1972: IRA bomb kills six at Aldershot barracks

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1972: IRA bomb kills six at Aldershot barracks

Five women and an army priest have been killed in an IRA bomb attack on
the 16th Parachute Brigade headquarters at Aldershot, Hampshire.

The Official IRA says the attack is in revenge for the events in Londonderry on 30 January when 13 civilians were shot dead by the Parachute Regiment.

Its spokesman in Dublin said the attack was the first in a series of operations aimed at British headquarters of regiments serving in Northern Ireland.

A massive car bomb exploded at lunchtime in a car park outside the officers' mess killing five female kitchen staff and Padre Weston, and injured 19 others.

The force of the blast was felt a mile away in Aldershot town centre.

Fragments of the car were found and police say they are looking for the owner of a 1971 light-blue Ford Cortina, probably stolen.

b]'Tremendous priest'[/b]

Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Howlett, commanding officer of the 2nd battalion, the Parachute Regiment, paid tribute to Captain Gerry Weston, 37, who died in the explosion.

"Padre Weston was an absolutely tremendous Roman Catholic priest," he said.

"He did a tremendous amount to try and bridge the gap between the Catholic community and the Catholic Church and our soldiers.

"And he was continually going around into Catholic estates to try and achieve this, very often by himself and obviously completely unarmed and dressed as a priest."

The Home Secretary, Reginald Maudling, broke the news to stunned MPs at the House of Commons and said police were doing all in their power to track down the bombers.

Brigadier Rowley Manns, acting head of the South-East District, condemned the "senseless killing" of civilians and said Aldershot was an open-plan garrison and difficult to defend.

In Context

The events of 30 January 1972 came to be known as Bloody Sunday.

The Aldershot bombing, which killed a total of seven people, was the first of a wave of revenge IRA bombings against army targets on the mainland throughout the 1970s.

Noel Jenkinson was jailed for life for the bombings in November 1972 and died in prison of a heart attack four years later.

An inquiry into Bloody Sunday headed by Lord Widgery in 1972 exonerated the Army.

It said their firing had "bordered on the reckless" but said the troops had been fired upon first and some of their victims had been armed.

The results of the inquiry were rejected by the Catholic community who began a long campaign for a fresh investigation.

In 1998, Tony Blair's government announced a new inquiry into Bloody Sunday.

The inquiry headed by Lord Saville has not yet delivered its conclusion.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/d...00/2519029.stm

[Guest Close Slopjockey]

I met a bloke whose mother was killed at Aldershot. He was a boy at the time but went on to join the Para Reg. The effect of his mother losing her life sent him over the edge and he ended up in an armed standoff with police in London whilst still serving. He got the help he needed and is now a succesful businessman. He also became a close friend of the bobby who negotiated with him.
It just shows how these things affect people for years afterwards

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Capt ( Rev Father ) Gerard Edward WESTON MBE RACD aged 38.

He came from my hometown of Liverpool were he was born in 1933 on the 20 th October .
He was murder by the Official IRA on the 22 February 1972. When a car bomb which exploded outside the officers’ mess of 16th Parachute Brigade, in Pennefathers Road Aldershot .
He lays at rest in the Churchyard of St Peter & Paul Church on the Liverpool Road Crosby which just out side Liverpool on the road to Southport.
If you wish to visit you can find his grave at Sec E Grave Number 099

He had been made an MBE for gallantry while serving in Ulster. He had been working to bring peace to the fractured province and pull the community together.

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The Officers Mess Staff that died in blast

We pay tribute to the six people who died in the blast zone on that fateful day 36years ago.

Thelma Bosley was a 44-year-old divorcee and mother to four boys. She had recently moved into a new council house in Sandy Hill and was already popular with her neighbours. She took pride in her home, devoting her time to decorating and furnishing it.

Margaret Grant, 32, was happily married to James, a former member of the Parachute Regiment. The family, of Salerno Crescent, Aldershot, had planned to emigrate to Canada to start a new life.

John Haslar, 58, of Highfield Gardens, Aldershot, had been a gardener at the officers’ mess since moving to the area around 1958. He was having his lunch in the rest room when the bomb went off. His brother-in-law, Alfred Drane, went to the scene to identify John’s body after hearing of the bomb on the radio.

Joann Lunn, 39, lived at Southside, Tongham, with her bricklayer husband Brian and children Brenda, 19, Angela, 17, and Melvin, 14. She was a keen supporter of the Tongham Scouts and Guides.

Jill Mansfield, 34, of Herrett Street, Aldershot, left behind her only son, eight-year-old Dean. Her sister Yvonne, of Denmark Square, Aldershot, had waited at the bottom of Hospital Hill for her to finish work that day.

Sheri Munton was 20 years old. She lived in Eggars Hill, Aldershot, with her mother Joyce and stepfather Peter and was the youngest to die in the blast. She had dreams of becoming a model.

[Guest Close Keihud]

The Officers Mess Staff that died in blast

We pay tribute to the six people who died in the blast zone on that fateful day 36years ago.

Thelma Bosley was a 44-year-old divorcee and mother to four boys. She had recently moved into a new council house in Sandy Hill and was already popular with her neighbours. She took pride in her home, devoting her time to decorating and furnishing it.

Margaret Grant, 32, was happily married to James, a former member of the Parachute Regiment. The family, of Salerno Crescent, Aldershot, had planned to emigrate to Canada to start a new life.

John Haslar, 58, of Highfield Gardens, Aldershot, had been a gardener at the officers’ mess since moving to the area around 1958. He was having his lunch in the rest room when the bomb went off. His brother-in-law, Alfred Drane, went to the scene to identify John’s body after hearing of the bomb on the radio.

Joann Lunn, 39, lived at Southside, Tongham, with her bricklayer husband Brian and children Brenda, 19, Angela, 17, and Melvin, 14. She was a keen supporter of the Tongham Scouts and Guides.

Jill Mansfield, 34, of Herrett Street, Aldershot, left behind her only son, eight-year-old Dean. Her sister Yvonne, of Denmark Square, Aldershot, had waited at the bottom of Hospital Hill for her to finish work that day.

Sheri Munton was 20 years old. She lived in Eggars Hill, Aldershot, with her mother Joyce and stepfather Peter and was the youngest to die in the blast. She had dreams of becoming a model.

[Guest Close Micky2436]

RIP.