Thomas-Tucker-McKeown.

TUCKER McKEOWN

Last Monday, we the old Volunteers of the early seventies, had the privilege of providing a Guard Of Honour at the final parade of our fallen friend and loyal comrade Tucker McKeown. Tucker entered Crumlin Road and Longkesh as an eighteen years old RHC Volunteer in early 1973 in the company of his equally young friend and comrade the late, Volunteer Noel Baker. Tucker arrived in C wing complete with his trademark crombie overcoat, with the statutory red hankie in its top pocket, wide skinner jeans with the statutory braces hitching the wide bottoms of the skinners up above the top of his big DM boots and a Billy Connolly style, headfull of wild long frizzy hair, amusing now but the height of fashion back in 1973.
You won’t read about Tucker, in any of the books relating to the troubles, he didn’t leave behind any statements of  profound political literacy, or poetry but just like his big friends and fellow comedians, the late Davy Kirkwood and the late Sam Ferguson, Tucker was an essential component part of compound 18.      During the dark stressful early days of Political Status and the battles for political segregation and humane prison conditions, when confrontation with the army and the prison authorities was a regular occurrence, it was often the banter and pranks from these three loveable eejits, that made life bearable and victory achievable.
It was Tucker who nicknamed the Late Davy Ervine, “the Professor,” because of Davys love for big books and even bigger words.  He reverently nicknamed the late, Gusty Spence, “the auld boy”, he christened Fergie Robb the “Clumsy Drug, the Late” Billy Hammill “CoCo” and myself “Charlie Brown”. Billy Hammill got his revenge by nicknaming Tucker “Corporal Clott”, because of Tuckers obsession with always trying to please our compound 18 Commander, the Late Danny Strutt.
From shortly after his release and for the rest of his life Tucker suffered from serious illness, but in the true spirit of the old Compound 18 battle cry, “Get yer boots on”, Tucker battled on regardless and never let his illness stop him from living life to the full.   Right up until shortly before his death he was still working at house renovations with his life time friend and fellow comrade Fergie Robb, who he was still bantering right up until the very end from his hospital bed.

 STAND AT EASE, STAND EASY OLD COMRADE, WE WILL REMEMBER.