Ulster Defence Volunteers

The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, told his cabinet in May 1940 before a force like the Home Guard could take place, problems had to be addressed;"There were grave objections... to the establishment here of a local Volunteer Defence Corps, on the basis adopted in Britain.

"[1]The grave objections Craigavon spoke about were the opportunities that a British style Home Guard might have afforded Roman Catholics to legally carry weapons.

"[2] Craigavon sought advice about a local version of a regional defence force, from his old friend and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 23 May 1940.

Churchill had confided to his friend Richard Pim after the retreat from Dunkirk that the 'B' Specials were the only properly armed and disciplined force left in the United Kingdom.

Unlike in Britain, where the Home Guard were administered through their county Territorial Army Associations and swore a military oath of allegiance to the Crown, the UDV were Special Constables.

Northern Ireland was considered a unique area as a major armed group pledged to insurrection and overthrow of the state did not exist in Great Britain.