Forkhill beer keg bombing
| Forkhill beer keg bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of South Armagh Brigade |
On 17 July 1975 the
Attack
On 17 July 1975, Major Peter Willis, the Green Howards company commander in Crossmaglen was accompanied by three British soldiers, all of whom were bomb disposal experts. They were investigating a milk churn at Cortreasla Bridge in Tullydonnell. They walked through a gap in a hedge beside a signpost. As they did so, a 70 lb bomb that had been packed into a beer keg and buried in the ground, was detonated by command wire from about 400 yards away. Four soldiers were killed outright with another injured by shrapnel.[2]
The soldiers killed were Major Peter Willis (37), Edward Garside (34), Robert McCarter (33) and Calvert Brown (25).[3] They were the first British soldiers to be killed by the IRA since the February truce.[4]
Aftermath
The IRA claimed in a statement that the attack had been retaliation for the killing of two IRA members.
IRA member Pat Thompson was convicted of the attack in March 1976. Thompson signed a statement saying that the Crossmaglen IRA unit planned and carried out the attack. Thompson maintains, however, that he was forced to sign the statement after receiving beatings and threats to his family. Thompson was not released until 1991, serving 15 years.[5]
See also
- Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1970–1979)
- Ballygawley land mine attack
- Altnaveigh landmine attack
- Dungannon land mine attack
External links
References
- ^ "Chronology of the Conflict: 1975". Conflict Archive on the Internet.
- ISBN 978-0-340-71737-0.
- ^ "Sutton Index of Deaths: 17 July 1975". Conflict Archive on the Internet.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ Harnden, Toby. Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh. Hodder & Stoughton, 1999. p.58