[3] It is not known when he joined the Red Hand Commando, a loyalist paramilitary organisation founded in 1970 and was closely affiliated with the larger Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).
[1] In 1973, Rea was imprisoned for eight years after being found in possession of a Sterling submachine gun and for having driven two cars to and from the scene of a loyalist attack on Divis Street in nationalist west Belfast.
[5] A number of senior Red Hand Commando members including Winston Rea played an integral part in the formation of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) in 1979.
The same year, he appeared on an edition of Ulster Television's Counterpoint current affairs programme, arguing against Ian Paisley's evocation of a "Carson trail", and calling for young people not to follow his path.
[6] He staged a silent protest against Paisley, by hanging a placard outside his home near Carlisle Circus at the bottom of the Crumlin Road.
[10][11] During a loyalist feud, in 2000, Rea's house was broken into by members of the C Company of the rival Ulster Freedom Fighters, led by Johnny Adair.
[12] Retaliation was swift during the feud and some years later when a Red Hand Commando member beat a C Company commander, Mo Courtney.
[15] In 2015 police attempted to gain access to interview tapes held at Boston College in relation to an investigation into Rea's activities.