"I did think just a little bit more like a terrorist than some of our
commanders".
- General Frank Kitson (1926-2024).
General Frank Kitson's memoir
was published in December 2024, eleven months after his passing at aged 97.
Back in 1977 Kitson wrote his military autobiography Bunch of Five, but
it contained nothing about his service in Northern Ireland which was an
extremely sensitive subject at that time.
Most will presume that he addresses it in this work which he wanted published
only after his death. They will wonder if he covers the formation and
activation of the notorious Military Reaction Force (MRF), a British Army counterinsurgency
unit or "counter-gang" of which he was almost certainly the brains
behind.
The precursor to the Special Reconnaissance Unit (SRU), the Force Research Unit
(FRU) and 14 Intelligence Company, the purpose of the MRF was to take the fight
to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in the strongholds of the Republican
community.
It meant that Kitson, according to Paddy Devlin of the Social Democratic and
Labour Party, “probably did more than any other individual to sour relations
between the Catholic community and the security forces”.
But while Kitson was later in his lifetime subjected to lawsuits from families from the Republican community for his role in the loss of innocent life, researchers have yet to find evidence of the MRF commencing its shooting until after then Brigadier Kitson left Northern Ireland in April 1972 to take up a post at Warminster.
Even the shooting of the innocent Conway brothers on April 15th, 1972, for long erroneously attributed to the MRF, had in fact been committed by a three-man team from The Kings Own Scottish Borderers regiment led by Captain Julian “Tony” Ball.
Nonetheless, Kitson whom General Sir Mike Jackson opined “very much set the tone for the operational style in Belfast”, remains culpable to many Republicans who view him as the spiritus rector of the enduring covert policies of British Army intelligence which had a devastating impact on the Roman Catholic community.
I will most definitely be writing a review of the book.
Ranks of Frank Kitson:
1948 - Lieutenant
1953 - Captain
1960 - Major
1964 - Lieutenant Colonel
1969 - Colonel
1970 - Brigadier
1976 - Major General
1980 - Lieutenant General
1982 - General
An essay of mine on Kitson:
Frank Kitson - A Soldier’s Legacy
. Blog
. Academia
dot Edu
See also:
Britain’s
Acronyms Of Terror – General Frank Kitson And The MRF, SRU And FRU – An
Sionnach Fionn
© Adeyinka Makinde (2025).
Adeyinka Makinde is a writer based in London, England.
