The British Army in Northern Ireland 1975-77

by Ken Wharton

  Dungannon (Dún Geanainn, meaning ‘Geanann’s stronghold’) is a medium-sized town in Co Tyrone; it is the third-largest town in the county after Omagh and Strabane. In the pre-Christmas shopping spree, the Provisionals chose it for a bombing blitz designed to disrupt the festivities and go out on a ‘bang’ before their usual seasonal ceasefire. Scotch Street shopping centre was blitzed with two stores: Trotters Hardware and the Car Care shop were extensively damaged by incendiary devices. A further device exploded in Brown’s Hardware store, whilst an EOD officer was trying to defuse it; he was slightly burned and the shop badly damaged. The Army managed to defuse six further devices but three more stores suffered fire damage as PIRA tried to wreck Christmas for hundreds of shoppers and small businessmen. Further south, two Army helicopters were hit by machine-gun fire as the Provisionals targeted the craft. One was damaged by automatic fire but managed to land safely at Crossmaglen RUC station and another was hit by fire from within the Irish Republic. Over the course of the next 24 hours, PIRA units planted several bombs in Londonderry and Belfast, including massive damage at a tyre warehouse in the Antrim Road.

  With five days to go before Christmas, Lenny Murphy’s Shankill Butchers were again involved in the killings, this time of a fellow Loyalist paramilitary, albeit their hated rivals, the UFF. UVF and Shankill Butcher, Sam McAllister, went to drink in a rival UDA/UFF club – at Forthriver – and got into heated argument with Thomas Easton (22). A fight broke out which was quickly broken up and McAllister was thrown out of the club. Several hours later, Easton left but was confronted by the UVF man who violently assaulted him before crashing a huge brick down upon the helpless man’s exposed head, killing him. McAllister then dragged the dead man and threw his body over the wall of the nearby Glencairn Church.

  On the 21st, a Loyalist murder gang in a hijacked car spotted a lone 15-year old Catholic boy walking along Cliftonville Road near the junction with Kingsmere Road. They opened fire and hit him, slightly wounding him before driving off towards Cliftonville Circus. Another Loyalist gang, thought to have been UVF, attacked a Catholic-owned pub at Innisrush village, close to Portglenone, Co Antrim. Masked gunmen went to a house near Portglenone and demanded the householder’s car before packing it with explosives and driving it to the village pub. They abandoned the car bomb but before escaping, they fired several shots inside the pub but fortunately missed the drinkers. The blast damaged the front of the pub, and blew out windows and caused some internal damage.

  On the same day in South Armagh, PIRA hijacked a lorry and abandoned it, blocking the road at Cullaville and causing disruption around the Crossmaglen area. Tragically, the cousin of Patrick McGeown who was shot by soldiers in Armagh on the 15th was in a car which collided with the lorry. As a car in which she was travelling came around a blind bend, it slammed into the vehicle and she was killed and the other passengers were badly injured. Josephine McGeown (29) was from Keady.

  On the 22nd, the IRA killed yet another policeman, making it a total of 25 who had been killed in the previous 12 months; one fatality per fortnight and at least five times that number had survived their terrorist-caused injuries. RUCR Constable Samuel Armour (37), father of three lived in a bungalow at Curragh Road, Maghera, Co Londonderry. Sometime during the night of 21/22 December, an IRA bombing unit had planted a UVBT (under vehicle booby-trap) on his car. As he got into the car, the device exploded, tearing off both his legs, and killing him instantly. Two hours after the explosion, his mangled body was still trapped in the wreckage of his car. He worked as a manager of his family-owned business and was well known and respected in the area. His wife and children were in the house at the time and were severely traumatised by the murder. The children generally got a lift from their father and had it not have been for the school holidays, their young lives would have been cut short by the handiwork of the Provisionals.

  The following day, the Army and the RUC were called to a house close to Dungannon where reports of armed men had been received. The RUC had surrounded the house at Killymaddyknox and requested that the Army take control. In confused circumstances, the men were observed with weapons and the Army poured fire into the building and hit both men. Paul Kerr (23) was hit in the head and fatally wounded; he died four days later on the 27th in hospital. The other wounded man survived his injuries and a search of the house revealed masks and imitation guns. Again the soldiers on the ground had no option under ROE but to open fire, and yet again the dangers of using anything which resembled live weapons was apparent.

  Christmas Day, 1976 fell on a Saturday and at midnight on the Friday, the Provisional IRA began a three-day ceasefire. Exactly three days after the expiry of the truce, they were back in action at Castlederg, Co Tyrone, having hijacked a vehicle in Cortnamuck, Co Donegal in the Irish Republic. The driver was forced to drive his own vehicle, into which the IRA had placed two milk churns packed with explosives, over into the North and park this ‘proxy’ bomb outside the RUC station in Castlederg. The IRA had abducted the man’s wife and held her hostage whilst the 200lbs bomb was driven across the border. She was later released unharmed. He drove the car to an unmanned security gate in William Street, where he was able to contact the RUC and raise the alarm. The Army was able to defuse the bombs with controlled explosives, but major damage was caused to surrounding buildings.

  Shots fired at Army and RUC bases and another spate of bombs, some real and some hoax characterised the last day of 1976 and the eighth year of the Troubles ended with the Province still in violent turmoil. 1977 was minutes away, but so too was the first death of the New Year.

  Overall deaths were down to 12 in December, with one soldier and three policemen being killed by the IRA. Seven civilians were killed: five Catholics and two Protestants; three of the deaths were overtly sectarian. One Loyalist paramilitary was killed and in the month, Republicans killed seven, Loyalists killed two and the Army was responsible for three deaths.

  1976 saw the deaths of 334 people; military, civilian and paramilitary. This equates to just over six deaths per week, a little under one death for every day of the year.

  British Army

  57

  RUC and Gardaí

  25

  Civilians

  218 (165 of whom were considered overtly sectarian; a sectarian murder every two days throughout the year).

  Republicans

  21

  Loyalists

  13

  Part Three

  1977

  This year would again see the deaths of more than 50 British soldiers, with the UDR again bearing the brunt of the fatalities. Four former soldiers would also be murdered by Republicans as a consequence of their past associations and it would be the year of Robert Nairac. The overall number of deaths would be down this year and sectarian killings would be reduced.

  25

  January

  The first death of the New Year was not long in coming and when it did so, it was a 15-month old toddler whose life was ended before it had begun by the men of evil. Glengormley was a Protestant/Loyalist stronghold in North Belfast and Harmin Park which the IRA chose to attack, is just off the Antrim Road. Today it is much more mixed and there has been recent sectarian trouble. A stolen car – taken from Ardiliea Street in the Nationalist Oldpark – packed with 100lbs of explosives was left outside residences in Harmin Park and a telephoned warning was called through the usual sources. These sources were generally the Samaritans or the Belfast Telegraph. The caller spoke of a 40-minute delay and the RUC and Army scrambled to evacuate the area. However, the bomb exploded prematurely with utterly tragic consequences.

  Graeme Dougan (15 months) was being rushed to safety by his 32-year old mother when the device exploded. The blast sprayed out lethal fragments of razor-sharp shrapnel and the baby was killed instantly and his mother seriously wounded. The blast caused major damage to many houses and fragments of the car were strewn along pavements and front gardens. To date the Provisionals have not issued either an
explanation or an apology for the murder of Graeme Dougan. Three days afterwards, the Provisional booby-trapped three lorries belonging to Protestant haulage companies in the same part of Glengormley.

  Hours later and deep in the heart of ‘Bandit Country,’ a four-man patrol of the Royal Highland Fusiliers was on the Dundalk Road in Crossmaglen when they were ambushed by PIRA gunmen armed with automatic weapons. Lance Corporal David Hind (23) was hit in the first salvo and slumped to the ground, mortally wounded and two other soldiers were hit. The surviving men, wounded and unwounded, battled it out with the gunmen who had used a nearby church as cover. Churchgoers were forced to take cover and the gunmen escaped across fields to a waiting van. Lance Corporal Hind from Kilmarnock died at the scene. In Newry, the IRA left a booby-trapped explosive device underneath a motorcycle outside a Protestant-owned pub in Merchants’ Quay. The 18-year old son of the pub owner was caught in the blast as it exploded and lost a hand and part of his foot. On the first day of the New Year, 1977, the Provisional IRA had killed a child and a soldier and maimed an innocent young man.

  A soldier died on the 2nd, and there is still some mystery surrounding his death. The author understands – but has not been able to receive absolute confirmation – that Sergeant Michael Unsworth (31) of the Royal Hampshire Regiment drowned in the River Bann following a helicopter accident. His funeral took place at the Military Cemetery in Tidworth, Hampshire. The incident occurred in the Bann which runs from Lough Beg, into the Irish Sea in North Antrim. The exact location of his drowning is unknown.

  On the 5th, there was a spate of bomb attacks in Protestant businesses in Belfast and the Crazy Prices Supermarket in Dunmurry was badly damaged by two large devices. In Grosvenor Road, between the Falls and the City Centre, a Carriers company was damaged by further devices. An electrical wholesalers in Stranmillis was also damaged and buses and lorries were hijacked at the Monagh roundabout in West Belfast as the Provisionals made it clear that in 1977, it was ‘business as usual.’ On the 6th, a firefight broke out between PIRA gunman and soldiers at Glen Road, Turf Lodge and two soldiers were badly wounded. Reinforcements were quickly on the scene and two gunmen were arrested at Norfolk Way, approximately 350 yards from the shooting, after a chase through the Granshas, and several weapons were seized. Both soldiers recovered in hospital.

  FIRST TOUR

  Ken Pettengale, Royal Green Jackets

  It was 1977, in South Armagh, and it was my first tour; I was 18, and I was shit scared. I was going to Bandit Country; this was the place where the IRA patrolled against you, in multiples the same as us. The difference was, they knew the ground and the people were friendly to them.

  During the build-up to this tour, I had heard loads of stories; the old sweats of the Battalion telling us what it was like. A bit of embroidery I suppose, but it had the effect they wanted – it got me worried. I did, however, feel confident in the NCOs that we had. My section commander, Derek ‘Randy’ Randall particularly made me feel safe. I knew if the shit hit the fan he would see me through it.

  The first day at Forkhill and we were out on a ‘familiarisation’ patrol. We had studied the ground for months from maps, models, photographs; the works. I knew who lived where, who associated with who, who drove what. No problems. But when we went out of the gates at the base, hard targeting for all we were worth, I was utterly fucking lost! I couldn’t remember which way north was, what roads I was on; sod all! I wasn’t going to survive this; couldn’t survive; I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing! It is no small miracle that I didn’t shoot a civilian on that patrol. Every time a curtain flicked, or someone ducked down in their garden, or bent down or opened a door or did any of the million things people did in a normal day, I saw a threat!

  For however long it lasted, I was a total liability on that patrol, and I knew that everyone could see it; I knew my mates knew I was fucking useless. As soon as it started, it finished. Even now when I think of that patrol, I know it seemed to be the longest period of my life and the shortest at the same time; weird. Back in through the gates and unload. I was shaking like a shitting dog! I was just waiting for everyone to rip the piss out of me for being a twat; but no-one did!

  I didn’t think I would get over the fear, and I made my mind up that it was going to be the last tour I ever did – no way could I cope with it for four months, let alone do it again! But I did settle. Everything started to become ‘normal’ to the point of boring, but I never forgot where we were, never forgot how dangerous a place it was, and I don’t suppose I ever will.

  On the 7th, the IRA managed to smuggle a 10lb device inside the security zone in Belfast City Centre and placed it inside a packed Wimpy Bar in Castle Lane, close to where the Abercorn Restaurant had been bombed with such tragic consequences, some five years earlier. A bag with wires was spotted and the area evacuated before it exploded causing devastation. The windows were blown out and the ground floor collapsed but there were no injuries. Staff had become suspicious when two girls of school age ordered ice cream and then ran out of the building before being served. The following day – a Saturday – a 28-year old man and a 13-year old boy were wounded in the Bawnmore Estate close to the Shore Road in North Belfast. It is likely that Loyalists were involved as the man was shot as he walked along the road and the boy was hit when shots were fired into his house. The boy was hit in the head and seriously wounded and the man was hit in the chest.

  On the Sunday, there was a miraculous escape for a former UDR man who was abducted by the IRA in the border area around South Armagh. He was dragged across the border and severely beaten with rifle butts and interrogated. His kidnappers insisted that he was still a member of the UDR and that his wife was also involved. After some hours of torture where, at one point, he was forced to kneel and say his prayers, he was released, bruised but alive, on Tullyette Road. On that same day at Newtownbutler, Co Fermanagh, a bomb disposal expert was killed attempting to defuse a milk churn bomb left outside an isolated shop by the Provisionals. Hereford-born Sergeant Martin Walsh (28) had been called out with EOD to examine the device, estimated to be 100lbs in weight after an armed gang had planted it earlier. Sergeant Walsh of the RAOC was observed to put his hands inside the churn and after several moments, suddenly shouted: ‘Oh, Christ, what’ve I got here?’ It detonated, killing him in the blink of an eye; his body was shredded by the blast, with body parts being found over 150 yards away.

  That evening in Belfast, a Loyalist group – thought to be the UFF – attempted to kill Catholics at the Blackstaff Pub on the Springfield Road. A gang planted a 5lb device at the rear of the pub which exploded moments after they drove off. A nearby shop was damaged as was the rear of the building and five customers were treated for cuts and shock. The following day, in Keady, Co Armagh, a PIRA bombing team crossed the border with the Republic – some two miles away – and planted several explosive and incendiary devices in the town. The devices went off very close together, and English’s grocery shop in Kinelowen Street and Mone’s furniture shop in Divis Street were very badly damaged. The town post office was hit as was Boyd’s grocers and a fireman received facial injuries in the subsequent fires. On the 11th, another soldier was killed, when Yorkshire-lad Gunner Edward ‘Ed’ Muller (18) of the Royal Artillery was shot dead in North Belfast. He was part of an RA unit setting up a snap VCP where the Oldpark Road meets Mayfair Street when a sniper, thought to have been firing from an upstairs window nearby, fired one round which hit the young soldier in the neck. He died at the scene and it was revealed that he was only two weeks from the end of his four-month tour.

  ED MULLER

  Graham Benton, Royal Artillery

  Ed was in only his first week in Belfast having just turned 18 and was undergoing assessment for duty with 32 Regiment having missed his own Regiment’s pre NI training. A former Junior Leader, Ed was destined for a long career but his life was cut terribly short. A memorial service was held in the Grand Central Hotel but having been posted to 49 Regiment
while they were already in Belfast, tragically no-one knew him. Little were we to know that just a short time later, another comrade would be cut down, also shot dead by a sniper. Ed was cremated at Rosehill Crematorium in Doncaster and his life is commemorated on the online book of remembrance.

  On the same day of Gunner Muller’s death, PIRA were also very active in nearby Snugville Road in the Crumlin, when three armed teenagers, including a member of Cumann na mBan, raided Christies’ shop and planted a bomb, attached to a can of petrol. Shortly after they had driven off in the direction of the Nationalist Oldpark, it exploded, causing a massive fire which gutted the shop.

  On the 13th, Sapper David Thompson (19) of the Royal Engineers was killed ‘somewhere in the Province.’ Other than the fact that the young Engineer was killed, sadly nothing further is known. Around the time of Sapper Thompson’s death, PIRA were busy causing chaos around the Province and keeping the SF on a state of perpetual alert. A milk churn packed with explosives was discovered and defused at Carrickedmond, Co Louth in the Irish Republic by Gardaí. The device left in an abandoned car was also stacked with petrol and another 150lb device was found nearby. It is thought that at least one of the cars would be taken over the border and detonated outside an RUC station. The area where the explosives were discovered is only two-three miles from the Army base at Forkhill in the North. In Lisnaskea the IRA detonated a bomb at Bryson’s Chemists having left it in the shop doorway and left the owner and his wife the daunting task of stepping over it. A further device exploded in Dowler’s Timber yard at the Newtownbutler end of the Co Fermanagh border town. In Omagh, an unknown terrorist grouping attacked a hotel in the town where a wedding was taking place. A device weighing 5lbs was left in the Knocknamoe Hotel and all the wedding guests including the distraught bride and groom were evacuated to safety. The device was attached to a gallon can of petrol and left outside the manager’s office.