Editing Red Hand Commando (section)

===Formation===
Much of the group's past is unknown. The RHC was formed in June 1970 among [[Ulster loyalism|loyalists]] in the [[Shankill Road|Shankill]] area of west [[Belfast]], by Ronnie "Flint" McCullough, [[William Smith (loyalist)|William "Plum" Smith]] and colleagues from the [[Shankill Defence Association]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Taylor (journalist) |year=2000 |title=Loyalists |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |isbn=0747545197 |page=80}}</ref> Membership was high in the Shankill, east Belfast, [[Sandy Row]] and [[Newtownabbey]] areas as well as in parts of [[County Down]]. A cell was also allegedly based in County Tyrone, near [[Castlederg]].<ref>''Sunday World'', 14 November 1993.</ref> The RHC also reportedly had a presence in the Fermanagh and South Tyrone region in the 1970s, involved in bombings and issuing threats to nationalists.<ref>''Evening Herald'', 15 November 1973.</ref><ref>''Northern Standard'', 12 April 1974.</ref> The RHC agreed in 1972 to become an integral part of the [[Ulster Volunteer Force]] (UVF). It kept its own structures but in operational matters agreed to share weapons and personnel and often carried out attacks in the name of the UVF.<ref>Garland, p. 151</ref> It was proscribed by [[William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw|William Whitelaw]], [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]], on 12 November 1973. According to Jim Wilson, chairman of the Reach Programme with association of the Red Hand Commando, the RHC numbered well over one thousand members during its campaign, and as of 2017 membership numbers were in the small hundreds who are engaged in community work.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09422c7 |title=12/09/2017, The Nolan Show – BBC Radio Ulster |publisher=BBC |access-date=2017-09-12 |archive-date=12 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912093015/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09422c7 |url-status=live }}</ref>