Alan Malcher

Lance Corporal Sarah Jane Warke was assigned to the Military Reaction Force, a special unit which operated in Northern Ireland in small teams of plainclothes personnel. Jane was originally from Derry in Northern Ireland, before joining the British Army, where she served in the Women’s Royal Army Corps. Jane used the alias ‘Kate’ while working for the Four Square Laundry, a front company targeting the homes of suspected IRA members in the Twinbrook estate in West Belfast. When the dirty clothing was picked up, it was forensically examined for gunpowder and explosive residue before being washed, folded, and returned. Jane was friendly, attractive, and her local accent allowed her to easily blend in. In the fall of 1972, the IRA discovered two double agents named Kevin McKee and Séamus Wright in their ranks who gave up details of the laundry van and other front companies run by the Military Reaction Force. The IRA executed the two double agents and buried them in unmarked graves. On October 2nd, 1972, the IRA conducted two attacks against known MRF personnel. Jane was speaking to a housewife at her front door while the MRF driver, a Sapper from the Royal Engineers named Corporal Ted Stuart stayed in the delivery van. Four IRA gunmen pulled up near the van and opened fire. Corporal Stuart was shot at least five times and died on the scene. The IRA claimed they also killed two more intelligence officers conducting surveillance from a hidden space inside the roof of the van, although British forces denied this. There are varying accounts of Jane’s actions during the attack. Some reports indicate she survived by hiding inside a house until the danger had passed. Others say she was wounded but managed to draw her concealed Browning Hi-Power and shoot back. The IRA gunmen fled the scene in the face of her determined fire and Jane survived. An hour later, they attacked the Gemini Massage Parlour on Antrim Road, injuring one man inside. In September 1973 Jane was awarded the Military Medal for this and other covert operations in Northern Ireland. #northernireland #covert #clandestine #troubles #britisharmy