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22 - 25
SEPTEMBER 2003
Evidence heard
This week the Inquiry heard from the following witnesses:
Soldier U (Private, Motor Platoon, Support Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment); INQ 2121 (Lance Corporal, 8 Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment); Soldier J (Lance Corporal, Anti Tank Platoon, Support Company 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment); INQ 631 (Gunner, 11 Battery, 22 Light Air Defence Regiment); INQ 2107 (Lieutenant, 11 Platoon, 42 Battery, 22 Light Air Defence Regiment); INQ 1325 (Captain, 15 Battery, 22 Light Air Defence Regiment); Soldier 227 (Lieutenant, 53 Battery, 22 Light Air Defence Regiment); Soldier 014 (Sergeant, Guinness Force, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment) and Soldier Z (Lance Bombardier, 22 Light Air Defence Regiment).
Summary of Evidence
Monday 22 September 2003 Soldier U, INQ 2121
Tuesday 23 September 2003 Soldier J
Wednesday 24 September 2003 INQ 631, INQ 2701, INQ 1325, Soldier 227
Thursday 25 September 2003 Soldier 014, Soldier Z
A full transcript of the proceedings is available at http://www.bloody-sunday-inquiry.org.uk.
Numbers in square brackets refer to the code given to a particular document by the Inquiry.
INTRODUCTION
This week the Inquiry heard from three more soldiers who admit to having fired on Bloody Sunday. Soldier U was in motor platoon and fired from the north end of Block 1 possibly killing Hugh Gilmour. Soldier J was in anti tank platoon and admits to firing two rounds in Rossville Street. INQ 2121 participated with Soldier J in the 1999 Paras/Telegraph campaign for anonymity. Both witnesses were screened from the public and the families. Soldier 227 saw Bernard McGuigan killed by a Para in Glenfada Park. Soldier Z was in the 22nd Light Air Defence Regiment and fired a round from close to barrier 13 in Sackville Street. Soldier 014 was in Guinness Force and is a witness to Soldier L and Soldier M firing from the low wall at Kells Walk. INQ 2107 kept a journal giving a diary of some events at Craigavon Bridge.
Soldier U
Private, Motor Platoon, Support Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment
Made Statements to the RMP on 31 January 1972 [B0748] and 4 February 1972 [B0759], to the Widgery Tribunal on 5 March 1972 [B0768] and to this Inquiry on 24 March 2000 [B07878.0001]
Soldier U was a private in Support Company’s motor platoon. His memory of the briefing prior to 30 January 1972 was that they were to conduct an arrest operation. However it was to be different to other arrest operations they had conducted in so far as there was to be no “safety valve.” Normally they would allow an escape route so that those caught up in a riot could run away. On this occasion Soldier U was briefed that they would have all exits cut off so that they could arrest everyone.
Soldier U said the plan was for motor platoon to go in via a church and other units would come in from other directions. Rioters would be trapped in William Street in front of the church. Soldier U said he thought they were being sent to Derry so that they could go in hard and make arrests rather than the local regiments who would then be berated the next day. He had seen reports on the news of the ‘no go’ areas and he knew the situation in Derry was sensitive. He did not remember being told about the Rossville Flats or other danger areas. They were always prepared to encounter gunmen.
He said they did not need to be told what to do if a riot turned into a gun battle. If they heard shooting they would not deploy without their rifles. He did not remember much about deploying in Derry other than waiting around on a sloping street lined with railings. He recalled hearing over the radio that a riot was developing. All he wanted to know was when they were going in. Someone said they were waiting for orders from London.
Presbyterian Church
Soldier U said they moved to a church and he was ordered onto a roof to observe the barricades and the Rossville Flats. He did not know the names of the streets or flats at the time. Soldier U described the roof he was on as being to the left of the church as he faced the Rossville Flats. He was not happy about being on the roof because he had no cover. From the roof he could see Aggro Corner and some of the crowd. It was noisy but he did not see anyone throwing missiles. However he had said in his statement to the Widgery tribunal that people were throwing stones at the troops on the roof of the GPO and that they replied with rubber bullets. CS gas drifted over from the area of the barrier in William Street (Barrier 14) which angered him because they did not like gas to be used. It meant they had to wear gas masks which made seeing and breathing more difficult. He could not remember who else was on the roof but his platoon commander, Lieutenant N, came up at some point.
Drainpipe Shot
Whilst he was on the roof Soldier U remembers hearing a high velocity shot which struck the drainpipe on the church behind him. He believed the shot was fired at him from the approximate direction of the Rossville Flats. Lieutenant N may have been on the roof at this time. They got down pretty quickly. He has no memory of hearing SLR fire at this time.
In his statement to this Inquiry Soldier U said there was a consensus of opinion that the situation had changed as a result of this shot. However in evidence he said this was just his own opinion. In any event they decided to take their SLRs in with them when they deployed because they believed there were gunmen in the area. Soldier U carried an SLR and 90 rounds of ammunition. He had 20 rounds in the magazine attached to his rifle, another 20 in a spare magazine and 50 in a bandolier. He was tasked to carry re-supply ammunition for anyone who needed it.
There was a problem with the original plan which had been to drive through or go over a wall next to the church. Soldier U said he felt the time was right to go in and they should have gone in sooner than they did. Eventually the order came to mount up. Soldier U was tasked to protect a soldier who was carrying only a baton gun. He said he could not remember being with Soldier 112 but he did have a baton gun and says he was paired with Soldier U.
Going In
Soldier U said he had a mental picture of being in a pig driven by Soldier S and going through a barrier. His usual place in the pig was next to the radio operator. There was a pecking order and people usually occupied the same seats. The radio operator sat behind the driver. Soldier U remembered being able to see out of the front of the pig over people’s shoulders.
Soldier U said he remembered hearing stones and bottles hitting the pig as they drove in over bumpy ground. The pig then veered off to the left. He said they debussed from the pig before it came to a halt.
Gunfire
In his statement to this Inquiry Soldier U said he heard 4 to 5 rounds of automatic gunfire before debussing from the pig. He claimed to identify these as sounding like they came from a Thompson sub machine gun. However Christopher Clarke QC, counsel to the Inquiry, asked if he really could identify gunfire given the noise of the pig and his evidence that it was being stoned. Soldier U said that was his recollection. He had made this claim in his first RMP statement made on 31 January 1972. However in his Widgery statement he added the detail that he was sure the gunfire “was coming from the other side of Glenfada Park.” Soldier U said he did not know how he knew this.
Debussing
Soldier U said they debussed very soon after hearing the gunfire. He said he had a mental picture of being one of the first to debus but he could not reconcile this with his recollection of sitting next to the radio operator. He speculated that he may have moved to the rear of the pig before debussing. The Inquiry knows that Sergeant O’s pig, which was driven by Soldier S, stopped briefly in Rossville Street before turning onto the waste ground and coming to a halt in the mouth of the Rossville Flats car park. It is also known, because it can be seen on the video, that at least 4 men from motor platoon debussed in Rossville Street. Soldier U said he did not recall the pig stopping in Rossville Street.
Shooting and Chaos
Soldier U said his thoughts as he debussed were “where are the gunmen?” He said as he got out he peeled right and then headed south. He said it was a basic tactic in an ambush to head towards the gunfire. They had gone in further than he had expected and he found himself right underneath the high Rossville Flats. There were people all around. His main concern was to establish where the gunmen were but he could not see any. There was a lot of shooting and chaos. Soldier U said he knew had to make arrests and look out for gunmen.
In his Widgery statement he had said they jumped out of the vehicle in groups “as it proceeded.” The gas was clearing so he left his gas mask in the pig. He cocked his SLR as he got out. He was with a soldier with a baton gun. Soldier U was shown photographs and the video showing soldiers debussing from Sergeant O’s pig in Rossville Street and running across the waste ground. Soldier U said he could not say why soldiers would debus in the open if under fire.
Soldier U claims he was hit by stones and bottles thrown by members of the crowd. Although he said he could not now recall it he had said before that the soldier with him fired 4-5 baton rounds at the crowd. In his Widgery statement he claims to have come under automatic fire at this time. However he made no mention of being hit by missiles or coming under fire at this time in his RMP statements. He said he did not know why this was and he could not now recall the gunfire. In oral evidence to Lord Widgery (on 8 March 1972) he claimed not only to hear automatic fire but also to have seen the rounds strike the ground 9 feet away. Although later in his evidence [B0773] he said he could not remember the gunfire which he had first mentioned in a statement he made 3 days before.
Charles Canning
Soldier U said he saw a man who had thrown something at him and ran after him. The man slipped and Soldier U caught him. He hit him with the stock of his rifle to subdue him. He then took the man back to the pigs. He is pictured with Charles Canning in arrest photograph P0503.0004. The Arrest Report [ARR0008.0002] records Soldier U as having arrested Mr. Canning and Soldier 112 as a witness. Charles Canning has told the Inquiry that he saw two Paras, one who was firing his SLR towards the barricade. They ran over to him shouting. He dived to the ground and they kicked him until he got up. He was taken to a pig and assaulted. He was hit in the face with a rifle. The Para with the rifle kept threatening to shoot him. Other Paras were firing all over the place [AC0025.0005 and .0002].
Soldier U claims to have heard a second burst of gunfire while taking his prisoner back to the pigs. He said he turned around to face south and walked backwards holding his prisoner in front of him as a shield. He said the shots hit the ground to the south of his pig. He thought they were fired from Block 2 or 3 of the Rossville Flats. However he made no mention of coming under fire in his RMP statement. He handed the man he had arrested to someone at a pig. He cannot now be sure whether or not it was the pig he had travelled in. Mr. Canning is pictured walking towards the camera on Video 48 however the Para holding him is clearly not Soldier U because he is too short.
After leaving his prisoner with someone he continued to observe the flats. He claims not to remember his colleagues other than that there were on the waste ground, some to his left (i.e. east) and more on the other side of Rossville Street. In his Widgery statement he said he saw other members of motor platoon at the entrance to the Rossville Flats car park firing at a gunman. However by the time he gave evidence to Lord Widgery 3 days later he claimed to have seen and heard the gunman firing at the soldiers. He made no mention of either in his RMP statements. He denied discussing the evidence with other soldiers between making his RMP statement and giving evidence to Lord Widgery.
North end of Block 1
He says he noticed that no one was covering the north west corner of the gable end of Block 1 so he made his way there. He said he asked his partner to provide him with cover whilst he zig-zagged across to Block 1. He said he did not recall who his partner was. However if it was Soldier 112 he was armed with only a baton gun. He thought he was alone when he got to the corner. In his Widgery statement he had again said he came under fire, this time whilst running to Block 1. Both there and in oral evidence to Lord Widgery Soldier U claimed these shots struck the ground close to Major Loden’s command vehicle. He says he cannot now remember the command vehicle.
Rubble Barricade
From his position at the north west corner of Block 1 Soldier U said he looked south towards the rubble barricade. He said he could see down to Free Derry Corner and Bernadette Devlin on a flat platform. There were lots of people milling around. He also said he could hear gunfire in Glenfada Park and the Rossville Flats courtyard. There were soldiers on the other side of Rossville Street opposite his position. He said they were directly opposite him, not at the low wall at Kells Walk. There were about 5-6 of them in firing positions crouched behind a wall. They were already in position when he first saw them.
He claims he did not see soldiers behind him firing from the low wall at Kells Walk. However under cross examination at the Widgery tribunal he did admit to hearing high velocity gunfire in Glenfada Park after seeing troops heading in that direction down an alleyway. To this Inquiry he said he could not say whether these soldiers were the same as those he saw opposite him.
There were not many people at the rubble barricade when he took up his position. He claims not to have seen Michael Kelly shot or lying on the ground behind the barricade. Nor does he admit seeing John Young, Michael McDaid or William Nash fall.
Man with Pistol
Soldier U claims to have seen a group of men come out from the entrance to Glenfada Park and walk east across Rossville Street on the south side of the rubble barricade. They were walking quickly towards Block 1. Suddenly a guy in the middle of the group turned to face the barricade and pulled out a pistol. In his RMP statements Soldier U made no mention of people coming from Glenfada Park. He just referred to a gunman in the middle of the thinning crowd at the barricade. Soldier U claimed the man raised the pistol with both hands as if trying to get a sight and fired two quick shots. As he did this the others in the group scattered. Soldier U said the man was shooting at soldiers on the west side of Rossville Street. In his first RMP statement he said the man was firing at “other members of my unit on the opposite side of the road.” Soldier P and Soldier 017, also members of mortar platoon, were on the other side of Rossville Street. However Soldier U said by “my unit” he meant 1 Para. Soldier U described the gunman as in his late 20s to early 30s wearing a light blue anorak or jacket.
Soldier U said his rifle was probably already cocked. He took the safety catch off and fired a single round at the man from a standing position. He hit him in the centre of his body. He went down immediately. He just dropped to the floor. He was not thrown backwards. On a plan he marked for the purposes of this Inquiry Soldier U identified the position at which the man fell as near the west side of Rossville Street just short of the pavement outside Glenfada Park South [point ‘E’ on B0787.0038]. He said he could not have failed to hit the man he was so close.
On a trajectory photograph marked in 1972 he identified the location of the body as being on the pavement on the east side of Rossville Street about 100 yards away, just south of the end of Block 1. However on a plan marked when he made his statement to this Inquiry he placed the gunman on the other side of Rossville Street.
Soldier U also claims another man went down at the same time as the one he killed. The second man was behind (to the south) of the first. He went down clutching his head. Soldier U said he did not see if the second man had an injury but he thought he could have been hit by the same bullet. However he could have just been holding his ears because of the bang. He said he did not recall anyone going over to assist either man.
Reporting Firing
Soldier U claims he then stepped back and reported shooting the alleged gunman to Company Sergeant Major (CSM)Lewis who was standing next to him. He claimed that when he looked again the gunman had disappeared. CSM Lewis denies ever being told of Soldier U’s firing but Soldier U insisted to Gerard Elias QC, representing Mr. Lewis, that it was the CSM to who he reported. In his first RMP statement Soldier U said “I reported my hit to the CSM who was standing nearby and we were going forward to recover the body and weapon.” There he claimed he was prevented from getting to the body by a priest and a group of about 10 men who carried it off. He made no mention here of seeing other bodies at the rubble barricade or of watching them as they were collected by the army.
Hugh Gilmour
Hugh Gilmour was shot dead on Bloody Sunday. He came to rest just behind the south gable end of Block 1 but is pictured in photograph P0441 just north of the doorway to Block 1. In the photograph he appears to have just been shot. In his RMP statement Soldier 015, who was a sniper in a factory looking down Rossville Street, said he saw a man run towards the entrance to Block 1 when a soldier at the north west corner shot him in the back [B1414]. Soldier 015 subsequently changed his account claiming the man turned to face the soldier when he was shot.
When questioned by Arthur Harvey QC, representing amongst others the families of Hugh Gilmour and John Young, Soldier U agreed he had definitely killed someone on Bloody Sunday. He also said he had never shown any interest in finding out who it was he had killed and when asked if he would now help to identify the man he shot he said, “to be honest I’m not interested.” He said he was not surprised that no other soldier claims to have witnessed his alleged engagement.
Alexander Nash
Soldier U also claims to have seen an older man at the rubble barricade holding a young man in his arms. There was also another body at the barricade. The young man had a large patch of blood on his shirt. In evidence Soldier U said he saw a wound to the boy’s stomach. However he changed his evidence when he was told William Nash was not hit in the stomach. The older man said something like, “Help, he’s dying.”
Pistol Shots from Entrance to Block 1
Soldier U then claims to have seen an arm holding a pistol extend from the doorway to Block 1 near to the rubble barricade. The pistol was pointing towards the rubble barricade and he heard two shots. He said “I took it at the time that the gunman was shooting blind. Possibly at the soldiers at the wall.” Soldier U claims to have seen one of the shots hit the ground and ricochet to hit the old man in the arm. He claimed the second shot hit the young man in the head. He claimed the older man then laid the boy down saying “he’s dead.” He then wandered off in a daze. This account first appeared in his second RMP statement made 5 days later. He made no mention of it whatsoever in his first statement made in the early hours of 31 January 1972.
Soldier U claimed he did not fire at the gunman in the doorway because the target was too small and there were too many other people in the area. He said the soldiers on the other side of the road would have had a better view so he shouted across Rossville Street “grey doors.” He did not think they heard him. They did not fire at the target and he claims he did not see them fire at all.
There is a video clip (Video 48) which shows Alexander Nash waving from the rubble barricade. He was shot in the shoulder and was trying to stop the soldiers from firing. His was with the body of his son, William Nash, who had been shot in the chest and killed.
Kevin McElhinney
Soldier U claimed not to have witnessed anyone being shot as they crawled towards the entrance to Block 1. Sergeant K, Soldier L and Soldier M all claim to have fired on men crawling towards the doorway and Kevin McElhinney was killed as he was crawling for safety. This happened directly in front of Soldier U but he said he knew nothing about it. Father Bradley witnessed the firing towards the rubble barricade before he was arrested where he stood at the south gable end of Glenfada Park North. He said he saw a soldier at the north end of Block 1 and at this time saw bullets strike the pavement and ricochet towards Free Derry Corner.
Picking Up Bodies
Soldier U watched from his position as a pig advanced towards the rubble barricade and collected three bodies. He saw two bodies picked up by soldiers from the central area of the barricade. A third body was collected but he did not see exactly where it came from. He thought it was towards the Glenfada Park side of the rubble barricade because the barricade was higher there and he had not seen the third body before it was lifted. Soldier U said he had to intervene to stop people, including women, who were giving the soldiers collecting the bodies “a bit of stick.” He said he stepped forward to move in between the locals and the soldiers collecting the bodies.
John Young
Soldier U said he still had a very vivid picture in his mind of the face of a young boy as he was carried to the pig. He had been shot in the head and appeared to have bitten through his tongue. He saw a small entry and exit wound in the boy’s temple. He said he had had nightmares about the face and could not believe how young he looked. There was also a priest who Soldier U described as walking alongside the soldiers carrying the bodies.
In his statement to this Inquiry Soldier U said “I do not now think he was a gunman. I don’t know who shot him or why.” However in evidence he insisted he believed he was not shot by the army.
Soldier U denied any knowledge of the argument Father Irwin had with soldiers who denied him access to the bodies in the pig.
Gunmen at Free Derry Corner
Later Soldier U said he heard gunfire and saw everyone in Free Derry Corner run off. Two vehicles then arrived from opposite directions and stopped facing each other. About 5-6 guys got out of one car and 4-5 from the other. He thought they were carrying rifles and pistols. They were crouched and looking around like trained soldiers. He did not hear or see any of them shoot and said he could not fire at them himself because there were people between him and the gunmen. Soldier U said he would have reported this sighting of gunmen but could not recall doing so.
Soldier U said he could not remember hearing a ceasefire order or seeing Colonel Wilford at any stage.
Statements
Soldier U said he was interviewed by the RMP either later that night or the next day. He said he was not allowed to say all he had seen because the RMP interviewer only wanted to know what he had done. In his statement to this Inquiry he said, “we knew the RMP only ever asked us to make statements if they wanted to arrest us.”
Second RMP Statement
Soldier U made another statement to the RMP 5 days later. This was when he mentioned the pistol shots hitting Mr. Nash and his son. In the statement Soldier U said he had seen an television interview Mr. Nash gave from his hospital bed a couple of days after Bloody Sunday. He asserts Mr. Nash was the man he had seen shot from the entrance to Block 1.
In the interview, [Video 4 and transcript X1.0004.0007], Mr. Nash explains how he was crossing Rossville Street when he saw 3 bodies at the rubble barricade. He raised his arm to stop the soldiers firing and was shot in the shoulder. He remained beside his son’s dead body waving at the soldiers 50 yards away. William Nash was already dead by the time his father got to him. Michael Mansfield QC demonstrated Soldier U’s statement was wrong in almost every respect. Mr. Nash never sat his son up however Soldier U required this to have happened for him to have seen him and for him to be hit by another bullet. William Nash had a single wound to his chest not one to his stomach and another in the head as Soldier U claimed. He was wearing a waistcoat so Soldier U could not have seen either his wound or a blood stained shirt as he claimed. Mr. Nash senior was hit in the left arm, not the right as was stated in the statement. Michael Mansfield QC, representing the Nash family, put it to him that that statement was a blatant attempt to explain death and injury at the rubble barricade and deflect blame from the army.
Soldier U said it did not occur to him to tell Mr. Nash at the time that he had heard his call for help.
Guy In a Suit
Soldier U said he also remembered speaking to a guy in a suit in Major Loden’s office or Lieutenant N’s office back at Palace Barracks. Soldier U said he had no idea who the man was but he took him through the chronology and made notes. He allowed him to go into detail so he told the man more about what he remembered. However he does not remember signing a statement on this occasion. He had never seen a written record of this account. He had never asked anyone to find it.
Elated
Soldier U said he felt elated when the day was over. He said everyone was on a high. He said, “we had been in, engaged gunmen and shot them.” He said “we did a good job.” When they were back at barracks people all around were saying “well done,” it was like a mutual appreciation society.
Loden Shot List
Soldier U said he had no recollection of sitting in Major Loden’s pig telling him about the gunman whom he had fired at. He was recently shown a copy of Major Loden’s purported list of engagements but had never seen it before then. His alleged shooting of a gunman with a pistol does not accord with any of the alleged engagements on the shot list. Soldier U accepted he had not told Major Loden about his firing.
Soldier U said he thought there was an ammunition check done whilst he was still at the gable end of Block 1 but he could not recall it. Ammunition was always checked as soon as possible after a firing incident to ensure no one was left short of ammunition in the event that firing started again. He claimed he was never aware of anyone carrying private supplies of ammunition.
Widgery Tribunal
Soldier U said that just before he gave evidence to Lord Widgery he was told “just say it as it happened” and not to be flowery or exaggerate. He was told some of those questioning him would try to make out he had fired indiscriminately. He said he felt as if he was on trial at Widgery and that he felt on trial when giving his statement to this Inquiry. He said one of the main reasons for the current Inquiry was that there were no Paras killed. He said this was pure luck and they were now being punished for not remembering all the details.
INQ 2121
Lance Corporal, 8 Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment
Made Statements to this Inquiry on 8 January 2001 [C2121.0005] and 9 February 2001 [C2121.0007]
INQ 2121 was screened from view from the public and families. He has expressed fears about reprisals against him or his family.
On 30 January 1972 INQ 2121 drove one of C Company’s pigs, the one belonging to 8 platoon’s sergeant. They were deployed with the rest of C Company to the forming up position (FUP) at Clarence Avenue however when they moved forward, prior to actually being sent into the Bogside, his pig broke down. After a few minutes the platoon sergeant decided the others should go in in the remaining vehicles whilst INQ 2121 and another soldier were left to guard the vehicle. They were on a hill in a residential area.
Later the 1 Para battalion medical officer (MO) came up and asked them to be his armed escort into the Bogside. They arranged for another unit to look after the pig and got in the MO’s ambulance pig. INQ 2121 said he knew what was going on once he got in the MO’s pig because he had a radio tuned to the company net. They heard that there were casualties and in the background over the speakers he could hear high velocity gunfire. They then drove into the Bogside.
There is a photograph of the army ambulance in Rossville Street [P0520]. It was taken from a window in Block 1 of the Rossville Flats and shows a pig with a red cross on the bonnet parked in the middle of Rossville Flats between pigs to its left and right. However INQ 2121 said he could not recall the ambulance being in the position pictured.
Gunfire
INQ 2121 claimed that as he debussed from the pig he immediately came under fire from the roof of the Rossville Flats. He said he heard the crack of two high velocity shots passing over his head. In his statement to the Inquiry he said the reports sounded lighter than that from an SLR. When he gave evidence he was more certain saying he knew the shots were not SLR. They were definitely incoming.
PRAXIS - Soldier X – Interview with Channel 4
INQ 2121 admits to having given interviews to Channel 4’s Lena Ferguson. In this interview he described being fired on but then claimed one of the shots hit the roof of the pig. He now says he is not sure whether or not it did. He also said the shot which hit the pig may have come from a Thompson. He accepts he could not identify the gunfire he heard and has previously claimed it was high velocity. He said others had identified Thompson sub-machine guns. In another passage he is recorded as having said “certainly there was a Thompson sub-machine gun.” He also claims to have examined the roof of the pig to look for a strike mark. Where the Praxis notes say he said “certainly individuals did over react” INQ 2121 says this was just hearsay and referred only to Soldier H. He said he was just referring to barrack room gossip. He denied that he had referred to Soldier H as “the nutcase” or that he was “considered a lunatic.” INQ 2121 said he knew Soldier H very well and had a lot of respect for him. He said he was sensible and honest. However in his statement he said he knew something was not right about his claim to have fired 20 shots at a window. He heard about this from a number of other soldiers and did not believe it.
Gunman on Roof of Block 1
INQ 2121 claims to have taken cover behind the door of the pig and from there observed a figure running across the roof of Block 1 of the Rossville Flats. He claimed the person ran from the north east to north west corner and was carrying something long in both hands. He formed the impression it was a weapon. He only saw the person for a few seconds and could not be positive they had a weapon.
He says he shouted a warning to the others and cocked his weapon but by the time he raised it to his shoulder the figure had disappeared. He says he did not hear any other shooting. The MO got out of the pig and was tending to a soldier injured by acid.
At some point, it may have been later, he saw prisoners being escorted away.
Interview with Toby Harnden of the Daily Telegraph
INQ 2121 was also the source for two articles by Toby Harnden as part of the soldiers’ campaign for anonymity at the Inquiry. He is the soldier referred to as Soldier Y in two articles which appeared in May 1999. INQ 2121 claimed he could not recall who the intermediary was who introduced him to Mr. Harnden even though he said it was someone he knew very well and it was someone involved in the Channel 4 Praxis interviews. He also claimed he did not know who was the source for Mr. Harnden’s Soldier X. Soldier J has since admitted he is this Soldier X. INQ 2121 is still in contact with Soldier J but claims they never discussed the Harnden article. Mr. Harnden interviewed INQ 2121 at his home not in a pub as he had said in his statement.
In one article [L0282], ‘We Want Truth of Bloody Sunday to Come Out’, INQ 2121 is quoted as saying he caught a “fleeting glimpse of a boy with a long arm rifle standing on the right hand corner of the Rossville Flats.” He also said again he thought one of the two shots fired at him had hit the vehicle. He is also quoted as saying of the Inquiry, “There will be twice as many Nationalist witnesses as there were present on the day and we will be found guilty.” INQ 2121 said he was not sure he had said this but said “we have been found guilty for the past 20 years.”
INQ 2121 said he was motivated to give the interviews he had to Mr. Harnden because he had read a lot of propaganda about what happened on Bloody Sunday and he wanted to give a counter view. He accepted his experience was limited to one incident. INQ 2121 claimed in his statement to never having been aware of anyone having extra rounds but in fact just before Bloody Sunday a corporal in his platoon (INQ 1334) was demoted to lance corporal for possessing illegal ammunition. INQ 2121 claimed he could not remember the incident.
Soldier J
Lance Corporal, Anti Tank Platoon, Support Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment
Made Statements to the RMP on 1 February 1972 [B0266] and 4 February 1972 [B0269], to the Widgery Tribunal [B0274] and to this Inquiry on 1 March 2000 [B0289.0001], supplemental [B0289.0028]
Soldier J was screened from the public and families.
Soldier J joined the Parachute Regiment in 1966. He was on his second tour of Northern Ireland in 1972. His first tour was in 1969. They left again in January 1970 and returned in September 1970. However immediately before Bloody Sunday Soldier J had been training in Cyprus with the RAF. He was with Sergeant O. They both arrived back in Belfast on the morning of 30 January 1972 and were taken straight to Palace Barracks just in time to board the anti tank platoon pig bound for Derry.
Soldier J described soldiers E and G who are both dead. E was about 5 feet 6 inches tall. G was and inch taller and had blond, reddish hair. He also described their accents but for some reason this was redacted from his statement.
Soldier J said he got some sort of briefing whilst they were on the road. He said he did not recall Soldier 027 or anyone saying “let’s get some kills.”
Presbyterian Church
At the Presbyterian Church Soldier J recalls hearing bangs and other sounds all around. He heard baton guns and CS gas being fired. He did not recall the shot which hit the drainpipe. He put his gas mask on and the Company Sergeant Major ordered them back to their vehicles. He did not recall any change in plan.
Going In
They drove into the Bogside and debussed. Soldier J recalled standing by a low wall on the west side of Rossville Street. He claimed he had no memory of anything but the incidents in which he fired but said his earlier statements would have been accurate. Soldier J said he did not know why his first RMP statement was not taken until two days later.
Automatic Gunfire
In his first RMP statement he said he heard what sounded like automatic fire as he advanced down Rossville Street towards rioters congregated at the rubble barricade. In his Widgery statement he said they parked by a derelict house in Rossville Street and he heard what he took to be automatic fire. He and another soldier took up positions by one of the derelict houses. They were there for about 5 minutes. In evidence to Lord Widgery he had said he heard automatic fire coming from the direction of the Rossville Flats. Soldier J said he had no memory of any of this.
In his first statement he said he came under fire and heavy stoning as he advanced towards the rubble barricade. He said shots were being fired from the barricade. Again he said he did not now remember this. In his Widgery statement he had said that stones, bottles and nail bombs were thrown from the rubble barricade before any shooting. He claimed to have seen a nail bomb explode. However he had made no mention of these nail bombs in either of his earlier RMP statements. Soldier J said he could not now recall nail bombs and did not know why he had not mentioned them originally.
Gunmen
His Widgery statement went on to say he saw about three people behind the barricade and could see smoke coming from their rifles. He heard shots going over his head and took cover behind a wall with at least 2 other soldiers. These soldiers engaged 2 gunmen at the barricade. Soldier J said he could not recall who these two soldiers were or even seeing the gunmen at the barricade. He said he could not recall who was at the wall but he did not think the whole anti tank platoon was at the wall, nor did he think he was with soldiers from any other unit.
Firing from Beyond the Kells Walk wall
In the manuscript version of his first RMP statement Soldier J describes his position as about 10 metres east of the entrance to Glenfada Park. This is much further forward, i.e. closer to the barricade, than the low wall at Kells Walk. However in the typed version of the statement this description is omitted and he says he was 100 metres from the barricade.
No member of anti tank platoon admits to firing at a gunman at the barricade. Soldier E claims to have fired from the Kells Walk low wall at a sniper with a pistol in Block 1. Soldier F claims to have fired at a nail bomber at the barricade. Soldier J claimed he did not recall Soldier E or F firing.
Nail Bomber
Then in his first RMP statement Soldier J said he saw a youth at the barricade in a throwing position with an object in his hand. He claimed to have seen smoke coming from the object and levelled his rifle at the man. The rifle was already cocked. Although in evidence he said he knew he could see smoke coming from the object which he identified as a nail bomb, Soldier J also said everything “seems a bit obscure now.”
On a map he marked when giving his statement to Eversheds Soldier J identified the position of the nail bomber as approximately the curb of the pavement on the west side of Rossville Street. However on his trajectory photograph marked in 1972 he placed his target on the east side of Rossville Street. On the map attached to his RMP statement he placed the nail bomb south of the rubble barricade, at the junction of Rossville Street and the entrance to Glenfada Park. Soldier J said he thought this was wrong and the man was at the barricade. However he said he could not recall.
In his second RMP statement he said “members of my company” returned fire at nail bombers at the barricade but he could not then identify them because they were all wearing gas masks. Christopher Clarke QC, counsel to the inquiry, asked Soldier J how he could see smoke and identify a nail bomb 75 yards away but not recognise a colleague standing next to him? Soldier J said he was very fit at the time and his gas mask would therefore not have been steamed up. He refused to accept the person he fired at might just have been throwing a stone.
In his statement to the Inquiry Soldier J said he visualised the nail bomber rising up from behind the barricade.
Soldier J said because of the blast radius of a nail bomb the man he shot was endangering his life even though he could not have thrown a bomb 75 yards. In his recent statement he said he saw a puff of smoke as the shot he fired hit the barricade. He said he was sure he had missed because he saw the man duck down.
Deaths at Rubble Barricade
Soldier F shot and killed Michael Kelly from the low wall at which Soldier J was standing. Michael Kelly was possibly the first to be shot at the rubble barricade. However Soldier J insisted he could not tell who was firing because of the gas masks. He said he did not know why he failed to see Michael Kelly, John Young, Michael McDaid and William Nash killed. He also claims not to have seen Hugh Gilmour shot as he ran to the entrance to Block 1.
Soldier J said he presumed Lieutenant 119, his platoon commander, was behind him with his signaller and the platoon sergeant (INQ 1694). He said he presumed Lieutenant 119 was over seeing the firing but he was not aware of him being present or giving any orders.
Soldier 027 described the firing at the barricade as follows:
“Soldier F went into a kneeling position and started firing into the centre of the crowd. Soldier G immediately jumped down beside him and also opened fire. INQ 635 also fired.. ….I could see no one with a weapon.” He said that to say he was amazed was inadequate. He wondered if they knew something he did not. He did not know what they were firing at. He also saw soldiers from another platoon “pumping off rounds.” He estimated 100 rounds were fired in 30 seconds. Several people dropped. Soldiers were elbowing their way to the front to get into firing positions. He said the “blokes were getting in while the going was good.” A corporal from Guinness Force pushed in and began firing. He thought it was great, he was exuberant. Major Loden then shouted a ceasefire.
Soldier J said Lieutenant 119 shouted a ceasefire at the end of the action.
Second Nail Bomber
Soldier J moved directly from the low wall to the pram ramp at Glenfada Park. He said he was not on his own. In his first RMP statement he claimed as he advanced several nail bombs were thrown and two exploded. He alleged these were thrown from the barricade. He then claims to have seen another man about to throw a nail bomb from the south west corner of Block 1. Again he claims to have seen smoke coming from the object in the man’s hand. He fired at the man and again claims to have missed hitting the wall of Block 1. In 1972 he claimed he could not describe the man he shot at because he was himself being fired on by an automatic weapon in the Rossville Flats. However this account of being fired on only ever appeared in his first RMP statement. He did not repeat it in his subsequent statements or his oral evidence to Lord Widgery. Soldier J said he could not recall it.
The Inquiry knows that at this time there was a crowd at the south west corner of Block 1 surrounding the body of Hugh Gilmour. They are pictured in a photograph taken from the opposite side of Rossville Street at the entrance to Glenfada Park [E0014.0008]. Soldier J said he could not remember the crowd.
Glenfada Park
In his second RMP statement Soldier J claimed to have seen two more people with nail bombs from this same position. However he appears to be referring to seeing them in the courtyard of Glenfada Park. Soldier J claimed he could not remember anything else that happened on Bloody Sunday. However in his first statement he recorded being ordered to go into Glenfada Park to make arrests. Soldier J said he must have gone into the north east corner of Glenfada Park and seen the two nail bombers at the south east corner.
In his Widgery statement he had claimed to have heard an explosion as he went into Glenfada Park and seen Soldiers F and G shoot 2 men on the opposite side of the car park. He said they had objects that looked like nail bombs but they did not explode. Soldier J was shown photographs of people cowering behind the south east gable wall of Glenfada Park North and at the south west corner trying to escape into Abbey Park. Soldier J claims to have arrested two people in Glenfada Park and all those arrested in Glenfada Park were arrested at the south east corner.
Dead and Injured
William McKinney and James Wray were killed in Glenfada Park North and Joe Mahon, Joe Friel, Michael Quinn, Patrick O’Donnell and Danny Gillespie were all wounded. Soldier J said he did not recall anything except what he said in his statement about Soldiers F and G shooting 2 nail bombers. Joe Mahon says James Wray was shot on the ground from point blank range by a blond haired soldier standing over him.
Gerard Donaghy and Gerard McKinney were killed in Abbey Park. It is known Soldier G killed Mr. Donaghy because the bullet lodged in his body and was matched to his rifle. Soldier J said he did not see any soldiers go into or come out of Abbey Park.
Soldier J said he knew Soldier G. They were friends. He claimed he never learnt where Soldier G had fired. He agreed it would have been discussed but claimed he could not remember.
Four people were killed and 5 wounded in Glenfada Park/Abbey Park but according to the evidence before Lord Widgery Paras only claim to have fired at 6 targets in this area. Soldier H claims to have fired 19 rounds at a frosted window in the south side of Glenfada Park. Soldier J said he did not see this. He agreed they had discussed who had fired the most shots. He described Soldier H as a steady soldier. He had no reason to doubt his account. Soldier 027 has said it would be quite time consuming to fire 22 aimed shots as Soldier H claims to have done.
Soldier J said he had no recollection of Bernard McGuigan or Patrick Doherty being killed behind the Rossville Flats or Paddy Campbell and Danny McGowan being wounded in the same area. He said he did not see Soldier F firing along the south of Block 2. However he must have been at the south east corner of Glenfada Park when Soldier F was firing because it happened at the same time the arrests were made. Father Bradley, who was arrested there, said he ended up standing next to a soldier firing 6-8 shots south from the corner of Glenfada Park.
Soldier J claimed not to have been aware that anti tank platoon had shot more people than targets they claimed to have fired at. He said he did not know why the evidence did not fit. He denied there was indiscriminate firing or a cover up. He denied any knowledge of a soldier firing at a woman paramedic, Evelyn Lafferty, in Glenfada Park. She was crossing the car park to try and tend to the bodies of James Wray, William McKinney and Joe Mahon when a Para fired at her saying her white coat and red cross made a good target.
Soldier J also denied any memory of Soldier F and Soldier G firing at Block 1 of the Rossville Flats after they returned from Glenfada Park.
Discussions in the Pig
Soldier J described the feeling in the pig when they left was one of relief that none of them had been shot. He denied Soldier 027’s account that there was already a recognition that there was a problem which had to be explained. Soldier 027 said there was some sorting going on concerning the number of rounds it was thought would be acceptable to have fired. He said there was some serious thinking going on by people wanting to cover their arses. He said they discussed whether weapons would be forensically tested. All Soldier J agreed was that they counted their rounds ready for the ammunition check. He said he could not remember who did the check.
How Many Rounds
Soldier 027 said Soldiers F and G were self-sufficient and had fired more rounds than they admitted to. He said they probably enjoyed it. Soldier J said Soldiers F and G were two of the bravest soldiers he ever served with.
Soldier 027 also said the problem of Soldier H’s firing was also discussed in the pig. He said there were no recriminations it was just a question of what was to be said about it. No one knew what Soldier H had fired at. One story they came up with was him firing at a gunman bobbing up and down but this was considered too implausible. Soldier H then came up with his firing most of the shots at a window. They all thought it was laughable. However the platoon sergeant arrived at the back of the pig and heard Soldier H had fired 22 rounds. Thereafter the situation was out of their control. Soldier 027 also described a man in civilian clothing jumping into the back of the pig “bright and breezy” saying “you’ll need some good PR after this.”
Soldier J said he was neither party to nor aware of any of this. He also said he could not recall being asked about what he had fired at.
Soldier J claims to have seen or heard at least 10 nail bombs, at least three of which exploded however there is almost no evidence to support this. None of the videos reveal any signs of nail bombs. Soldier J said it must be true if he said it at the time.
The two men Soldier J claims to have arrested, J. Gormley and Anthony Coll, are both recorded on arrest statements [ARR0023.0002 and ARR0010.002] as having been throwing stones at the security forces in Rossville Street. However they were arrested in Glenfada Park.
Jackson/Loden Shot List [B2283.0020]
Soldier J said he had never seen the so-called list of engagements apparently produced by Major Loden and Captain (as he then was) Jackson. His alleged engagements with nail bombers at the rubble barricade and behind Block 1 do not appear in the list which purports to be a contemporaneous record of the targets Support Company engaged. Soldier J said he did not sit in the back of Major Loden’s pig and describe what he had fired at.
Interview with Toby Harnden of the Daily Telegraph
Contrary to what he had said in his first statement to the Inquiry Soldier J made a supplemental statement admitting he was the source referred to as Soldier X in the Daily Telegraph articles of May 1999. Soldier J said he gave the interview to assist the soldiers’ campaign for anonymity. He said he was fed up with reading Bloody Sunday was an unprovoked attack by the Paras. In the article published on 20 May 1999 [L0282] Soldier J said he was in the lead pig however he was in fact in the last. He referred to rounds “erupting on the road in front.”
In evidence Soldier J said it was their last chance to get anonymity so he sexed it up. He agreed he had not seen bullets striking the ground in front of the pig. He was hamming it up to try and persuade the Prime Minister to give them anonymity. He also said everyone killed was guilty of riotous behaviour if not an out and out terrorist. He agreed he was in no position to say this.
Christopher Clarke QC asked whether there were other lies he had told having sexed up his account to Mr. Harnden and lied about not being Soldier X. Soldier J said there were not.
Withholding Evidence to Get Anonymity
In another article in the Telegraph titled “Paras fear Bloody Sunday Reprisals” [L0282.0002] Soldier J said he had been grilled for several hours by lawyers for the Inquiry. He said he had told them the bare minimum. He was shattered when he heard there was to be another inquiry. He described it as pure politics.
Attacking the Tribunal’s decision that soldiers should be named (subsequently overturned) the article continued: “Paras …say they will withhold evidence because their lives could be in danger….” Soldier J said the threat to withhold evidence was a good bargaining chip to achieve anonymity.
Christopher Clarke QC said now he had anonymity and was screened his bargain “fell to be redeemed.” Soldier J insisted all he could remember was the bare minimum and denied withholding evidence from the Inquiry.
When questioned by Lord Gifford on behalf of the family of James Wray Soldier J said he had shot to kill before Bloody Sunday but he thought this was the only occasion, in which he had fired in Northern Ireland. He knew Soldiers E, F, G and H well. They were good friends and all trusted each other. However he denied that they would tell lies for each other. He insisted he did not see any of them kill unarmed civilians in Glenfada Park and that he had no memory at all of what happened there.
He denied lying about there having been an order to go into Glenfada Park.
Allegations
At the close of his evidence Christopher Clarke QC invited Soldier J to comment on certain allegations the Inquiry may come to conclude to be true:
That soldiers of anti tank platoon who fired gave false accounts to Lord Widgery and this Inquiry;
That his evidence of being unable to remember what had happened in Glenfada Park was untrue;
That he had shot and killed one or more of those who died at the rubble barricade;
And that the people he shot at were not in possession of nail bombs.
Soldier J denied all of the above.
INQ 631
Gunner, 11 Battery, 22 Light Air Defence Regiment
Made Statement to the Inquiry on 20 March 2000 [C0631]
INQ 631 was manning a barrier in Sackville Street on 30 January 1972. There was a riot at the barrier after the march was prevented from going to the Guildhall.
At some point Paras arrived behind the barrier. INQ 631’s recollection was that the barrier was released and the Paras went in on foot. However he conceded he could not be 100% certain the Paras went through his barrier. He did not know what orders had been given but presumed that the officer at the barrier wanted more troops because the riot was getting more heated. He had not heard any gunfire before the Paras went in.
After the Paras went in he and some men in his section went forward to the corner of Sackville Street/Little James Street. They were just on the waste ground. He was with Sergeant 041 and Soldier Z amongst others. At some point Soldier Z fired a shot west towards William Street. INQ 631 did not see him fire but was standing right next to him. He immediately turned to him and asked him what he was firing at. Soldier Z told him he was firing at a gunman in a window and pointed in the general direction of buildings at the junction of William Street and Abbey Street. INQ 631 could not see a gunman. Soldier Z did not say whether or not he had hit anyone.
INQ 631 did not recall hearing an incoming shot before Soldier Z fired. He said he had no recollection of an almighty crack above his head and masonry falling as Soldier Z described in his statement.
INQ 2107
Lieutenant, 11 Platoon, 42 Battery, 22 Light Air Defence Regiment
Made Statements to this Inquiry on 17 February 2001 [C2107] and 21 March 2003
INQ 2107 was a Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in 1972. He went to Northern Ireland on 16 November 1971. He was in command of a platoon of men and on 30 January 1972 was tasked to contain a possible Protestant counter demonstration to the Civil Rights march.
He kept a diary [C2107.0012] at the time and he has provided this to the Inquiry. He also made notes of his briefing [C2107.0050]. In the notes he recorded that he was told the aim of the NICRA (Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association) march was to get bad publicity for the army. However he said he did not believe this meant the march was intended to provoke the army. He also recorded that his unit was to be “low key.” In his diary he wrote “we are to play it cool and do nothing until the barriers are crossed.” They were to avoid activities like clubbing and kicking. INQ 2107 said he thought this might have been a reference to the violence at Magiligan the week before. All ranks were to be tested on the Yellow Card rules of engagement.
They were stationed at the army post at Craigavon Bridge. INQ 370 was his bodyguard. He and INQ 370 carried cameras. INQ 2107 has provided his photographs to the Inquiry.
Gerard Donaghy
At some point he was told that a dead body had been brought to the post. He went out to investigate and found the car park very quiet. As he crossed the car park he met two RUC officers. They asked him if he could recognise nail bombs. He said he could and was led to a car with a body on the back seat. There was no one around the car.
The body was dressed in a casual jacket that did not match the trousers. He then says he saw a cylindrical object in one of the jacket pockets. It had a flat end and tape wrapped around it. He recognised it immediately as a nail bomb. He had seen nail bombs before. He only saw one.
He was under the impression the RUC men knew about the nail bomb and were just seeking confirmation as to what it was. They thanked him and he left. He did not touch anything and took no action to have the explosives made safe. He did not call for any medical examination of the body. He said he was not sure if INQ 370 was with him. He did not take any photographs.
Later between about 5-6 pm he heard a big explosion which he assumed to be the ATO exploding the bomb.
In his contemporaneous diary INQ 2107 made no mention of the RUC officers. There he just said he saw a body covered in a blanket with a nail bomb in its pocket.
Elated
In his diary INQ 2107 had written that the news that 13 people had been killed and 17 wounded elated them and that the RUC were also very happy. INQ 2107 explained the senior officers in his battery were elated because at the time they believed the dead and wounded to be IRA. The diary also says that Protestants he met were jubilant and congratulated them.
He went on that the killings very definitely cowed the Catholics. It was good news. He goes on to describe how the men manning the checkpoints on the bridge (INQ 171’s section) cheered as the ambulances came across. However there were so many they got bored.
Mr. Cadman, who was in the back of an ambulance carrying Gerard McKinney’s body, has given eividence to the Inquiry [AC0001.0031] of the ambulance being stopped on the bridge and soldiers laughing. One of them said, “There’s a few less in the Bogside now.” INQ 2107 said he had no recollection of any ambulances being stopped.
The diary goes on, “The Paras swept into the Bogside and cleared the Rossville Flats. They were met with a lot of shooting and bombing and replied to good effect without taking any casualties themselves.”
Elsewhere in the diary he refers to his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ferguson, having lied in order to back up General Ford. Colonel Ferguson said it was his decision to release D Company of 1 Para back to their Battalion command. General Ford denied giving this order, although he might have suggested it, saying his role on the day was solely as an observer.
INQ 2107 said of the entries in the diary that they were immature and he never thought they would be read by anyone other than himself. He said however the comments were accurate and truthful.
Bugging Tape
INQ 2107 was asked to listen to a tape of a conversation the IRA bugged on Bloody Sunday. He was asked to assist in identifying who was speaking. INQ 2107 identified INQ 1814 as one of the voices and INQ 1041 or UNK 534 as the other. The transcript of the conversation is as follows:
Male voice: “11 battery ... sappers ... bugging ... acorn ... yeah, yeah, yeah”.
Male Voice: “What do you want ... (bombardier’s name)?"
Male Voice: “What does he want?”
INQ 1814: “I do not know, what does he want?"
“Look, there has obviously been a hell of a sort out... the whole thing is in chaos ... yeah, obviously. I think its gone badly wrong in the Rossville ... the doctors just been up the hospital and they are pulling stiffs out there as fast as they can get them out".
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “There is nothing wrong with that (first name)”
INQ 1814: “Well, there is, because they are the wrong people ... There is about 9 and 15 killed by the Parachute Regiment in the Rossville area. They are all women, children, fuck knows what and they are still going up there ... I mean, their Pigs are just full of bodies ... There is a 3 tonner up there with bodies in”.
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “... stiffs all over the place and Soldier 028”
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “Soldier 028 involved, is he?”
INQ 1814: “Well, Soldier 028 was down there, yeah”.
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “Yeah”.
INQ 1814: ... the padre's a bit upset, he is going off to see the commander about all the ill-treatment”.
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “General Ford”.
INQ 1814: “Yeah”.
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “He was lapping it up”.
INQ 1814: “Who was?”
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “Ford”.
INQ 1814: “Was he?”
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “Yeah ... he said it was the best thing he had seen for a long time”.
INQ 1814: “Interesting, isn't it”.
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “Well done, 1 Para, he said a look at them 24 ... Million dollar”.
INQ 1814: “Good, excellent”.
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “He said this is what should happen”.
INQ 1814: “Yeah”.
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “He said we are far too passive ... and I will tell you later”.
INQ 1814: “Yeah, okay”.
INQ 1041/UNK 534: “Caio”.
[transcript X2.0025.0006, Section 2]
INQ 2107 said INQ 1814 was a captain in command of the 11 Battery operations room in the Waterloo Street car park. He was sure it was INQ 1814 speaking and several other witnesses have also identified him as one of the voices. INQ 2107 said the other voice sounded like his battery captain UNK 534. He said he was 80% sure it was him but when shown the name of INQ 1041 he said it could also have been him. INQ 1041 was the duty officer in the Light Air Defence Regiment tactical Head Quarters inside the RUC Waterloo Street police station.
INQ 1325
Captain, 15 Battery, 22 Light Air Defence Regiment
Made Statement to the Inquiry on 25 may 2000 [C1325]
INQ 1325 ran the 15 Battery (22 Light Air Defence Regiment) operations room. He rotated between Craigavon Bridge and the Brandywell bases on the river Foyle. On 30 January 1972 15 battery were to secure the Brandywell and report on the progress on the march. They were issued with extra rations in case the Brandywell was cut off by marches. On the day they were detached to the command of 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment.
Brandywell
The army post at the Brandywell bordered the old city dairy and the Mex Garage. It was confusingly referred to as both the dairy and the Mex garage but, according to some evidence, did not actually include either building. It was a fenced area of portacabins and buildings next to them. There were 4 regular observation posts within the perimeter of the base and possibly another on Bloody Sunday [see P0212.0001].
INQ 1325 was based in the operations room in the centre of the base with the Major, INQ 1320, and UNK 197. However at some point he went outside to get a feel for the atmosphere of the march. He watched the crowd assemble in the Creggan and move towards the base. Rioting was not common at the Brandywell although there was occasional small arms fire directed towards it.
Gunfire
INQ 1325 said that about 15 minutes after the main body of the march had passed he heard two rifle shots. He then heard one or two shots returned from one of the observation posts. He said this was before the Paras deployed into the Bogside. He assumed the incoming fire came from the Creggan heights.
The gunfire was reported by either INQ 971 or Soldier X, who had returned fire. INQ 971 said the shots struck the ground close to him. He may have reported the gunfire in person but the observation post probably also called the operations room by telephone. The OP also reported they had hit a gunman. The gunfire was then reported up over the Brigade Net.
INQ 1325 said later he went to speak to Soldier X as did the major. Soldier X said he saw a taxi arrive at the gunman’s location he presumed to remove the body. INQ 1325 said he always believed the gunman was located at the cemetery and was one of the 13 killed, his body having been moved.
He said he also heard a report of an exchange of fire at a Royal Anglian Regiment observation post. This was after the shots at the Brandywell and just before the Paras went in.
Soldier X claimed in his statement made at the time [B0822] that there were 10-12 incoming shots fired at irregular intervals. He timed these as being after 14:00 and then said at about 16:45 there was a further burst of 6-7 shots of automatic fire. This is when he claimed to see a gunman in a tunnel on the roof of a building. He said he fired a single shot and claims the man fell to the floor. He said he kept the location under observation for a further hour but noticed no further movement.
Soldier X therefore has two much heavier incidents of incoming fire and a gunman on a building rather than at the cemetery. INQ 1325 said he had forgotten about the description of the tunnel but now remembered it. Soldier X does not refer to a taxi or the body being collected. Soldier X also places his observation post between the dairy and the forecourt of the garage but INQ 1325 said the observation post would not have been outside the perimeter fence. When he gave evidence to Lord Widgery Soldier X changed the time of his engagement to 15:30.
INQ 971, who was a Lieutenant commanding 7 platoon, refers in his statement to the Inquiry to 2 incoming high velocity shots. He said they were consistent with having come from the cemetery. He recalled a radio operator who looked scared. Bombardier X reported to him firing twice at a gunman 200-400 yards away in the cemetery. The Lieutenant said Soldier X was a bit of a character and likely to claim a hit when others would admit they were uncertain. INQ 1325 said he believed Soldier X at the time when he said he had shot a gunman.
Another soldier in 15 Battery, Soldier Y, in another observation post at the south west corner of the dairy reported 2 shots fired at his location at about 16:40. In his RMP statement he claimed he watched a sniper though his telescopic sight and after seeing him fire twice more he shot him. Soldier Y places his gunman at the north end of Coach Road. When asked about this INQ 1325 said he did recall Soldier Y reporting an engagement and said he had confused this with Soldier X’s.
Radio Logs
The Royal Anglian Regiment radio log [W0102, transcript at W0106.0005] records two shots fired at H3 (Brandywell) from Kildrum Gardens, no fire returned. Then at 16:25 it records another shot from “prefabs” again no fire returned. At 16:30 there is a reference to “three more shots at 12 loc, one round returned, no hit claimed.” And at 16:49 “At 16:45 short burst from prefabs, 1 round returned, no hit claimed.” The contemporaneous logs therefore indicate Soldier X and Soldier Y fired after the Paras had deployed at about 16:10. The Brigade log has an entry at 16:47 from call sign 54A “1 burst of fire from machine gun (Anne Street), 1 round returned, no hit”.
IRA Gunfire
A civilian called Paddy Ward has made a statement to the Inquiry [AW0008.0014] in which he refers to a Fianna arms dump at the corner of Lone Moor Road and Brandywell Road. He says he took a .303 rifle and an M1 Carbine and drove to the corner of Stanley Walk/Lecky Road. He said by this time he thought the shooting had stopped. He met a taxi driven by an old guy who told him the Brits were coming into the Bogside from the Foyle and Letterkenny Road direction. He then went towards Hamilton Street and met another man who he said usually hung out with Martin McGuinness. Mr. Ward said the man had obviously been shooting at the army sandbag post on the roof of the old city dairy. He said the man was pinned down by the army’s return of fire so he and another man with him fired at the check point to allow him to get away. He said they fired about five shots from the .303 and 12-15 from the M1.
Soldier 227
Lieutenant, 53 Battery, 22 Light Air Defence Regiment
Made statements to the RMP on 1 February 1972 [B2184.0001], 2 February 1972 [B2184], the Widgery Tribunal on 10 March 1972 [B2188] and to this Inquiry [B2204]
On 30 January 1972 Soldier 227 was in charge of OP Charlie, an observation post on the city walls. He had a troop of 36 men under him but with him on the day were a signaller (Soldier 012), a gunner and a sergeant; Soldier 025 and possibly Soldier 139.
City Walls – OP Charlie
Slightly to the north was a position on the walls referred to as the Platform. This was manned by two more of his men, Sergeant 001 and Soldier 030. The major commanding 53 Battery, Soldier 159, was also nearby with some RUC officers. Soldier 227 said he and two others, Soldiers 025 and 101, were the best shots in the battalion.
Soldier 227 was standing with his signaller next to the sangar which was OP Charlie. He said he had an unobstructed view of Free Derry Corner and Fahan Street. He could also see the southern end of Rossville Street and into Glenfada Park. He did not have binoculars.
Soldier 025, who was a sniper inside the sangar, has claimed he observed people handling a nail bomb but when he reached for his sniper’s rifle it was not where he had left it next to him. He went outside the sangar and found his platoon commander, Soldier 227, was looking through the telescopic sight. Soldier 227 agreed he was looking through a telescopic sight at some point but he did not recall Soldier 025 or anyone else saying they had seen a nail bomb.
Thompson
Soldier 227 saw a flat bed lorry arrive at Free Derry Corner followed by marchers. Then he saw through the gap between Blocks 2 and 3 of the Rossville Flats army pigs moving down Rossville Street. After seeing the flat bed lorry Soldier 227 claims to have heard a Thompson sub-machine gun being fired in front of him. He said the sound was very distinctive and he could not have been confused by the sounds of baton rounds or SLRs being fired. In 1972 he had referred to hearing two bursts from a Thompson coming from Glenfada Park. He said this was the area he meant by in front of him.
Soldier 227 did not recall hearing any more than 5 of the 108 rounds fired by the Paras on Bloody Sunday but would not accept with the echoes and reverberations common in Derry (called the Derry sound by some army observers) he mistook multiple SLRs for the sound of a Thompson. He said he did not report hearing the Thompson at the time because his battery commander was there. However he did not report it either.
Pistol Shots
Soldier 227 then claims to have heard a pistol shot and the sound of an explosion from the other side of the Rossville Flats. Two of the police officers on the wall next to OP Charlie also claim to have heard a Thompson and explosions. Chief Superintendent Hood of the RUC claimed to have heard 3 explosions, one very close to his position, and then heard 15-20 rounds from a Thompson in two long bursts [JH0010.0001]. Superintendent McGonagle claimed he also heard 3 explosions and then two bursts of automatic fire.
Soldier 227 said he did not hear 3 nail bombs and would have recorded them in his RMP statements if he had.
In his RMP statement Soldier 227 said he saw two of the Paras pigs go down Rossville Street and he then heard baton rounds. He then says he heard two bursts from the Thompson and a nail bomb. He then said he heard what sounded like 3 “aimed” shots from SLRs. By aimed Soldier 227 said he meant deliberate. He then saw bodies at the rubble barricade.
Glenfada Park
He saw Paras in Glenfada Park. Two were making arrests and the other was kneeling and firing towards the Rossville Flats. At this point he heard pistol shots. In his Widgery statement he said he saw 15 people run from the rubble barricade to Glenfada Park. He then saw the two Paras arresting people and the third firing 2 shots towards the south end of Block 1. In his statement to this Inquiry he said the Para was kneeling by a lamp post. The other two Paras had batons.
Barney McGuigan
Soldier 227 saw the Para by the lamp post raise his rifle to his shoulder and fire parallel with Block 2 of the Rossville Flats. He paused between shots. Soldier 227 saw the smoke from the muzzle of his rifle. He did not see what the Para was firing at but looked down and saw a body near the telephone box behind Block 1. However in 1972 he had actually said he saw the man fall as the Para fired. In his Widgery statement he said “the Para fired two deliberate shots towards Block 1. As he did this I saw a man falling. He was a few paces out from the end of Block 1 where a small group of people had gathered. There was nothing in the hands of the man who fell.”
Soldier 227 agreed he associated the shots fired by the Para from Glenfada Park with the man he saw fall near Block 1. At the Widgery tribunal he had identified the body of the man he had seen in photographs EP0025.0017 and EP0025.0018. These photographs show the body of Bernard McGuigan lying in a large pool of blood.
Wounded Man
Soldier 227 also saw a man dragging himself along on his arms apparently shot in the legs. He was on the east side of Joseph Place, i.e. the city walls side. Soldier 227 looked at the man through the telescopic sight but could not see any weapon on him. A group of people then helped the man along Fahan Street towards Free Derry Corner. He was taken to St Columb Wells.
Daniel McGowan, who was 37 on Bloody Sunday, has given evidence to the Inquiry [AM0255.0010] of seeing Patrick Campbell staggering saying “I’m shot, I’m shot.” Mr. McGowan caught him and as he was carrying Mr. Campbell around the corner he was himself shot in the leg. He said two other men dragged him and put him in a car at St. Columb Wells. Mr. Campbell was 52 at the time. He was taken into a house in St. Columb Wells and then put in a car.
Soldier 227 said the man he saw crawling was next to Joseph Place and heading north towards the Rossville Flats. He was then taken south, back the way he had come. After he saw the man dragged away he looked again towards Glenfada Park and saw a pig in the mouth of the junction. He was not aware of fire being exchanged with other units on the walls.
Patrick Doherty
Soldier 227 was shown a photograph of Patrick Doherty [P0714] lying dead between Block 2 of the Rossville Flats and the northern gable end of Joseph Place. There is another man, Patrick Walsh, pictured behind trying to crawl towards Mr. Doherty. Soldier 227 said he did not see any bodies directly below his position. Mr. Walsh says he was fired on for about 5 minutes as he tried to help Mr. Doherty. Soldier 227 said the shots may not have registered with him.
RMP statements
There are apparently two versions of Soldier 227’s RMP statement. A manuscript version dated 1 February 1972 and timed at 12:15. The second is typed and timed at 22:10 on 2 February 1972. Soldier 227 said he recalled making only one statement. He sat at a long table in front of an RMP officer. There were 4 people giving statements at the same time to 4 RMPs. In the first statement Soldier 227 refers to observing the wounded man crawling in front of Joseph Place. He then says he heard a number of SLR shots and other high velocity shots. The reference to hearing SLR shots does not appear in the typed version.
In his evidence to Lord Widgery the transcript [B2200] records Soldier 227 as having referred to seeing a man with a rifle but this was an error because Soldier 227 has never said he saw a civilian gunman.
Legal Submissions by Counsel for the Military Witnesses
At the close of evidence on Wednesday 24 September Gerard Elias QC and Edwin Glasgow QC made a series of criticisms of the Inquiry and the security agencies concerning the tracing of IRA witnesses who have yet to come forward. Mr. Elias said concerns were raised in December 2000 about the intelligence material disclosed to the Inquiry. On 10 July 2003 his solicitors had received from the Inquiry two further lever arch files of documents some of which he described as having direct relevance to the events of Bloody Sunday. He said there were obvious lines of inquiry still to be pursued and complained that he had been left in the dark as to how far the tribunal had pursued these matters. He also complained of the late disclosure by the security agencies and that past assurances from them concerning full disclosure had proved inaccurate.
Mr. Glasgow complained of the paucity of evidence from para-military witnesses in comparison with the 600 soldiers who had made statements and the 200 who had given evidence. He said there was a wholesale refusal to cooperate with the Inquiry and a failure by those who were able to assist in tracing witnesses. He criticised what he called the inability of the Tribunal to do anything about these failures which meant it was being prevented from looking at the full picture. He complained they were still awaiting a third statement from Martin McGuinness and that Mickey Doherty had died this year without ever providing even a statement. Mickey Doherty he said fired at soldiers on Bloody Sunday was wounded and treated but his role and identity concealed. He said it was regrettable that Mr. Doherty had not been compelled to assist the Inquiry and that Lord Saville’s thanks to the military witnesses who had appeared before him would be rather hollow unless something were done now to avoid further drip feeding of information.
Christopher Clarke QC responded on behalf of the Inquiry. He said a considerable amount of time and effort had been made tracing civilian para-military witnesses and of necessity much of that could not be done in public. The Inquiry had been assisted by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and other security agencies in analysing a very large amount of material. The antecedents exercise was now complete and several of the witnesses identified had made statements. It was still hoped others would do so and whilst accepting the necessity to avoid further delay he did not consider imposing a deadline to be of any practical assistance.
Soldier 014
Sergeant, Motor Transport Platoon, Head Quarters Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment
Made Statements to the RMP on 4 February 1972 [B1409] and to this Inquiry on 21 July 2000 [B1412.0001]
Soldier 014 trained drivers for the motor transport platoon of 1 Para. He had been in the Parachute Regiment for 13 years by 1972. On 30 January 1972 he was a section commander in Guinness Force. He had also been deployed with Guinness Force on the Friday before Bloody Sunday. On Bloody Sunday he was in the half platoon commanded by Sergeant 002 and had eight men in his section. He cannot now remember who else was in his section other than Soldier L. He said with Guinness Force you only knew who was to be in your section when they turned up for the briefing. Guinness Force, also known as the Composite Platoon, was put together with available personnel for certain operations when more soldiers were required. It was made up of men who usually had non operational duties in the band, canteen, administration, etc.
Presbyterian Church
Soldier 014 recalled being at the Presbyterian Church and waiting for someone to bring ladders to get over a wall when a high velocity shot struck the wall just above his head. He said he saw a mark on the brickwork and claimed that he could tell from the angle of the mark where the bullet had come from. He said it came from the Rossville Flats. He located the position of the strike as on the south facing wall of the church just above and to the west of the small flat roof of the boilers room. He said he had no recollection of any other gunfire at this time. He said the shot did not affect his view of the operation.
Going In
They then received orders to return to the vehicles and drove to a barrier. They waited at the barrier before driving a short distance to the north end of Rossville Street. He described the situation as he debussed as “all hell breaking loose.” He said he could hear the bangs of weapons being fired but could not identify the types of weapon because of the high walls all around. He said he could tell Support Company were in trouble. He heard screaming and shouting. He said most of the marchers had dispersed but there were a mass of bodies on the waste ground to his left.
He also said he could hear deep bangs that could have been nail bombs but it was hard to tell. He said these were not baton rounds being fired because they made more of a pop than a bang. He did not refer to hearing explosions in 1972. Because of the gunfire he sent those in his section with batons back to the truck to get their SLRs. They all put on their gasmasks. His section then went to Kells Walk and moved south. As far as he was concerned the arrest operation was over because of the gunfire.
Soldier 014 said he could not remember being over taken by anti tank platoon or hearing SLR fire. He and his section made their way to the low wall at the south end of Kells Walk. There was no one there when he got there.
Kells Walk
Soldier 014 said all eight of his section were at the two low walls which bordered a shallow ramp leading towards Colombcille Court. The men to his right were slightly elevated on the ramp. Their weapons were cocked. He was concentrating on the rubble barricade ahead of them. He saw a crowd behind the barricade and at the entrance to Block 1 of the Rossville Flats. He denied ever being aware that Soldier 039 had fired a rubber bullet at a woman through a window in Kells Walk.
Men Crawling
Soldier 014 then says he saw two men leopard crawling towards the entrance to the flats. A soldier in his section drew his attention to the men but he could not now remember who this was. The soldier said something like “there are men crawling with weapons.” He said the soldiers to his right had a better view because they were slightly elevated.
In his statement to this Inquiry Soldier 014 said the man to the front, close to the entrance, was wearing light clothing. He had long hair. The second man was in dark clothing and he was dragging what “looked to me like a rifle.” He did not have a clear view of the weapon although he said it was behind and on the right hand side of the man’s body. However he thought it was a weapon and so did the men to his left. In evidence he said the men were already crawling away from him when he first saw them.
In his RMP statement, made 5 days later, he said the first man was wearing a dark brown suit and the second dark clothing. He said the rear man was trailing behind him “what looked like a rifle.” Soldier L, who was 5 yards to his left, fired twice at the man who jerked as if he was hit. Both continued to crawl and disappeared into the doorway.
Soldier 014 said he did not give an order to fire and he did not recall hearing any order. However he claimed Soldier L was entitled to fire under the Yellow Card because the man could have escaped into the Rossville Flats and used the weapon. When asked why as section commander he did not stop his men from firing before they had positively identify a weapon Soldier 014 said they had positively identified a rifle. He insisted what he saw was a rifle but could not explain why he had always previously only said he thought it was a rifle. He said he did not consider the danger that the first man, who he thought to be unarmed, might be hit.
Soldier L has said in his statements that Sergeant 002 ordered him to fire. Soldier 014 could not recall any order, or Sergeant 002 being at the wall. Soldier L said he hit the man twice. In his RMP statement made at the time Sergeant 002 claimed he saw a rifle on the first man but no weapon on the second. He told Soldiers L and M to fire on the first man but ordered them to cease firing at the second. Soldier 039’s account in 1972 was of seeing two men crawling the first with a Thompson sub machine gun, the second “appeared to have a weapon.” He says he ordered Soldiers L and M to fire. Soldier 032 said he watched the men crawling for about 30 seconds. Soldier L opened fire and hit the second man. He then claims to have seen a man with a pistol run from behind Block 1 across Rossville Street to Glenfada Park.
Soldier 014 said he did not recall seeing a man with a pistol crossing Rossville Street nor did he recall Soldier M or Sergeant K being at the low wall. Asked why he only recalled 2 shots when Sergeant K, Soldier L and Soldier M admit to firing 5 shots between them Soldier 014 said he did hear another 2 shots but did not know who had fired them. However he had never mentioned hearing these other two shots in 1972. He could not explain why this was.
When questioned by Brian McCartney, representing some of the families, Soldier 014 said it was a coincidence that he, Sergeant K, Soldier L, Soldier M and Soldier 039 all now claim to have positively identified a rifle on the second man yet in 1972 none of them was certain. He denied ever speaking to any of them about the incident or agreeing to refer to the men as doing a leopard crawl (a military term for crawling under cover).
When re-examined by his own counsel, Edwin Glasgow QC, Soldier 014 said he had meant to say he thought it was a rifle when he had said it definitely was but then he again asserted that he was positive it was a rifle.
After firing at the men crawling Captain 200 joined Soldier 014 and his men at the wall. Shortly after this Colonel Wilford also appeared. Colonel Wilford ordered a ceasefire, although Soldier 014 said no one was actually firing at this point.
Alexander Nash
Soldier 014 said he and his section then moved south west to a wall adjacent to number 2 Colombcille Court. From there he saw an old man wearing glasses and a cap kneeling behind the rubble barricade. He was shown a clip of video (Video 48 at 5 minutes 50 seconds) which depicts Alexander Nash waving from the rubble barricade. Mr. Nash was trying to get the soldiers to stop firing; he had been shot in the shoulder and was with the body of his son William who had been shot dead. Soldier 014 agreed the video depicted what he had seen. He said he beckoned the man forward but he would not move. Two of his men went forward but he called them back.
Soldier 014 had no memory of Soldier U’s description of Mr. Nash and his son being shot by a gunman with a pistol in the doorway to Block 1. Soldier 014 did not recall any firing from the doorway. Soldier U, who was at the north west corner of Block 1, claims to have shouted a warning “grey doors” to soldiers on the other side of Rossville Street. He said he was trying to direct their attention to the gunman in the doorway. Soldier 014 did not recall any warning. He claimed he could not remember seeing bodies at the rubble barricade.
Gunfire from Glenfada Park
Soldier 014 then claims to have heard automatic gunfire coming from his south west in the direction of Glenfada Park. He said it came from about 100 metres away and struck the west side of Block 1 of the Rossville Flats. He said he saw between 4 and 8 rounds strike the wall 6 feet from the north end of the wall and 6 feet off the ground. He drew a circle on a photograph to indicate the position of the strike [B1412.0016]. He said he could not identify the weapon fired or even say if it was high or low velocity. He said he did not recall seeing soldiers at the north west corner of Block 1 where Soldier U was standing. Soldier U has never claimed to have heard or seen this gunfire.
Brian McCartney put to Soldier 014 that the evidence available to the Inquiry, particularly that of Father O’Keefe who was arrested at the mouth of Glenfada Park, suggested that no one could possibly have fired the shots he claimed to have witnessed and he must therefore being lying. Soldier 014 insisted he had seen the bullets strike the wall.
Wounded man in Volkswagen
Soldier 014 could not recall the exact sequence but at some point Colonel Wilford told him to withdraw his men to the north end of Kells Walk. From this position he saw a wounded man being placed in a grey Volkswagen. The wounded man was wearing a white shirt that was covered in blood. With him were four men including a priest. Soldier 014 said he tried to get the wounded man because he was a suspect but he was told to get lost. He said he could not force them so reported the incident to Captain 200. By the time they got back the Volkswagen had driven off towards Abbey Street.
Soldier 014 and his men then returned to their vehicle and waited in a convoy to leave. He said he complained because they were in a soft skinned lorry at the rear of the convoy and were sitting ducks until they moved.
RMP Statement
Soldier 014 said that when he made his statement to the RMP the interviewer did not ask many questions and did not write down everything he said. He was never asked to give evidence to Lord Widgery although some members of his section were.
Confined to Barracks
In his statement he said for about 6 months after Bloody Sunday they were all confined to barracks when not on operational duty and they were not allowed to take leave abroad.
Soldier 014 claimed he had never heard of anyone in the Parachute Regiment having private supplies of ammunition.
General Sir Mike Jackson
After lunch on Thursdays 25 September 2003 Lord Saville announced that the Inquiry had now received a further statement from General Jackson regarding the so called Loden Shot List. The tribunal had decided to recall General Jackson following the disclosure of a manuscript version of the shot list apparently in his hand writing. Lord Saville said the tribunal had also today received representations from Michael Mansfield QC’s instructing solicitors addressing reasons why General Jackson should be recalled. Lord Saville described the document as useful but said the decision to recall the witness had been made before he had seen it.
Soldier Z
Lance Bombardier, 22 Light Air Defence Regiment
Made Statements to the RMP on [B0874.0014], to the Widgery Tribunal on 8 March 1972 [B0879.0017] and to this Inquiry on 18 March 2000 [B0879.0001]
On 30 January 1972 Soldier Z was behind barrier 13 in Sackville Street. He could not recall a briefing but was probably briefed by his Sergeant Major, Soldier 041. Soldier Z believed the barrier was at the end of Sackville Street at the junction with Little James Street. However it was in fact some distance from the junction.
Parachute Regiment
Soldier Z said he recalled a 4 tonne Bedford truck full of Paras pulling up some distance behind the barrier. He said this was some time between 14:00 and 16:00. He could tell they were Paras by their uniforms. He assumed they were there as reinforcements because the march was very big and a general melée had already begun. He said the Paras remained in their vehicle. He remembered one particular Para because he was carrying a modified .303 rifle. It did not have a telescopic sight.
Soldier Z was standing behind the barrier with a baton gun and a shield. As the afternoon progressed the noise increased and then stones and bottles started to be thrown. He did not see any petrol or nail bombs. They returned fire with rubber bullets and CS gas. He fired 2-3 baton rounds.
Gunfire
Soldier Z claimed he could hear high velocity gunfire in the distance. In his statement to this Inquiry he said the shots were “not necessarily SLR” and not Armalite. When asked if they could have been SLR he said he did not think so. He said he thought they came from M1 Carbines or .303 rifles. He said he could not estimate the number of rounds but there were many. This was before the Paras deployed through the barriers.
Sergeant Major 041, who was also at barrier 13, has said he heard a number of cracks at this time but these were firecrackers. He said the rioters used to place firecrackers between two planks of wood to produce a loud crack. He said he did not hear gunfire during the rioting. Soldier Z said that was his opinion.
Soldier Z then says he heard a high velocity round wiz above his head and strike a wall behind him. However he did not deem this a threat. He said the round struck the building on the right hand side of the barrier, he was standing to the left as you face Little James Street. He marked the positions on a photograph [B0872.0021]. He says Sergeant 041 then told him and some others to collect their rifles. Three of them went back to Waterloo Place to collect their SLRs. One of these was either INQ 2004 or Soldier 034. They were twins but he could not remember which of them was with him on that day. The Inquiry understands it was Soldier 034. Rioting was in progress at this time.
Soldier Z said the background gunfire was heavier by the time they got back to the barrier. He claims to have heard a variety of rounds fired from different locations. There was a general mixture of shots from different weapons. He insisted all this was before the Paras went in and that none of the gunfire was SLR. He said he heard M1 Carbine and small, low velocity pistol sounds. He said the firing was sporadic and mainly at a distance.
Paras Going In
Only then does he say the engineers cut the barriers to allow the Paras through. He says he saw a convoy of army vehicles travel past him down Little James Street but also claims the Bedford lorry behind him drove through barrier 13.
He then heard riot guns and high and low velocity gunfire from all directions. He said it was a mixture of .303, SLR, M1 and pistols. He said it sounded like a rifle range. He still claims most of what he heard was not SLR and was non-military fire.
He then moved forward of the barrier to see what was happening. He looked down Little James Street towards the Bogside and saw Paras arresting people. He said the firing subsided. Later whilst there were 4 of them stood at the west gable end of the last house on the south side of Sackville Street Soldier Z claims to have heard another “almighty crack” above his head. He said they all went down. He said brick and motor came down after the shot hit the gable wall. He immediately cocked his rifle.
Tyre Factory in Abbey Street
Soldier Z claims to have had a clear line of sight from his position to the top of the derelict tyre factory in the middle of Abbey Street. This was 200-300 yards away across William Street. He said he could see one or two windows on the left (south) end of the building. He said he had been fired on before from this location. He marked his position and that of the window [B0879.0022].
In one of these windows Soldier Z claims to have seen the shape of a man holding what he thought was a rifle. The man went down to a crouching position and Soldier Z said he believed he was about to fire. He was looking in his direction. He brought his rifle to the aimed position and fired a single shot. He said he had observed him for about 3 seconds before he fired at him. He claims to have seen the bullet strike the centre of his target and the man went down. He said he knew he had “scored a hit.”
In his RMP statement made at the time Soldier Z had said he saw the man holding a long straight object in one hand. In evidence he said he was as sure as he could be that the man had a rifle because he would not have been there in that position if he did not, and they had just been fired on.
Soldier Z also claims that Sergeant 041 was right beside him and ordered him to fire. However Sergeant 041 says he heard Soldier Z fire and ran over to ask him what he was firing at. INQ 631 was standing right next to him and immediately asked him why he had fired. He was unaware of the alleged incoming round. Soldier Z claims to have said, “I’ve got him” and “watch my shot” before he fired.
Soldier Z said the man fell backwards into the building. He then saw the man’s right hand appear at the window.
In his statement to the RMP Soldier Z placed the location of the gunman as being in a building on the corner of William Street and Abbey Street. However the tyre factory was 100 yards from William Street. Not only does the RMP statement say the corner of Abbey Street but two plans attached to it both mark the location of the gunman as being at the corner. Soldier Z said he may have been confused in the heat of the excitement of having fired his first live shot. He denied the location of his target had been altered because he could not in fact see the tyre factory from his location. He said he had been virtually isolated before making the statement. Only the Sergeant Major was allowed to speak to him.
Radio Logs
The radio logs record only one shot being fired at Sackville Street on Bloody Sunday. This is recorded in the Brigade Log [W0050] as being at 16:53. No return fire is recorded. The 22 Light Air Defence Regiment log [W0098] records the time as 16:35 but this may be a typing error, i.e. for 16:53. Both logs, and the Porter Tapes (tape recordings of actual transmissions on the Brigade Net), record Soldier Z’s shot as at 16:56, i.e. 3 minutes later.
On behalf of some of the families Arthur Harvey QC put it to Soldier Z that he was lying when he sai