British Army Prepares for Mass Arrests

Introduction from Chronology

The GHQ of the British Army in Ireland issues instructions to its Divisional Commanders to prepare lists of the commanders, officers and prominent members of the IRA.

More Detail

Warrants for the arrest of these men were to be obtained from the Chief Secretary and the arrests carried out by the Competent Military Authority (who were the O/Cs of the BA Divisions and designated brigade commanders). All the people arrested were to be interned and deported to England (under Defence of the Realm Act, Regulation 14b) unless evidence of an offence was discovered (in which case they were to handed over to the civil power). These arrests were to be synchronised across divisions and the night of the 23^rd/24^th January was when they were to be carried out. However, see Jan-21-20/2

The BA’s Competent Military authorities were also given the power to search individuals and buildings for arms, explosives and seditious literature at any time of the day or night. These instructions said that the greatest care and consideration, during these raids, should be given to law-abiding citizens, women and children. (Kautt speculates “One wonders how considerate armed men can be when holding people at gunpoint in the middle of the night, having turned them out of their homes in order to search [them]”.)

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