A Rendezvous with the Enemy: My Brother S Life and Death with the Coldstream Guards In
A Rendezvous With The Enemy: My Brother’s life and death with the Coldstream Guards in Northern Ireland – by Darren Ware. Published by Helion & Company 5th August 2010
My approach to you
I am writing in an effort to spread the word of a book that I have written about the death of my brother in Northern Ireland and hope that it may be of interest and hope that I can use this personal approach to you to help me spread my story. It is no ordinary death, as my brother was a soldier serving in Northern Ireland and joins the many who were killed during the lengthy conflict in Northern Ireland which at this time has made a change in the history of ‘The Troubles’ and a year that marks the end of Operation Banner after 38 years.
May I take this opportunity to introduce myself and say a little about myself, I have mentioned my author biography in a little more detail below. I was born in 1971 and brought up with my brother in London and after leaving school I followed in his footsteps and joined the army. I served for 10 years with The Royal Green Jackets and left in 1997. Today I serve as a police officer with on the Armed Response Unit and the Air Support Unit with Lancashire Police.
The book totals 15 chapters and is approximately 70,000 words and 48 photographs. Simon was killed in Northern Ireland in August 1991whilst on a rural foot patrol as he served with the Coldstream Guards in South Armagh. The device that killed him was a new way of detonation that the IRA had mastered. My book is about his life, the tour, the circumstances surrounding the explosion that killed him and the post incident investigation.
About the Author
Darren Ware was born in Enfield, North London in 1971 and was educated at St George’s Roman Catholic Primary School and St Ignatius College. He left home at the age of 16 and joined the army, where he served with the 2nd Battalion The Royal Green Jackets for ten years, almost three years of which was served in Northern Ireland where he was awarded a Mention in Despatches for distinguished service. Darren also served on operations in Cyprus and Bosnia. He conducted various training exercises worldwide and was an instructor of Infantry weapons and tactics, a Gunnery Instructor and Nuclear Biological and Chemical Warfare instructor for seven and a half years, and also trained recruits for two and a half years in 1993. He left the army in 1997 as a Corporal, after a successful career, and joined the police service. He now serves on the Armed Response Unit full time and is a reserve helicopter observer on the Air Support Unit. He has three children and lives in Accrington Lancashire.
About the book
As a Section Commander in one of the British Army’s toughest Infantry regiments, Darren Ware spent a decade with the Royal Green Jackets and fought a vicious border war with the Provisional IRA in Northern Ireland. In the 80s and 90s Northern Ireland was a bloody battleground that claimed the lives of hundreds of soldiers. Shortly after joining the army he was sent to Northern Ireland days after he turned 18 and in the prime of his life was sent to confront terrorists. Within 18 months of returning from his first tour he was sent back to Northern Ireland, this time on his 20th birthday, to be confronted with the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the day he arrived and a two year tour of operations and close encounters that followed. He was awarded a Mention in Despatches in 1992 having disrupted a terrorist attack in Strabane. But, it was in the sniper-strewn streets of the cities and fields of the countryside of the border region that he began a journey that would make a man of him – in the staunch IRA stronghold of South Armagh – ‘Bandit Country’ – where his brother’s life was taken in a massive unpredicted terrorist attack in 1991. At the time, his brother Simon was serving with the Coldstream Guards. The murder of Simon by the IRA reinforced his determination to continue his commitment to serve in Northern Ireland and to assist the RUC in the defeat of terrorism in killing or capturing the terrorists, which he achieved with success in 1992. In 1998 a change in operational commitment led the author to pursue a career elsewhere and Darren Ware is now a Police Firearms Officer dealing with armed and violent offenders on the front line. If you want to know the first-hand devastating effect that the IRA terrorists had on a young soldier and his family, fighting for answers and justification, then read this book. The author reflects on his experiences in Northern Ireland, and recounts his brother’s life, and death at the hands of the IRA. A Rendezvous with the Enemy will introduce you to the life of a professional soldier, the operational experience in Northern Ireland and above all, it will lead you along the road to death and the effects of unjustified terrorist murder in Northern Ireland.
Why I wrote the book
When my brother was killed in 1991 I created a large scrap book with all the info I had gathered. This included newspaper articles, statements from the soldiers, photos, coroner’s report, police reports and much much more. Every year on the anniversary of his death I would go through the scrap book as a reminder. Soon I thought that I could do better and take it a stage further and put his story into a book. And that’s when it all began. I spent many hours over the years on and off, writing my story. I felt that during my writing I was telling a story in my words with information I knew and information I had gathered through many sources. Though it was emotionally hard at times, I enjoyed putting pen to paper and telling my personal story.A lot of my early months and in fact maybe a year and a half were spent researching. I was also serving in Northern Ireland when Simon was killed and a few months after, I visited Bessbrook Mill where he was based to find out what I could and to see the area. This formed the foundation for the scrap book. Then in 2004 I managed, through the use of internet military websites, to make contact with more than 60 soldiers who had knowledge of the incident and I expanded from there. I was invited back to Northern Ireland by Simon’s regiment and I did a lot more research. It was during this visit that I gleaned a lot more info and actually visited the scene of the explosion and stood in the crater where he was killed.
The Publishers -
Helion & Company are one of the world's leading specialist publishers and booksellers of military history. They can supply titles from all of the major publishers as well as many less well-known companies, including a large range of non-English language material. Helion pride themselves on their knowledgeability and customer service.
The Marketing Company -
Casemate UKis fast becoming the leading military history publisher and distributor in the UK and was set up by military enthusiasts for military enthusiasts, in 2007. Building on from the success of their sister company Casemate Publishing in the United States, they are now able to take the Casemate ethos worldwide. These days, with so many different places to buy books, knowing where to find the best in military history, on exactly the subject you're interested in, may seem impossible. So, at Casemate UK, they are dedicated to providing you, the reader, with easy access to the best military history product range available.
Photo’s
Carrickovaddy Wood where Simon was killed The approach to the scene of the explosion
The scene of the explosion Simon on his wedding day
Reviews
By Darren Ware
"I am the author of this book and it is my personal account of the circumstances of my brother’s death in Northern Ireland. It has been written to tell my story of how his murder was carried out, how I and my family reacted and dealt with the aftermath, the post incident investigation and much much more. Though it is the story of one soldier, we must always remember the other many families who lost relatives in similar circumstances."
By Ken Wharton – Author of A Long Long War, Bullets Bombs and Cups of Tea and Bloody Belfast – an oral history of soldiers stories from Northern Ireland.
“I am the author of 3 published books on the Northern Ireland troubles with a fourth one due out next year. I also did two operational tours of Northern Ireland during the worst year of the troubles. That doesn't make me an expert on Op Banner; far from it, but I know a thing or two about what happened over there. That is why I would recommend this excellent book by Darren Ware to not only the student of modern military history but also to anyone who would like to know what it was like for the squaddies on the streets fighting a war on their own doorsteps. Darren's brother was killed in 'bandit country' - Merlyn Rees never spoke a truer word when he named South Armagh just that - blown to pieces by an IRA landmine. So complete wasthe shattering death that few remains of Simon were ever found. Darren writes lovingly of his brother and his widow, Carol,who had but one yearwith her husband and he writes also of his own experiences on operational tours there. I urge you to read this fine book; it might just give you an idea of what it was like serving in Britain's forgotten war.”
Some extracts from the book
I led the patrol of eight soldiers on a routine foot patrol as I exited the rear of Strabane RUC station just after 11pm on Friday April 3rd 1992. I infiltrated the northern part of the town using the remote rural area as my cover in an effort not to be compromised too soon. The route took me along Church Street leading downhill into the town centre to Meetinghouse Street; it was a very busy evening being a Friday. As I passed the large graveyard to my right, with its church nestled in amongst the darkened grounds and high walls, the ambient streetlights illuminated the busy Friday night town. A figure in the alleyway to my left fifteen metres in front drew my attention as he fumbled around near to parked vehicles amongst the darkened shadows. I halted the patrol and observed him for a few seconds through the SUSAT sight on top of my weapon, which afforded me an amount of magnification. Trying to make out the identity of the figure my suspicions were confirmed when I recognised the male as a known IRA terrorist, and my actions during the night whichfollowed were to save lives…….. Chapter One ‘Hard times, terrorists and bombs’
Out of the wooded area to my right and about 10 metres in front of me walked two adult males both of whom were wearing combat clothing, neither of them had seen us, and one of them was carrying a Kalashnikov AK47 assault rifle. I dropped to my knees and instructed the others to go firm. There was next to no immediate cover to take for our own protection, my heart immediately began to beat extremely fast and in a fraction of a second or two, I had to ascertain whether they were the only two. I had to protect myself and my team, I reached over to my assault rifle with my left hand and cocked it, loading a round into the chamber, placed the weapon into my right shoulder and issued a firm warning in Serb Croat “IFOR, STANI ILLI PUT SAM”. Translated into Englishthis clearly states “IFOR stand still or I will shoot”……. Chapter One ‘Hard times, terrorists and bombs’
It was Thursday morning, the 15th August 1991 and all of call sign Yankee One Zero Bravo had assembled in the briefing room with anticipation before deploying onto the ground for yet another patrol….
…..Sammy then got the attention. Dressed in full combats, his face painted with camouflage cream, his webbing secured to his body, his weapon slung around his neck and his radio earpiece in monitoring the radio traffic, he looked at the eleven soldiers in front of him that he was addressing and issued his orders………
….. A moment of brief observation of the surrounding rolling countryside was done, prior to final orders from Sammy before the multiple moved off and by 0730hrs Saturday 17th August......
……As Dave exited the left bend he was faced with a huge bright orange ball, an immense blinding flash and instant heat. The force of the following blast then blew him off his feet knocking him uncontrollably to the ground. He was then bombarded with debris, foliage and rubble as it begun to fall around him and the team, and mayhem and confusion reigned, their hearts beating like thunder…… Chapter Five ‘Contact’
The OC ushered me into his office and told me to sit down. There was something not right in his demeanour or his face and he said those immortal words that I will never forget: “There’s no easy way to say this, but your brother was killed by an IED in South Armagh this morning”……. Chapter 7 ‘My Darkest, Lonesome Day’
Thank You
May I thank you for finding the time and interest to read my information and I would be very grateful if you could spread the word of my personal story.
Copies of the book are available from the publishers website and in book shops and on line at all major retailers including Waterstones, WH Smith, Tesco, Amazon and many more.
Darren Ware