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On a trip to Scarborough today we paid a visit to the town's cemetery to look for Peter's last resting place which we found easily:
It is obviously cared for and in good condition so we left our calling card after paying our respects to him and a fellow Green Howard a couple of headstones away.
From "Lost Lives (2004)" -
16 (sic) September 1971
Peter Herrington, North Belfast, Soldier, Green Howards, 26, married, 3 children
The lance corporal was shot by a republican sniper in the Ardoyne as he and other members of his unit provided cover for a colleague who was attempting to dismantle a bomb. L/Cpl Herrington, the fourth member of his regiment to be killed in 6 weeks, had taken up position at the corner of Flax Street and Brompton Park when his unit came under attack.
The shooting happened just after 8am following a report that a bomb was lying at the junction of Flax Street and Brompton Park. Another L/Cpl had removed wires leading from the 22lb device which had been placed in an old tyre. As he walked away, however, a gunman at the end of Etna Drive fired 7 to 10 shots. L/Cpl Herrington died immediately and one of his colleagues was seriously injured. A third soldier received a flesh wound.
The patrol tried to take cover and did not return fire. Earlier soldiers had told residents to stay indoors and not leave their homes until the bomb was dismantled. When the attack took place, in the otherwise deserted street, they were relatively exposed targets. One bullet narrowly missed a scrap dealer who was in a caravan at the end of Brompton Park. The bullet passed through the caravan just missing his head. He said later, “I was very lucky. I got up immediately and saw on soldier lying in the middle of the road.”
It is thought the bomb was intended for a mobile army patrol. A shopkeeper from the area said people had noticed the tyre earlier and a wire running away from it. ”Troops came into the shop and asked me to shut the premises while they investigated. I went to my home a few yards away for a cup of tea and had just sat down when I heard the shots.” A woman living in Flax Street said, “There had been shooting in the area all night. It started about 1.15am. We noticed the bomb early this morning but we did not see the shooting incident.”
L/Cpl Herrington had arrived in Northern Ireland with his regiment 2 months earlier. At the inquest into his death it was claimed the gunman had been given cover by a crowd standing at the top of the street. The L/Cpl who had dealt with the bomb said that as his fatally wounded colleague was being put into an ambulance the crowd laughed and sneered at the remaining soldiers. The coroner said it almost passed belief how people could stand and laugh at anyone who had been shot. “It shows a mentality which is difficult to understand,” he said.
(Colleague Malcolm Hatton was killed on 9th August 1971 during heavy gun battles between troops and the ira in the Ardoyne where the Army had deployed in force during the introduction of interment without trial. He was the first of 5 Green Howards to be killed in or close to the Ardoyne within a 2 month period.)
Lest we forget.
It is obviously cared for and in good condition so we left our calling card after paying our respects to him and a fellow Green Howard a couple of headstones away.
From "Lost Lives (2004)" -
16 (sic) September 1971
Peter Herrington, North Belfast, Soldier, Green Howards, 26, married, 3 children
The lance corporal was shot by a republican sniper in the Ardoyne as he and other members of his unit provided cover for a colleague who was attempting to dismantle a bomb. L/Cpl Herrington, the fourth member of his regiment to be killed in 6 weeks, had taken up position at the corner of Flax Street and Brompton Park when his unit came under attack.
The shooting happened just after 8am following a report that a bomb was lying at the junction of Flax Street and Brompton Park. Another L/Cpl had removed wires leading from the 22lb device which had been placed in an old tyre. As he walked away, however, a gunman at the end of Etna Drive fired 7 to 10 shots. L/Cpl Herrington died immediately and one of his colleagues was seriously injured. A third soldier received a flesh wound.
The patrol tried to take cover and did not return fire. Earlier soldiers had told residents to stay indoors and not leave their homes until the bomb was dismantled. When the attack took place, in the otherwise deserted street, they were relatively exposed targets. One bullet narrowly missed a scrap dealer who was in a caravan at the end of Brompton Park. The bullet passed through the caravan just missing his head. He said later, “I was very lucky. I got up immediately and saw on soldier lying in the middle of the road.”
It is thought the bomb was intended for a mobile army patrol. A shopkeeper from the area said people had noticed the tyre earlier and a wire running away from it. ”Troops came into the shop and asked me to shut the premises while they investigated. I went to my home a few yards away for a cup of tea and had just sat down when I heard the shots.” A woman living in Flax Street said, “There had been shooting in the area all night. It started about 1.15am. We noticed the bomb early this morning but we did not see the shooting incident.”
L/Cpl Herrington had arrived in Northern Ireland with his regiment 2 months earlier. At the inquest into his death it was claimed the gunman had been given cover by a crowd standing at the top of the street. The L/Cpl who had dealt with the bomb said that as his fatally wounded colleague was being put into an ambulance the crowd laughed and sneered at the remaining soldiers. The coroner said it almost passed belief how people could stand and laugh at anyone who had been shot. “It shows a mentality which is difficult to understand,” he said.
(Colleague Malcolm Hatton was killed on 9th August 1971 during heavy gun battles between troops and the ira in the Ardoyne where the Army had deployed in force during the introduction of interment without trial. He was the first of 5 Green Howards to be killed in or close to the Ardoyne within a 2 month period.)
Lest we forget.
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