Sniper’ or the elusive Catholic man Jimmy and his merry band of men had been chasing. Well, Belfast humour being what it is, it wasn’t long before some witty or black witty comments were flowing concerning Jimmy’s last adventure. Of course his nose.. or his lack of one.. came in for particular mention. Like. “Jimmy lost the scent of the phantom Sniper” or “The sniper got away, he beat jimmy by a nose”, there was even a biblical play on words, “Jimmy nose all things, past, present and to come’.

Many other Belfast characters can be read in this Rushlight Site, including, Silver McKee, Stormy Weatherall, Buck Alec, Paddy Hard Socks, Girnin Tommy, Johnny Gah Gah, Bucksy Drummond, Cleeky Clarke, Nailer Clarke, Hooper Holland, Squint McGee, Skeeball O’Hare, Hoof Laird, Squint, Pipe McLaughlin, Devil Murray, Fingers Kelly, Bubbly Dan, Daylight Kelly, Paddy Newry, Duckegg Maguinness, The Duke of Millfield, Juke the Bullets, Topper Deeds, Johnny Blue Bum, Tommy Hard Times, Clap Yer Feet, Doggy McCullough, Hands up Boyle, Tucker McAllister, Pig Minelly, Smicker Smith, Cloot O’Neill, Digger McClorey, Chopper McAuley. Lenny The Lion.