William Frazer – My Story

I grew up in the nationalist village of Whitecross, Co. Armagh. We were one of very few Protestant families living in the town and we had always got on well with our Catholic neighbours. I attended the local Catholic school because it was the closest and I can say that I was always treated well by the teachers. I played Gaelic football for a time but we never were involved in the Catholic religious practices which were pushed a great deal by the local priests upon all of us.

My father was a member of the security forces as was my next door neighbour. My Father had worked 30 years on the roads with the county council and his colleagues were all Catholics. some of whom later carried the coffin at his funeral. When the troubles started we saw a change in people. Republicans started pelting our house with stones and attacking us on a nightly basis. Our home was wrecked five times with no warning bombs. One was put in our kitchen window which failed to detonate. On one occasion our house was petrol bombed, things got so bad that the army had to guard us for three days. They attacked the front door of the house with a sledgehammer one day when my father was out.

Because of all this we had to move to Newtownhamilton, but our intimidation continued. Our next door neighbour William Meaklin was kidnapped and held for several days by Republicans. During this time they tortured him and finally killed him. William was one of the nicest men you could meet. A number of months before his gruesome death, the electric in the town had gone off. William had travelled to Belfast and lifted a load of gas heaters and cookers which he gave out to pensioners in the area without charge. I believe it was because he was so well liked within the community that he was killed.

It was a week after this that my father was killed. Republicans had also tried to kidnap him but had been unable to do so. If he had been carrying his protection weapon which he had refused to do he could have saved himself. The first night of my father’s wake the IRA tried to attack our home, but they were seen in time by our neighbours who included a Catholic. Because of this the army were able to reach us before the terrorists. Instead the Republicans turned their attention to Tullyvallen Orange Hall which they attacked the following night. Here they killed 5 people and injured 14. We could hear the shooting from our house and went straight to the hall. I can still remember the awful smell of guns and burning flesh.

Soon after this Republicans killed my uncle Johnny Bell. He had been out socialising with a Catholic neighbour that night.
In Newtownhamilton I witnessed many atrocities. One day I saw a policeman shot by the IRA and I can remember two occasions when they opened fire on soldiers in the police station.

They also killed another uncle killed – Clifford Lundy, as well as two cousins – Trevor Elliot and Alan Johnston. I also had five very good friends killed by the IRA in South Armagh. One was killed in an RUC station in Newry, he had not been in the police force long. It just seemed to be the decent people that were being killed. Another friend was going out with a Catholic girl. They pulled up to a shop so she could get sweets when he was shot through the head.

A memorial to James Frazer at the where spot he was murdered.

Our biggest problem is the fact that we had something to be proud of – we are Protestant Ulstermen. We also respect our Catholic neighbours who have the same rights as we do. In South Armagh Republicans killed three times as many Catholics as Loyalists and Security Forces combined. A poor track record by anybodies reckoning.

The grave were James Frazer is buried with his son William standing beside it.

As I see it the problem is not between Catholic and Protestant, there has been injustice on both sides. My uncle had no running water or inside toilet, we had no more than anyone else. Just because my religion or culture is different from somebody elses it does not give them the right to kill me. Until the government starts listening to people who suffered in the name of peace and justice the current problems can never be dealt with. Atrocities carried out by Republicans during ceasefires shows that these people cannot be trusted. People tell us that they are not killing us any longer so we should be happy. My family still lives in fear of gunmen and serial killers because such people still believe they have the right to carry out further atrocities in the name of Republicanism. It is this fear that has not gone away.