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John Dowey Bingham (c. 1953 – 14 September 1986) was a prominent Northern Irish loyalist who led "D Company" (Ballysillan), 1st Battalion, Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).〔Taylor, Peter (1999). ''Loyalists''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.p.196 ISBN 0-7475-4519-7〕 He was shot dead by the Provisional IRA after they had broken into his home.〔(CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths )〕 Bingham was one of three prominent UVF members to have been killed in the 1980s, the other two being Lenny Murphy and William "Frenchie" Marchant in 1982 and 1987 respectively. ==Ulster Volunteer Force== John Bingham was born in Northern Ireland around 1953 and was brought up in a Protestant family. Described as a shopkeeper, he was married with two children.〔"These Cash Payments Don't Take Account of the Pain of the Victims". ''Belfast Telegraph''. Eric Waugh. 27 January 2009. Retrieved 30-03-11〕 He lived in Ballysillan Crescent, in the unionist estate of Ballysillan in North Belfast, and also owned a holiday caravan home in Millisle, County Down.〔''Belfast Telegraph''. 27 January 2009〕 He was a member of the "Old Boyne Island Heroes" Lodge of the Orange Order.〔Taylor, p.151〕 On an unknown date, he joined the Ulster loyalist paramilitary organisation, the UVF, and eventually became the commander of its "D Company", 1st Battalion, Ballysillan .,〔Taylor, p.196〕 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.〔CAIN: Physical Memorials of the Troubles in North Belfast〕 He was the mastermind behind a productive gun-running operation from Canada, which over the years had involved the smuggling of illegal weapons into Northern Ireland to supply UVF arsenals; however, three months after Bingham's death, the entire operation collapsed following a raid on a house in Toronto by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in December 1986.〔Taylor, p.189〕 Bingham was one of the loyalist paramilitaries named in the evidence given by supergrass Joe Bennett,〔 who accused him of being a UVF commander.〔McKittrick. ''Lost Lives''. p.1048〕 He testified that he had seen Bingham armed with an M60 machine gun and claimed that Bingham had been sent to Toronto to raise funds for the UVF.〔Steve Bruce, ''The Red Hand'', Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 140〕 These meetings opened contact with Canadian businessman John Taylor, who became involved in smuggling guns from North America to the UVF.〔Bruce, ''The Red Hand'', p. 169〕 As a result of Bennett's testimony, Bingham was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment after being convicted of committing serious crimes.〔McKittrick,''Lost Lives'', p.1048〕 He publicly denounced the supergrass system before live television cameras outside Belfast's Crumlin Road Courthouse when he was released in December 1984 after his conviction had been overturned, having spent two and a half years in prison.〔H. McDonald & J. Cusack (1997). ''UVF''. Poolbeg. p.232. Google Books. Retrieved 31-03-11〕 On one occasion, Bingham allegedly placed a loaded pistol inside journalist Martin Dillon's mouth because he had not liked what Dillon had written about him. In an attempt to make amends for his threat, Bingham invited Dillon to visit him at his home in North Belfast. Dillon accepted the invitation and after several whiskeys and brandishing a pistol, Bingham offered to show him his racing pigeons as he was an avid pigeon fancier. He then told Dillon that he shouldn't believe what people said about him claiming that he couldn't harm a pigeon.〔Dillon, Martin (1989). ''The Shankill Butchers: the real story of cold-blooded mass murder''. New York: Routledge. pp.282-283〕 As they said farewell at the front door, Bingham reportedly murmured in a cold voice to Dillon: "You ever write about me again and I'll blow yer fuckin' brains out, because you're not a pigeon".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Bingham (loyalist)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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