When British troops first deployed to Northern Ireland in 1969, to halt the threat of a new rising force - the Provisional Irish Republican Army - they could not have known that the longest campaign in the British Army's history was beginning.
While patrols, vehicle bombs and incendiary speeches are the defining memories of the Troubles, the real war was fought out of sight and out of mind. For thirty years, Britain's Special Forces waged a ferocious, secretive struggle against a ruthless and implacable enemy.
Harry McCallion offers a unique insight into nearly every major military action and operation in the Province, having served seven tours with the Parachute Regiment, passed selection for 14 Intelligence Company, completed six years with the SAS anti-terrorism team, and joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary, receiving two commendations for bravery during his service.
This book is his blistering account of the history of Britain's war against the IRA between 1970 and 1988 - the most murderous years of the conflict - drawn from his own operational experience and backed by first-hand accounts and unpublished documents. From new insights into high-profile killings and riveting accounts of enemy contact, to revelations about clandestine missions and strategies in combating a merciless enemy, Undercover War is the definitive inside story of the battle against the IRA, one of the most dangerous and effective terrorist organisations in recent history. Harry McCallion is in a unique position, as someone who has served right across British Special Forces during the Northern Ireland conflict. He served seven tours with the Parachute Regiment, before qualifying for the secretive and extremely selective for 14 Intelligence Company. He then completed six years with the SAS, including two within anti-terrorism teams, before joining the Royal Ulster Constabulary - where he received two commendations for bravery during a six-year service ended by a bad car accident. After his career in the police came to an end, he trained in law and is now a successful barrister based in the northwest of England, working in civil and criminal courts. The most comprehensive book ever published about British Special Forces operations against the IRA during the Troubles. Harry McCallion is uniquely qualified to write this, having served extensively in some of the toughest, most secretive and selective branches of British Special Forces, during the bloodiest years of the conflict. This book will feature unpublished photographs from Harry's wide social circle within the police and military, as well as new insights, stories and analyses of some of the most notorious events of the troubles, including the shooting of Bernadette Devlin, the murder of Captain Robert Nairac, and the tragic story of Det legend Sergeant Paul Oram. John Blake have published several highly successful books in recent years on the IRA and the Troubles, including Martin McGartland's Fifty Dead Men Walking and Rob Lewis's Fishers of Men.
