Donald Hodgen was born on 25 May 1963 and is a Northern Irish loyalist and a former member of the Ulster Defence Association.
10 Facts About Donald Hodgen
1.
2.
Donald Hodgen was best known as the commander and chief enforcer of West Belfast Brigade leader Johnny Adair's notorious C Company which operated on the Shankill Road.
3.
Donald Hodgen formed a close friendship with Adair during their time together in the skinhead gang.
4.
Donald Hodgen was present at this event as well as the August 1983 "Gluesniffers March", when 200 skinheads descended on Belfast City Hall determined to riot with Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament members, who were themselves holding a rally.
5.
Donald Hodgen, who had a reputation for being taciturn in contrast to the vocal Adair, regularly accompanied Adair on most of his activities, acting as his unofficial bodyguard.
6.
Donald Hodgen was shot in the shoulder and Adair in the leg but both men survived the attack despite the car being riddled with bullets.
7.
Donald Hodgen's command came to an end on 16 May 1994 when he was arrested as part of a Royal Ulster Constabulary operation in which around twenty leading members of the West Belfast Brigade were arrested on terrorism charges.
8.
Whilst some members, including Adair, were imprisoned as part of this operation Donald Hodgen was released soon after his arrest.
9.
Donald Hodgen remained loyal to Adair's leadership until the end, attacking Winkie Dodds' brother in late 2002.
10.
Donald Hodgen dropped out of the public eye altogether and as such was not part of the group of C Company die-hards forced out of the Shankill Road by the mainstream UDA that same year.