Davy Fogel
| Davy Fogel | |
|---|---|
| Born |
David Fogel 1945 (age 71–72) London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Big Dave |
| Occupation | Soldier, machinist |
| Known for | Senior member of the Woodvale Defence Association (1970–1971) and the Ulster Defence Association (1971–1973) |
David "Davy" Fogel also known as "Big Dave" (born 1945), was a former loyalist and a leading member of the loyalist vigilante Woodvale Defence Association (WDA) which later merged with other groups becoming the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). Born in London, Fogel was a former British soldier who had served in Northern Ireland before marrying a local Belfast woman and settling down with his family in Woodvale, Belfast.
In June 1970 at a pigeon fanciers' club, he militarised the Woodvale Defence Association (WDA) and trained them as a military unit. He continued to instruct the new UDA recruits in military tactics and gave lectures on Army and police interrogation methods and urban guerrilla fighting. He was the second-in-command to the WDA's leader and the UDA's first commander, Charles Harding Smith. Fogel was the leader of the UDA's B Company, 2nd Battalion, West Belfast Brigade and enjoyed much prestige in 1972, having erected the first UDA street barricades and roadblocks in Woodvale. He left the organisation early in 1973 after he was ousted from power during an internal feud.
Fogel was born in London, England and first arrived in Northern Ireland as a private in the British Army in 1965. His job in the army was to look after the stores; this is where he first became acquainted with guns and learned how to use them. When he left the Army in 1968, he married a Protestant girl from Belfast, and settled down with her in a modest house in Palmer Street in the Woodvale area of west Belfast, located at the top of the Shankill Road. Palmer Street was close to the interface with the nationalist Ardoyne area and had been one of the worst hit streets in a series of riots that blighted this interface area. He worked as a machinist in Mackie's engineering plant until he was made redundant in 1970. Thereafter he found casual work and collected unemployment benefits.
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