A RETIRED clergyman from Southport made an emotional return to Northern Ireland’s infamous Maze Prison, two decades after he walked its corridors at the height of the Troubles.
Robert (Bert) Menary, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Salvation Army, spent an hour visiting the remaining buildings of the former jail in Lisburn, County Down, that had housed paramilitaries from both sides of the conflict.
The Southbank Road resident was there at the invitation of University of Ulster academics, recording for posterity his experiences as a senior figure in the monitoring of Northern Ireland’s prison system.

Bert Menary today

Among Bert’s memories was the 1981 Hunger Strike in which 10 Republican inmates starved themselves to death over their demands the British Government recognise them as political prisoners.
“I spoke to hunger strikers – one asked me to explain the story of The Prodigal Son to him,� Bert recalled.
He also recalled visiting Republican prisoners during their ‘dirty protests’ over alleged ill-treatment. The inmates refused to wear prison uniforms or leave their cells, which degenerated into filthy conditions.

Bobby Sands, Republican Hunger-Striker

For his return visit, the 78- year-old was clad in his Salvation Army uniform – the significance of which the prison authorities had recognised.
“We were encouraged to wear our uniform as the Salvation Army was unique in its acceptance across the divide,� said Bert.
Born in the Ulster village of Curr, Bert was ordained a Salvation Army minister after a spell as a manager at Sainsbury’s.
He rose through the church’s ranks through posts on both sides of the Irish Sea, before being promoted to divisional commander in 1980 – overseeing the Salvation Army across all Ireland, north and south of the border.
“The whole of Northern Ireland was a divided country – bigotry and intolerance were rampant,� said Bert.
“I felt that rather then being sat in church with comfortable pews we should be involved in a very, very confused society.�
Northern Ireland’s five prisons provided fertile ground for Bert’s conception of faith in action. He appointed Salvation Army ministers to the Boards of Visitors (now called Independent Monitoring Boards) that oversee conditions in each jail – himself becoming vice- chairman of the Board of Visitors of HMP Belfast, which had a majority of its 700 inmates on remand for terrorism-related offences.
Bert, who is married to Bronwen, a fellow Salvation Army lieutenant-colonel, hailed the “tremendous changes� to the land of his birth over the last decade.

Bert receiving his Rab Butler Trust award from Princess Anne

Those have seen Republican colleagues of Hunger Strike figurehead Bobby Sands assume leading roles in Northern Ireland’s executive.
“There’s hardly a family in Northern Ireland that hasn’t been touched in some way by the Troubles,� said Bert, a member of the Rotary Club of Southport.
“Our message was that the day will have to come whereby we forgive, give equal rights and move on.�

Bert and Bron Menary at Lambeth Palace

A CROWNING achievement of Bert Menary’s work in Northern Ireland’s prisons was recognition of his campaigning on behalf of prison officers.
A concerned Bert used his position at HMP Belfast, plus as secretary for the association of the Boards of Visitors for all Northern Ireland, to raise awareness of welfare issues facing prison staff.
Among these was the impact of intimidation meted out by imprisoned paramilitaries, which helped create a situation where 14 officers had committed suicide over a five- year period.
“They (imprisoned paramilitaries) would say seemingly innocent things like, ‘Your little girl started school the other day, didn’t she?’,� Bert, a father-of-three remembered.
For his efforts, Bert was nominated by Prison Service figures for the Rab Butler Trust Award, which he received from Princess Anne at Lambeth Palace in 1988.
The award, established in the memory of a former Conservative Home Secretary, recognises exceptional achievements in working with imprisoned offenders.
The accolade coincided with Bert’s move from his post in Ireland to Birmingham, and upon his retirement 13 years ago he moved to Southport.
Do you have past experiences or achievements you would like to share with LookBack readers? Leave your messages below, call Robert Alcock on 01704-398287 or email robert.alcock@southportvisiter.co.uk

• Post to:
•  del.icio.us
•  Digg
•  Newsvine
•  Nowpublic
•  Reddit