How did civil rights marches escalate into violence and the deployment of British troops in 1969?
Escalation 1968 to 1969: the Derry march of October 1968, the Burntollet ambush of January 1969, the Battle of the Bogside, and the deployment of British troops in August 1969.
A focused CCEA GCSE History guide to the escalation of the Troubles. Covers the Derry civil rights march of October 1968, the Burntollet Bridge ambush of January 1969, the Battle of the Bogside, and why British troops were deployed in August 1969.
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What this dot point is asking
You need to explain how peaceful civil rights marches escalated into serious violence between 1968 and 1969, and why British troops were deployed in August 1969. CCEA examiners reward a clear chronology of the key flashpoints, an understanding of how each one deepened distrust, and a judgement that distinguishes the immediate trigger for the troop deployment from the underlying breakdown of confidence in the state and its police.
The Derry march of October 1968
A NICRA march in Derry/Londonderry on 5 October 1968 was banned, but the organisers went ahead. The Royal Ulster Constabulary broke it up with batons, and television cameras captured police striking unarmed marchers. The images were broadcast worldwide and turned a local protest into an international issue, hardening nationalist anger and increasing pressure on O'Neill to reform.
Burntollet, January 1969
The Battle of the Bogside
Tensions peaked in August 1969. During the annual Apprentice Boys parade in Derry, fighting broke out between nationalists in the Bogside and the RUC. For several days, residents barricaded their area and fought the police with stones and petrol bombs in what became known as the Battle of the Bogside. The slogan "You are now entering Free Derry" appeared. Violence then spread to Belfast, where rioting, gun battles and arson left people dead and whole streets of homes burned out, with Catholic families driven from mixed areas.
The deployment of British troops
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was exhausted and overwhelmed, and nationalists had lost confidence in it. On 14 August 1969 the Northern Ireland government requested help, and British troops were deployed onto the streets to restore order. At first many nationalists welcomed the soldiers as protectors, but the deployment marked the start of a long and increasingly difficult military presence. The events of 1969 also drove the split that produced the Provisional IRA at the end of the year, dedicated to defending nationalist areas and to armed struggle.
Examples in context
Model causation paragraph. "British troops were deployed in August 1969 because order had collapsed and the police could no longer cope. The immediate trigger was the Battle of the Bogside, where Derry residents fought the RUC for days behind barricades, and the spread of deadly rioting to Belfast, which left homes burned and people dead. The exhausted RUC was overwhelmed. Beneath this lay a deeper cause: the nationalist community had lost all confidence in a police force it saw as partisan, especially after Burntollet. The trigger was the breakdown of order, but the underlying cause was the collapse of trust between nationalists and the state." This scores highly because it ranks the trigger against the underlying cause with precise evidence.
Try this
Q1. What happened at Burntollet Bridge in January 1969? [2 marks]
- Cue. A People's Democracy march was ambushed by a loyalist crowd with stones and clubs while the police gave little protection.
Q2. What was the Battle of the Bogside? [2 marks]
- Cue. Several days of fighting in August 1969 between nationalist residents of the Derry Bogside and the RUC, behind barricades.
Q3. When were British troops deployed and why? [3 marks]
- Cue. On 14 August 1969, because order had collapsed in the Bogside and Belfast and the exhausted RUC could no longer cope.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of CCEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
CCEA Unit 1 (style)9 marksExplain why British troops were deployed in Northern Ireland in August 1969.Show worked answer →
A causation question testing AO1 and AO2. Give developed, linked reasons and rank them.
Breakdown of order: by August 1969 violence had spiralled, especially the Battle of the Bogside in Derry, where residents fought running battles with the RUC for days.
Spread of violence: rioting and attacks spread to Belfast, with deaths and homes burned out, overwhelming the police.
Loss of confidence in the RUC: nationalists no longer trusted a police force seen as partisan, and the exhausted RUC could not cope.
Rank: argue that the immediate trigger was the collapse of order in the Bogside and Belfast, but the deeper cause was the breakdown of trust between the nationalist community and the state. A ranked judgement reaches the top band.
CCEA Unit 1 (style)6 marksWhat does Source B tell you about the Burntollet ambush?Show worked answer →
A comprehension question testing AO3. Make supported inferences.
Infer that the source shows the marchers were attacked, because it describes or shows loyalists throwing stones and clubs at the People's Democracy marchers crossing Burntollet Bridge in January 1969.
A second inference might be that the attack damaged trust in the police, because the source suggests the RUC did little to protect the marchers.
Tie each inference to a detail from the source. Two supported points answer the question in full.
Related dot points
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A focused CCEA GCSE History guide to the origins of the Troubles. Covers discrimination in Northern Ireland, Terence O'Neill's premiership and reforms from 1963, the founding of NICRA in 1967, the civil rights campaign and why O'Neill's reforms satisfied neither unionists nor nationalists.
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A focused CCEA GCSE History guide to the failed power-sharing experiment. Covers the Sunningdale Agreement of December 1973, the power-sharing Executive, the Council of Ireland, and the Ulster Workers' Council strike of May 1974 that brought the Executive down.
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A focused CCEA GCSE History guide to the 1980s. Covers the 1981 republican hunger strikes, the death of Bobby Sands, the rise of Sinn Fein into electoral politics, the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, and the unionist campaign against it under the slogan Ulster Says No.
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A focused CCEA GCSE History guide to the peace process. Covers the Downing Street Declaration of 1993, the IRA and loyalist ceasefires of 1994, the multi-party talks, and the Good Friday or Belfast Agreement of 10 April 1998 with its institutions and the principle of consent.
Sources & how we know this
- CCEA GCSE History specification — CCEA (2017)