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19 - 22 MAY 2003
Evidence
heard
This week the Inquiry heard from the following witnesses:
INQ 131 (Private, 7 Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment); Soldier V (Lance Corporal, Motor Platoon, Support Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment); Soldier 006 (Private, Motor Platoon, Support Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment); Sergeant O (Platoon Sergeant, Motor Platoon, Support Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment) and INQ 1579 (Private, Mechanised Transport platoon, B Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment).
Summary of Evidence
Monday 19 May 2003 INQ 131, Soldier V
Tuesday 20 May 2003 Soldier 006, INQ 1152
Wednesday 21 May 2003 Sergeant O
Thursday 22 May 2003 Sergeant O, INQ 1579
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 two soldiers who admit to firing live rounds on Bloody Sunday. Soldier V says he fired a single shot and Sergeant O claims to have fired eight rounds. Both claim to have fired at armed gunmen or nail bombers. On Monday Barry Macdonald QC, on behalf of the Duddy family, accused Soldier V of murdering Jackie Duddy.
INQ 131
Private, 7 Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment
Made Statement to the Inquiry on 10 April 2000 [C0131]
INQ 131 was in 7 Platoon of C Company. On 30 January 1972 his section commander was Corporal INQ 444. INQ 131 was partnered with Soldier 003 and another member of the platoon. He said his impression was that they were going to Derry to break the ‘no go’ area and enable regular units to patrol the area. He assumed he gained this impression from a briefing but he could not remember any details of the briefing.
Going In
INQ 131 said there were lots of people in front of him when he went through barrier 14. They were about 50 metres ahead. He had already cocked his rifle before going through the barrier, when they deployed he realised the safety catch was off. He described this as the closest he had come to negligently discharging his rifle. They were trained not to release the safety catch until they were ready to fire.
Incoming Gunfire
INQ 131 went straight up William Street with other members of 7 platoon. They reached the junction of William Street and Rossville Street. At some point he says he heard low velocity gunfire although he could not say whether this was when he was at the junction or after he had moved around the corner and onto the waste ground. It was not SLR fire. He did not hear the shots Lieutenant N fired up Eden Place. He said he believed they were under fire and claimed to see bullets striking the ground ahead of him. He and Soldier 003 moved across the waste ground to the rear of Chamberlain Street. From there they moved south towards the Rossville Flats. He agreed there was very little cover to be had on the waste ground and said he only moved forward because ordered to do so. He assumed the order would have come from INQ 444 but he could not remember.
He claimed he did not recall seeing Support Company’s vehicles parked in Rossville Street however he did see a pig in front of him when he reached the area towards the end of Chamberlain Street. There were civilians milling about but most had dispersed. He was looking for gunmen but did not see any.
INQ 131 was shown a series of photographs by Christopher Clarke QC, counsel to the Inquiry [EP0024.0001 to EP0024.0004 taken by Coleman Doyle]. It was put to him that in none of those photographs do soldiers on the waste ground appear to be taking cover.
INQ 131 claimed he did not see any soldiers fire shots even though he had a clear view and was very close to much of what happened. He claimed not to have seen any of the civilians shot in the Rossville Flats car park. He denied the only thing he wanted to tell the Inquiry was that there was incoming gunfire.
Soldier V
Lance Corporal, Motor Platoon, Support Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment
Made Statements to the Royal Military Police on 31 January 1972 [B0788], to Mr. Heritage of the Widgery Treasury Solicitors team on 5 March 1972 [B0821.0002] and Mr. Stocker on or about 6 March 1972 [B0801] and to this Inquiry in 2000 [B0821.0003]
On 30 January 1972 Soldier V was a lance corporal in Support Company’s motor platoon. He had been in the parachute regiment for about 5 years. He was aged 20. He had two men under him on the day, one of whom was Private S.
Soldier V claimed to have almost no memory at all of what happened on Bloody Sunday or providing his statements to the RMP and Widgery inquiry team.
Driving Through Wall
In his statement to the Widgery tribunal (Widgery statement) Soldier V makes mention of the plan to drive through the wall next to the Presbyterian church. This plan was abandoned as impractical. Once the plan was changed they were ordered back to their vehicles and given another briefing. They then drove to the barrier (12) in Little James Street. Before they got back into the vehicles a shot struck the drain pipe on the church.
One of the few memories Soldier V does claim to have is of being annoyed at stepping in a puddle after debussing from Lieutenant N’s pig on the waste ground. He then saw a man in a uniform wearing a gas mask whom he assumed to be a paramilitary. In his statement he says, “my immediate thought was that the guys here were extremely organised.” He ran over to the man forcing him against a wall with his rifle. The man said something like “Red Cross” and Soldier V realised he was not a threat.
Charles McMonagle
Soldier V was shown the series of photographs (P0272, P0273) which depict Lieutenant N, INQ 1918 and Soldier 019 close to Eden Place. Behind them are the Rossville Flats and in between it is possible to make out two soldiers, two civilians and Charles McMonagle, the Knights of Malta first aid man Soldier V attacked. It was put to Soldier V the two soldiers in the background were almost certainly him and Private S. He did not dispute this.
Mr. McMonagle has given evidence to the Inquiry stating that he witnessed Support Company’s vehicles enter the Bogside. He saw soldiers jump out of the pigs and one immediately started firing from the hip towards the Rossville Flats car park. That soldier then saw him and attacked him pointing his rifle into his chest and pulling his gas mask aside. The soldier went through his first aid bag and was then joined by another who threw the contents of the bag onto the ground. He was then thrown to the ground and told not to move.
Photograph P0278 shows Mr. McMonagle lying on the ground with his back against a wall and his hands in the air. Two soldiers are pictured immediately to his left walking towards the Rossville Flats. The first of these has a lance corporal’s stripe. Soldier V accepted this could be him and Private S ahead of him. However he denied searching Mr. McMonagle’s bag or throwing him to the ground. He also denied firing from the hip as he left the pig. He claimed he only fired one shot all day and that was an aimed shot. He also denied attacking civilians with his rifle as alleged by Brian Johnson.
Contradictory Accounts
In evidence to the Inquiry Soldier V said he did not recall hearing any gunfire, aside from the shot which hit the church, before his altercation with Mr. McMonagle.
Soldier V made a statement to the RMP just after midnight the same evening, i.e. 00:25 on 31 January 1972. In it he claims he heard gunfire and cocked his rifle before debussing from the pig. He then says he debussed and heard 2 explosions. He referred to gunmen firing at soldiers from several locations and from several types of weapons. He also refers to rioters throwing petrol and acid bombs.
However in his Widgery statement he says it was hearing the two explosions that caused him to cock his rifle before he debussed. He then says he ran forward behind Private S and heard single shots. He also claimed to have seen bullets striking the ground around him. In this statement he specifically withdrew the account of having seen petrol bombs being thrown. He now says he has no recollection of making this statement. He had no idea why he had said in his RMP statement that he had seen petrol bombs being thrown.
In evidence to Lord Widgery Soldier V said he heard single shot rifle fire [B0821.0019].
In his statement made to this Inquiry in 2000 he referred to a burst of machine gunfire striking the wall to his left. He claimed this was directed at him personally. In evidence to the Inquiry Soldier V claimed to have no recollection of gunfire striking the ground.
Soldier V sought to explain the contradictions in his accounts of gunfire by saying perhaps he only now recalled the machine gun fire because it was personal. However, as pointed out by Christopher Clarke QC, he had never previously mentioned automatic fire striking a wall to his left. He then claimed to have a memory of seeing orange brick dust as the bullets struck the wall.
Soldier V denied the fact that no one appears to be taking cover in any of the photographs of soldiers on the waste ground suggested they were not under fire.
Shooting
Soldier V also claimed to have no memory of the incident when he shot a man he claimed to be a petrol bomber and whom he believed he had killed. He said he was sure at the time that he had identified a petrol bomber and that he was legally justified in firing. He had previously described his target as a young man with dark hair, wearing a dark suit and a white shirt.
Again he gave differing accounts of the shooting in his various statements. In the RMP statement he claimed to have seen a man draw back his arm and throw a petrol bomb, which he saw land but which did not explode. The man then disappeared from sight into the crowd before reappearing whereupon Soldier V took aim and shot him in the chest.
When asked by Christopher Clarke QC to explain why he had shot an unarmed man Soldier V said he believed he had engaged a legal target. By this he meant a petrol bomber who he claimed was threatening the life of Private S. He said he would do the same again and suggested any uncertainty or questions arose from the wording of the statements rather than his actions. He said he was a soldier not a wordsmith and the RMP statement was not written by him.
He said he could not remember being ordered to give evidence to the Widgery tribunal when Colonel Overbury called the Paras together. Nor did he remember his interview with John Heritage of Treasury Solicitors on 5 March 1972.
Mr. Heritage made a note after the interview was stopped by Major Bailey [B0821.0002]. That note records Soldier V’s account of shooting a man after he had thrown a bottle and after he returned into his view, i.e. essentially the same account as recorded in the RMP statement. Major Bailey signed the note to confirm it was an accurate record of what Soldier V had said. The note also recorded that Major Bailey had interrupted the interview in order to take advice from Colonel Overbury. A day or two later another solicitor, Mr. Stocker, took Soldier V’s Widgery statement. Soldier V claimed to have no recollection of; the interview with Mr. Heritage, speaking to Major Bailey, Colonel Overbury, or making the later statement.
The Widgery statement provides a different account in which Soldier V does not actually say he saw the bottle being thrown. Instead this statement suggests that Soldier V saw the petrol bomb in the man’s hand before he was obscured for “a fraction of a second,” Soldier V then fired. The events are described as “instantaneous” and only afterwards is Soldier V said to have realised the bomb had been thrown before he fired. This statement therefore avoids any suggestion that Soldier V knowingly shot an unarmed man.
Mr. Clarke QC suggested it was inconceivable that were this account true Soldier V could have expressed himself as he had done previously both to the RMP and Mr. Heritage. Barry Macdonald QC, representing the Duddy family amongst others, pointed out that contrary to the split second Soldier V later claimed, the account in his original RMP statement suggested an incident lasting several seconds. Furthermore the similarity in the two original versions suggested the confusion had nothing to do with any limitation in Soldier V’s powers of expression. Soldier V could not explain the contradictions other than to say he did not “knit the incidents together” in his original accounts. He said he considered he had done nothing illegal. After repeating this several times Lord Saville intervened to say that matters were being put to him so that he had the opportunity to answer allegations and provide any explanation he wanted to give. Soldier V denied Major Bailey or Colonel Overbury gave him an account which he repeated in his Widgery statement and evidence.
Soldier V sought to rely on his oral evidence to Lord Widgery as this was a verbatim record of his own words. However even here his account was contradictory and confused. At one point he says the fuse and petrol bomb were still in the man’s hand after he fell but elsewhere he say the fuse and bottle became separated after the bottle was thrown. He also refers to the fuse burning and in answer to another question it not being alight. In another answer he says he saw the bottle smash on impact. So confused was his evidence that Lord Widgery asked a series of questions to try and clarify which version he was relying on. Soldier V said he was only 20 years old at the time and under a lot of pressure. He could not explain the inconsistencies.
Soldier V agreed that when he fired he was shooting to kill as he was trained to do. He also agreed he gave no warning. He said he felt he was engaging a lawful target because the man was endangering life. However he said he did not know the petrol bomber’s target. Mr. Clarke pointed out even in the Widgery statement there was no reference to him believing anyone’s life was in danger. Soldier V denied altering his account to make it conform with the Yellow Card (the army’s rules of engagement). He said he was just trying to explain what happened in better English.
Debriefing
Soldier V said he had no memory of speaking to Major Loden, commander of Support Company, about his having fired. However he accepted he must have done so because Major Loden had recorded the ‘engagement’ on his list of engagements [B2283.0020]. This records 8 figure grid references for the locations of Soldier V and his target. Soldier V said he did not have a map but agreed he must have identified the locations to Major Loden on a map at some point.
Photograph 28 [P0028] is an aerial view of the Rossville Flats and the waste ground on which have been marked the position of Soldier V and his target. Soldier V said he did not remember the photograph or the positions being marked.
Private S Firing
In his Widgery statement Soldier V also gives an account of Private S engaging an alleged gunman in the gap between blocks 1 and 2 of the Rossville Flats. Soldier V claims to have seen flashes from a civilian gunman firing. He now says he has no recollection of this.
Although he now said he had no memory of it Soldier V’s Widgery statement records that after he had finished firing Soldier V sent Private S back to the pig. Sergeant O then told him to pull his men back but he had already done so. He then approached Sergeant O’s pig. There was then an ammunition check.
Jackie Duddy
In evidence to Lord Widgery Soldier V said people gathered around the body of the man he had shot and one of these may have been a priest [B0818]. Mr. Clarke QC explained that the Inquiry had been unable to identify anyone who fitted the description given by Soldier V and who had been shot in the Rossville Flats car park. It had not been possible therefore to identify the target he claimed to have shot. The only person shot in the torso in the area of the car park was Jackie Duddy. Jackie Duddy was killed by a bullet which entered his right shoulder and exited somewhere to the left of his chest. The evidence suggests Jackie Duddy was shot very soon after the first soldiers of Support Company debussed. The location at which he was shot is in almost the direct line of fire depicted on Soldier V’s trajectory photograph [P0028], albeit approximately 15-20 yards beyond the alleged target. Jackie Duddy fell forwards and ended up on his back in the position shown in photographs [e.g. EP0025.0006] having been turned over by bystanders.
Soldier V denied shooting Jackie Duddy insisting the man he shot was wearing a white shirt. He said the man was hit in the chest or stomach and propelled backwards by the force of the bullet. He denied the fact that he admitted to having lost sight of his target immediately before he fired meant he could have shot someone other than who he intended to shoot.
Peggy Deery
Peggy Deery was shot in the leg either in the Rossville Flats car park at the end of the Chamberlain Street gardens, or somewhere behind 32 to 36 Chamberlain Street. She may have pushed a man out of the way immediately before she was hit. Mr. Clarke QC said that in addition to there being no identified victim of Soldier V’s shot none of the other soldiers accounts, if truthful, could explain Ms. Deery’s shooting. The point identified as the location of his target on P0028 was almost exactly where Ms. Deery may have been shot, i.e. in the car park at the end of the row of Chamberlain Street gardens. Soldier V said he did not shoot Ms. Deery. He said that once his target went down and no longer posed a threat he paid no more attention to him. He therefore did not know what had happened to him.
Mr. Clarke then asked Soldier V his height and Soldier V claimed he did not know how tall he was.
What He Did Not See
Soldier V said the only soldier he saw fire was Private S. He did not see any other soldiers firing or any civilians hit other than the man he shot. However Private S’s evidence to Lord Widgery was that when he was firing there was already a body lying in the car park (presumably that of Jackie Duddy). It was put to Soldier V that if Private S had seen this then it should have been obvious to him as well. Soldier V said he did not remember. He had said in evidence to Lord Widgery that the man he shot was tended to by a priest but now said he must have taken this to have been the man he shot. He also said he did not see Michael Bridge being shot in the leg in the car park just in front of Sergeant O’s pig.
He said he had no knowledge of the nickname shown to him by Mr. Clarke.
Mr. Macdonald QC questioned Soldier V about his limited memory and asked how it was Soldier V claimed to remember stepping in a puddle but not shooting a man dead. Soldier V insisted this was his true recollection and denied he had said he killed the man, only that he thought he had. He also said he had been involved in another shooting incident sometime later in Belfast. Again he believed he had killed a man but it was never confirmed. He said he would not make up stories and was not lying.
By reference to various photographs [P0273, EP0024.0001 and EP0024.0002] Mr. Macdonald demonstrated that at the time Soldier V and his section were running across the waste ground Sergeant O’s pig had yet to come to a halt in the Rossville Flats car park. This suggested that the person who shot Jackie Duddy, who was killed very early on, probably came from Lieutenant N’s pig. He then outlined how the grid reference Soldier V gave Major Loden for his target was within feet of where Jackie Duddy was shot. This was also confirmed by the plan attached to Soldier V’s RMP statement where the position marked for the alleged petrol bomber was in almost exactly the same place. It was put to Soldier V that in marking photograph P0028 later, in preparation for the Widgery tribunal, Soldier V had sought to distance both himself and his target from these earlier locations. Soldier V denied this.
In the official Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Legal Register [OS0001.0814] dated 4 July 1972 the RUC concluded that the soldier who shot Jackie Duddy was guilty of murder but could not be identified.
Mr. Macdonald accused Soldier V of murdering Jackie Duddy and inventing a description of the man he claimed to have shot. Soldier V replied, “you are wrong.”
Soldier 006
Private, Motor Platoon, Support Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment
Made Statements to the RMP [B1375] and to this Inquiry on 20 November 2000 [B1377.001]
Soldier 006 has difficulty reading and writing consequently he tried to avoid arresting people because this involved paperwork. When engaged in riot control he tended to “cuff” people to make them disperse. By this he meant a shove with the butt of his rifle. When asked how hard he would hit them he said he would not knock them unconscious. He said he felt justified in not arresting people because the courts discriminated against Catholics who would receive harsher sentences than Protestants. However if he caught a “hard core rioter” he would arrest them.
Perceptions of Derry
Soldier 006 accepted he and the other paras got their perceptions of the situation in Derry from watching the television coverage at the time. Their view was that the Bogside was full of armed gunmen and that they should go in and give them all a good hiding. They would not stand back and take the rioting as the local regiments did. They did not think the local units were dealing with the situation and they all used to refer to them as “craphats”.
Presbyterian Church
Soldier 006 recalled being briefed that the original plan was to drive a pig through the wall next to the Presbyterian Church and deploy through there to William Street. However when they got to the church there was a diesel tank in front of the wall so the plan had to be abandoned. Whilst at the church there was a high velocity shot which struck the church drain pipe. He denied this made them pumped up and more aggressive. He said it just caused them to be on their toes. Soldier 006 did not remember hearing the 5 shots fired by members of the machine gun platoon from the building known as Abbey Taxis. He did not hear any nail bombs.
Going Into the Bogside
Having been ordered back to the vehicles Support Company then drove into the Bogside in a convoy. There were seven vehicles, 2 pigs for each platoon and Major Loden’s pig. There were 18 men in motor platoon and 9 men in each pig. Soldier 006 was not sure whether he was in Lieutenant N’s pig or Sergeant O’s. He thought he was in Sergeant O’s pig but he also thought Private S was driving. (Private S in fact drove Lieutenant N’s pig.) He could not recall who was in his pig on 30 January 1972 but he thought INQ 1918 was. (INQ 1918 was in Lieutenant N’s pig.) INQ 1918 usually carried a rubber bullet gun.
Soldier 006 recalled them driving into the crowd on the waste ground. He could not recall the pig stopping in Rossville Street, as Sergeant O’s pig had, for some soldiers to get out. In his statement he referred to the pig facing the Rossville Flats however he also said he had his back to the flats when he got out. He remembered a lot of people running past him towards the flats. He agreed it was difficult to distinguish between rioters and the crowd. They didn’t really make any distinction.
William Dillon’s Arrest
After most of the crowd had dispersed but before he heard rifle fire Soldier 006 described seeing a man run directly towards the army vehicles on Rossville Street. He claimed to believe the man was a threat so he grabbed him. The man was not armed with any missile. Soldier 006 admitted hitting the man with his rifle butt but denied hitting him on the head. He said he had to hit him in order to restrain him. As he was tussling with Mr. Dillon he was joined by another para, Soldier 037. Soldier 037 was the driver of another vehicle. Together they frog marched the man to the vehicles in Rossville Street.
Geoffrey Morris, a photographer for the Daily Mail, took a photograph [EP0002.0005] of Soldier 006 grappling with Mr. Dillon. In it they are the only two people visible on the waste ground. Soldier 006 denied the situation was as calm as it appears in the photograph. Mr. Morris had given a statement to the Widgery tribunal [M0057.0003] in which he described the arrest. He said there was shooting in the area of Pilot Row when he saw a boy crossing the waste ground. He looked very confused. A para near to a 3 tonne lorry on Rossville Street threatened the boy with a pistol and shouted at him to stop. Another para then approached the boy but before he got to him a third para came up behind him and hit him with his rifle butt. The boy said “God don’t hit me!”
David Capper, another journalist, also described a man being clubbed after he had been threatened by a para with a pistol. Soldier 006 denied coming up behind Mr. Dillon. He said he could not recall a para with a pistol but Sergeant Major Lewis is pictured in one of the photographs [EP0002.0007] wearing a pistol in a holster.
Another photographer, Coleman Doyle, took a series of photographs of the arrest. The Contact strip, showing the pictures in sequence [P0233.0010], depicts Mr. Dillon escaping Soldier 006, being grabbed again, Soldier 037 joining and loosing his helmet. Finally all three are seen heading towards Major Loden’s pig and other army vehicles in Rossville Street.
The arrest report for Mr. Dillon [ARR0013.0003] records Soldier 037 as the arresting officer, not Soldier 006. He is recorded as a witness. Soldier 006 said that although he was the first to grab hold of Mr. Dillon he did not say “I’m arresting you” and he passed him to Soldier 037. He could not explain why the reason for arrest was given as “prisoner was seen to kick a soldier in Rossville Street” unless Soldier 037 had seen him being kicked. His RMP statement also records the reason for arrest as assault but Soldier 006 said the RMP may have put that even if he had not said it. It was common for the RMP to write statements and the soldiers just agreed. Soldier 006 said that when he made his statement to the RMP in 1972 he would have signed it without reading it.
Firing at Rubble Barricade
Soldier 006 then rejoined his platoon at the north end of Block 1 of the Rossville Flats and it was at this time that he first became aware of gunfire. Whilst standing at the corner of the block Soldier 006 looked around the corner towards the rubble barricade. He saw bullets striking the barricade but says he did not see any civilians. He assumed they were hiding behind the barricade. He only heard SLR fire but said it was controlled and disciplined. He referred to seeing a para to his right firing at the barricade from a position behind a low wall on the other side of Rossville Street. He did not see any civilian gunmen or nail bombers. He said he only saw one soldier firing.
He did hear an older man (Alexander Nash) being told he would be shot if he remained at the barricade. Mr. Nash had been wounded in the shoulder and was with his son William who was shot dead at the barricade. Soldier 006 said Soldier U was not firing from the corner at which he was standing at this time.
In his statement to the RMP he referred hearing shooting and then says his pig moved to within 10 yards of the end of Block 1. He moved to the rear of the pig and it was from here that he described seeing the para firing at the rubble barricade. He referred to seeing three bullets striking the barricade. In evidence Soldier 006 said there were no vehicles between him and the para he saw firing. He said the photograph [EP0002.0008] depicting Colonel Wilford and other paras behind the wall at the end of Kells Walk was roughly what he saw.
Stairwell of Rossville Flats
Soldier 006 then says everything went quiet. He and a couple of others then entered the stairwell to the Rossville Flats. He agreed there were civilians, including a woman, sheltering in the stairwell. However he denied there was a confrontation in the stairwell. Patrick B. Duffy, who was in the stairwell, made a statement in 1972 in which he said he told the soldiers there were women and children present and they didn’t want any trouble. He was hit with a rifle butt and shot in the back with a rubber bullet at point blank range. Soldier 006 denied this happened. He and the others went up to the first floor balcony but retreated because they felt they were in a vulnerable position.
Collecting Bodies on the Rubble Barricade
Soldier 006 says he was then tasked to pick up the bodies on the rubble barricade. Private S drove the pig through the barricade and reversed back up. Soldier 112 was definitely in the pig and 013 and 017 may also have been there. There was no gunfire at this stage but they picked up the bodies as quickly as they could because they thought they could be shot at. They did not search the bodies or the barricade for weapons. They were not told to do so and did not think to do so. He didn’t see any point in searching the bodies. He agreed he did not see a cache of arms or explosives at the barricade. He denied the bodies were treated with contempt but accepted they were placed on top of each other in the pig.
A Job Well Done
Soldier 006 recalled there being a priest who was inquiring about the bodies in the pig. In his statement to the Inquiry he referred to him being “sent from vehicle to vehicle” but in evidence denied giving him the run around. Later Sergeant O said of the operation it was a “job well done.” He could not recall him saying anyone had done anything wrong.
Other Incidents
Soldier 006 said he had fired three shots himself during an incident in Tenant Street in Belfast. This was after Bloody Sunday. Before Bloody Sunday he said he had been fired on by Thompson sub-machine gun and another time was very close to a nail bomb when it exploded. He was not injured on either occasion.
INQ 1152
Lance Corporal, Signals Platoon, B Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment
Made Statement to the Inquiry [C1152]
INQ 1152 was on his second tour of Northern Ireland in 1972. He was one of Colonel Wilford’s signallers (i.e. radio operators). On 30 January 1972 he was with Colonel Wilford as his signaller on the Battalion Network. He was carrying an A41 man pack radio. He confirmed he would have seen the Signal Instruction [W0287] setting out the arrangements for radio communications.
INQ 1152 did not know whether the secure BID150 radio was available on Bloody Sunday. He was shown a series of messages recorded in the Porter transcripts (Mr. Porter recorded the army’s radio communications on Bloody Sunday) where Colonel Wilford is complaining that the radio is not working. Just after 14:00 Colonel Wilford makes four transmissions on the Battalion Net all complaining that no one is responding to his requests. INQ 1152 said he could not recall any problems with the radios.
INQ 1152 remembered being in a forward observation post with Colonel Wilford. He thought General Ford and the Brigade Major were also there but he accepted this might have been later. He was with Colonel Wilford when the shot hit the Presbyterian Church. He claimed he heard the shot even though he was probably wearing earphones. He did not recall Colonel Wilford’s second in command being present.
Gunfire
INQ 1152 said he did not see Support Company’s pigs going into the Bogside but he followed Colonel Wilford in afterwards. He said he did not recall any gunfire before he went in but claimed he was fired at when going in with Colonel Wilford. He said they passed a group of paras at the north end of Rossville Street. He also saw Lieutenant N and Major Loden’s pig. He said he remembered seeing the rubble barricade at some point but claimed not to recall being at the low wall by Kells Walk where Colonel Wilford is pictured with a number of paras, including a signaller [EP0002.0008 and EP0004.0038]. Colonel Wilford is also pictured with two signallers at the north end of Rossville Street [EP004.0042] but INQ 1152 was unable to identify himself. His job was to remain close to the colonel at all times.
INQ 1152 claimed to have seen nothing of the shootings whether it was injured civilians or soldiers firing. All he said he could remember was a “gut feeling” he was being shot at.
Sergeant O
Platoon Sergeant, Motor Platoon, Support Company, 1para
Made Statements to the RMP on 31 January 1972 [B0440], 1 February 1972 [B0575.0143] and 15 February 1972 [B0464], to the Widgery Tribunal on 27 February 1972 [B0575.0145] and to this Inquiry in 1999 [B0575.0107].
In 1972 Sergeant O had been in the Parachute Regiment for around 10 years. He had served in Aden, Bahrain and Cyprus. He was awarded the military medal. He first went to Northern Ireland in 1969. During his second tour Sergeant O said Support Company began taking young soldiers straight out of training. These included Private R and Private T.
Sergeant O said the Paras had a different attitude to most of the other regiments serving in Ireland at the time. The Paras used the same tactics they had used in Cyprus and Aden. He described this as patrolling aggressively and asserting themselves on the streets. They would not stand and take whatever was thrown at them as other regiments did.
30 January 1972
Sergeant O said he had clear memories of the incidents when he fired on 30 January 1972. He had been parachuting in Cyprus for 10 days before Bloody Sunday. He was picked up from the ferry and immediately taken to Palace Barracks in Belfast from where he picked up his gear and went straight to Derry with the rest of motor platoon. Corporal P told him about Lieutenant N’s briefing the night before. They were being deployed as reserve. If required they were to conduct an arrest operation against rioters around Aggro Corner. Sergeant O knew of Aggro Corner from television coverage of the riots. The Paras were not impressed with the way the local regiments stood behind 6 foot shields under a barrage of missiles. Sergeant O spoke to Lieutenant N, the platoon commander, when they stopped for a break on route.
During the break Sergeant O spoke to a number of the men. They saw the day as an opportunity to sort out the hooligans in Derry. He also spoke to INQ 441 who was a friend, he was commanding machine gun platoon that day.
When they arrived in Derry they parked in a forming up point and the senior officers went off to do a reconnaissance. Major Loden, Company Sergeant Major Lewis, Lieutenant N and INQ 441 all went off leaving Sergeant O in charge of the whole company. He posted sentries and waited. During this time a local man asked that they leave but Sergeant O said they had as much right to be there as anyone else and threatened to arrest him if he didn’t clear off.
Presbyterian Church
Once the recce party got back they moved forward to the area near the post office and Presbyterian Church. Here the plan was for Sergeant O’s pig to be driven through a wall next to the church. His pig had metal bars on the front, known as cow catchers. Support Company would then deploy via William Street to Aggro Corner to cut off rioters trying to escape down Rossville Street. Sergeant O said he got the pig lined up but the plan to drive through the wall was abandoned because the drop on the other side was too great and there was rubble in the way.
Sergeant O said he could hear the beginnings of a riot over the other side of the wall to the south east. Some men were looking out from the low roof at the top of the wall when a shot hit the drain pipe of the church. He was not sure who was on the roof but it may have been Corporal P and Private 112. Sergeant O said he had no knowledge of either the deployment of machine gun platoon or the shots fired from Abbey Taxis by Soldiers A and B.
Mood Changed
Sergeant O said the mood in the church yard became more serious after the shot hit the drain pipe. The view was now that the risk of snipers was a reality. It had a significant effect on the operation. As a direct result most of the men in Support Company chose to carry their rifles rather than batons. Further-more Sergeant O claims to have received permission from Lieutenant N to cock his rifle whilst in the pig waiting to go in. Sergeant O said he could hear a number of the men doing the same. He denied this was dangerous or against the Yellow Card (the army’s rules of engagement). He said that so long as the safety catch remained on cocking the rifle was not dangerous or premature. He feared they might be shot at as they debussed.
Going In
Very soon after the drainpipe shot they received the order to go in. Lieutenant N told sergeant O that they were going to drive through barrier 12. Lieutenant N’s pig would go in first followed by Sergeant O’s pig. Lieutenant N said they would use their usual tactic of driving into the middle of the crowd and debussing. There was no specific agreement as to where to stop. Sergeant O described this as normal. INQ 1579 was driving his pig. INQ 768 and Privates R, T and U were also in it. There were 9 men in each pig but he could not remember exactly who was in which pig that day. As they drove in his pig hit the barrier and dragged along one of the soldiers who had been manning it together with some barbed wire. He broke free after a few yards.
Sergeant O put on his gas mask as they drove down Little James Street but took it off again before getting out of the pig. He did not bother to put his helmet back on. Sergeant O said there was no change of plan in going beyond Aggro Corner, they were just trying to get in behind the rioters. They drove down Rossville Street and Sergeant O saw Lieutenant N’s pig turn left onto the waste ground. He told INQ 1579 to carry on down Rossville Street to get beyond Lieutenant N’s pig so they could trap rioters between the vehicles. The anti tank platoon were behind and they would go to the right.
Fifty Yards Too Far
Sergeant O denied the pig could have hit anyone as they drove onto the Rossville Flats car park but then accepted he may have been wrong when told of the evidence of INQ 1579, the driver, who accepts he hit Alan Burke as the vehicle stopped. It took a long time to stop the pig once it got going. Some of the men debussed before the vehicle stopped. When it did stop Sergeant O got out of the passenger door and INQ 1579 got out of the driver’s door. At first they both remained to guard the vehicle whilst others carried out arrests. When he got out Sergeant O realised they were right underneath the three blocks of the Rossville Flats and he thought to himself “this is not where I wanted to be.” He would have much preferred to have been 50 yards further north closer to Lieutenant N’s pig. He thought his men were vulnerable to being shot at.
William Doherty
Sergeant O said those fleeing into the car park were of no interest to them so he turned his back on the flats and concentrated on the people between the two pigs. He says he only went two yards from the pig before a bottle was thrown at him. It missed and hit the pig. He claimed the man who threw the bottle was only a couple of yards away and he grabbed him by the left hand. He then hit the man on the head with the stock of his rifle. The force of the blow shattered the plastic.
Sergeant O said he was struck in the stomach and on the back of the neck by fleeing rioters a he made the arrest. He handed the man to a junior NCO (non commissioned officer) for him to be placed in the back of the pig. Arrest photographs ARR0016.0001 and ARR0016.0002 picture Sergeant O with William Doherty who was 56 years old at the time. There is a wound to his forehead and left eye which had been cleaned up before the second photograph was taken.
Mr. Doherty is now dead but in 1972 he provided an account of his arrest to a journalist from the Sunday Times, Mr. Jacobson [AD0113.0003]. Mr. Doherty describes being overcome by CS gas and stumbling onto the waste ground. He then saw people running and he ran too. He was caught by a Scottish para who was abusing him, calling him an “Irish bastard.” He also describes being kicked all the way to a pig parked near Eden Place. Sergeant O denied abusing or kicking Mr. Doherty. Mr. Doherty says he was forced into the pig and a rubber bullet was then fired at his arm at point blank range. This caused severe bruising which lasted about a month. Sergeant O denied any knowledge of this.
Another man, William Barber, also gave an account of Mr. Doherty’s arrest to the Sunday Times [AB0009.0001]. Mr. Barber describes a para trying to “beat the hell out of an old man.” He says he felt guilty for not intervening but saw another man punch the para allowing the older man to break free briefly. However he was grabbed again and the other man ran off.
Charles Glenn has given evidence to the inquiry [statement AG0043.0003]. Mr. Glenn, who was dressed in the uniform of the Knights of Malta, says he saw a para hitting an elderly man on the head with his rifle. He shouted at the para “I order you to stop” at which point the para aimed his rifle at him. Mr. Glenn was then struck in the chest by another para wielding a rifle.
Finally Patrick McCrudden of the Civil Rights Association [AM0153.0015] saw the arrest from the top floor of Block 1 of the Rossville Flats. He describes a para attacking a middle aged man and a Knight of Malta intervening before himself being struck to the ground.
Sergeant O denied any of the accounts were accurate or related to his arresting Mr. Doherty. He did however accept Soldier 162’s account of receiving a prisoner from him near the back of 30 Chamberlain Street and taking him to Lieutenant N’s pig could be correct.
Incoming Gunfire
Having dealt with his prisoner Sergeant O turned back south. He was close to the front wheel on the passenger side of the pig when he claims to have heard bursts of gunfire coming simultaneously from 4 or 5 weapons all around the Rossville Flats. He said there were 20-30 rounds coming from all around him. It was a mixture of high and low velocity. In evidence to Lord Widgery Sergeant O had said he heard this gunfire as he returned to the pig. In an interview for Channel 4’s Secret History programme on Bloody Sunday Sergeant O said it was automatic gunfire that he heard. He now says this was wrong.
Sergeant O suggested the reason none of the soldiers was hit was that the fire was not controlled like deliberate sniper fire. He speculated that those firing the weapons were inexperienced and not “hard IRA men.” He claimed to see bullets strike the ground to his left and also hit the west wall of 36 Chamberlain Street. Although in evidence he said the first strike was on the wall and he did not see the second strike, on the ground between the houses and the pig, until later when Private S was engaging a gunman. He said by the time the firing started most of the civilians had passed his pig and were running towards the gaps between the blocks of the Rossville Flats. He said he was certain what he heard was incoming gunfire and not echoes of SLR fire.
Sergeant O Firing – Gunman One
Sergeant O claimed to see a man with a pistol crouched behind the boot of a red Cortina. He described him as standing behind a low wall. However the position Sergeant O gave for the gunman on the plan attached to his statement and when marking a photograph for the Inquiry [B0575.0169] was inside a fenced area of the car park where there was no access for vehicles. There could not have been a Cortina in the location he claimed to have seen the gunman. Gerard Elias QC, representing many of the soldiers, suggested to Sergeant O that the red car was in fact further south, closer to Block 2. A photograph marked by a civilian, Martin Tucker, also places a Cortina in this location. Mr. Tucker saw soldiers pumping shots into the car [AT0017.0005]. However Sergeant O stuck by his location for the car.
Sergeant O claimed the gunman was firing a pistol in his direction. He said he thought the man fired more than 6 shots very quickly. He was about 50 yards away. Sergeant O agreed he was completely exposed but said he preferred to stand his ground and return fire rather than take cover behind the pig first. Sergeant O fired a shot at the gunman but missed hitting the rear passenger window of the car. Sergeant O explained missing at 50 yards as unusual and being down to the damage to his rifle. He claims to have fired two more shots at the gunman hitting him with both. The man fell backwards behind the low wall. He believes he killed him.
Sergeant O then describes seeing a Knight of Malta medic walking or running from Chamberlain Street towards where the gunman fell. He says the Knight of Malta was followed by a woman and two men. He speculates that the gunman was carried off on a stretcher to the gap between blocks 2 and 3 of the Rossville Flats but he does not actually claim to have seen a stretcher. He says his view was partially obscured by the car and the low wall but he was sure this was what happened.
Gunman Two
Sergeant O claimed he saw a second gunman on the first floor balcony of block 3 as he was watching the first gunman being taken away. This gunman was partially obscured by a concrete pillar but he claims to have seen him holding a short barrelled rifle which he believed to be an M1 Carbine. He was sure this was what it was. Sergeant O said he could see flashes coming from the muzzle as the man fired at him. He says he did not know how often the man fired at him but he returned fire with a single shot. He missed claiming the shot he fired struck the concrete pillar and could not have entered one of the flats behind. However the gunman did not flinch. Sergeant O denied this was odd. Sergeant O fired twice more and says he hit the man in the head or shoulder at a range of about 75 yards. He says the man was flung back and dropped out of sight. Again he claims to have seen people move towards the gunman and he “assumed he was being dragged away.” The two shooting incidents took no more than a minute or two.
Private S and Gunman Three
Sergeant O then turned his attention to his men. He was still at the front of the pig and could see Private S to his left near the back of 36 Chamberlain Street. Private S was aiming his SLR towards the gap between blocks 1 and 2. Sergeant O says he could see a man with a weapon in the alleyway. There were also quite a few civilians there, “but they seemed to be wanting to put some distance between themselves and the gunman.” There were 10-20 civilians around. Again Sergeant O claims to be in no doubt he saw a third gunman.
Sergeant O claimed the gunman was kneeling and firing at Private S. There were three or four bursts. He claims to have seen bullets striking the rear wall of the Chamberlain Street houses and the ground between himself and Private S. Sergeant O said he was unable to fire at the gunman from his position because of the height of the pig’s bonnet and because of the proximity of civilians. However he said Private S had a clear shot and was “dealing with the situation.” He did not feel the need to get involved and actually looked away to see what else was happening. He said he knew Private S would not have “shot wildly in the direction of the gunman” but he stopped watching. He would only have intervened if Private S had gone down. Instead he turned away and moved to the rear of the pig. When asked by Christopher Clarke QC about the risk to civilians Sergeant O simply said, “you do not retreat. We had targets and we went for them.” Despite Private S’ inexperience and the presence of civilians Sergeant O did not continue to watch but turned away and went to the back of the pig.
Lord Saville asked Sergeant O whether he was just seeking to support Private S given he had not mentioned witnessing this incident in any of his contemporaneous accounts, i.e. all three RMP statements and his statement to the Widgery team. Sergeant O insisted he had seen Private S fire at a gunman.
Acid Bombs
At the back of the pig Sergeant O spoke to Private R and Private T. Private T said he and Private R had been attacked with acid bombs thrown from block 1. Based on previous experience in Belfast Sergeant O claimed acid bombs were extremely dangerous. He therefore ordered Private T to shoot the acid bomber if he threw another bottle. It was put to him that this was outside the Yellow Card rules which simply permit firing at a gunman or nail/petrol bomber. Sergeant O said, “I will take responsibility for that.” Sergeant O then says he saw the man throw another acid bomb from the second or third floor balcony of block 1. He says he heard the “distinctive bang” of the bottle hitting the ground close to block 1. He then heard but did not see two rounds being fired at the man. Only later did he discover Private T fired these.
He then looked back to see yet another strike of bullets at the rear of 36 Chamberlain Street and Private S return fire again. He did not see where Private S’ shot went. Private S told him later he had hit the gunman between blocks 1 and 2.
Gunman Four
Sergeant O returned to the front of the pig and then claims to have seen the body of the second gunman being carried down from block 3 by a group of people. He claims these people then disappeared into the gap between blocks 2 and 3 and “almost instantaneously” he came under fire from a fourth gunman. He said a man with an M1 Carbine started shooting at him from ground level at the mouth of the gap between blocks 2 and 3. He assumed the man was using the same weapon previously used by the second gunman whose body had just been carried away. The man fired at him once or twice and he returned fire with two shots. The man “jerked round the corner out of sight” and Sergeant O said he did not think that he hit him. After this things quietened down.
Colonel Wilford
The next thing Sergeant O remembered was Colonel Wilford being with him at the pig. He told Colonel Wilford about ordering Private T to fire at the acid bomber and he says Colonel Wilford “reminded me about following the Yellow Card.” Colonel Wilford then moved off.
Later he spoke to Lieutenant N when he brought his pig up close to Sergeant O’s. Major Loden’s vehicle was also brought up. At this stage the car park was empty and there were no more missiles being thrown. Sergeant O remembers feeling very pumped up. Privates R and T were still at the pig as was INQ 768. The people who had been arrested were sent back via Guinness Force for processing.
What He Did Not See
Although he managed to see four gunmen Sergeant O claims not to have seen any civilians shot in the Rossville Flats car park. He claims never to have noticed the body of Jackie Duddy in the car park surrounded by people, including Father Daly. Nor did he see the body carried away. Nor did he see Michael Bridge, Michael Bradley or Peggy Deery shot; all of whom were hit in the car park or close to it. He also did not see what is accepted by all parties to have been a civilian with a pistol at the end of Chamberlain Street. He did not see any petrol bombs or nail bombs even though in his first RMP statement he did claim petrol bombs were thrown. He now says this was included in the statement because others in the platoon had told him petrol bombs had been thrown. He also says he was never far enough south to have seen around the back of Block 1 where Hugh Gilmour and Bernard McGuigan were killed. He also did not see the alleged targets fired at by Lieutenant N or Soldier Q.
Collection of Bodies
Lieutenant N then ordered them to pick up bodies from the rubble barricade. Lieutenant N’s pig drove forward and Sergeant O followed close by on foot. He watched other members of the platoon pick up three bodies and put them in the pig. Sergeant O said the bodies all looked as though they had been moved after they had been shot, their heads were all facing north. Once the bodies were in the pig, it and the men returned to the north end of block 1. Sergeant O denied witnessing the exchange between Father Irvine and soldiers at the pig when he was told there were no bodies in the vehicle. Father Irvine says he was threatened with being shot if he opened the door of the pig but he did so and anointed the bodies. He then remonstrated with the soldiers who had lied to him about the bodies being in the pig but they just smirked. Sergeant O accepted the person guarding the pig would have been from his platoon.
Altnagelvin Hospital
Six of them, including Sergeant O, then got into the pig to take the bodies to the hospital. INQ 768 was driving the pig and Sergeant O sat next to him. They had to ask directions from the soldiers at the Royal Anglian Regiment checkpoint at Craigavon Bridge.
At the hospital Sergeant O went in to find a doctor to confirm the people were dead. He described the scene inside the hospital as mayhem. The doctor told him to wait but he insisted he come out to the pig. The doctor confirmed they were dead and told him to take the bodies to the mortuary. There Sergeant O says he was asked by an RUC officer to provide sentries in case the IRA mounted a “rescue operation to get back some of the bodies.” Eventually the bodies were carried from the pig and laid on the floor of the mortuary. It was dark by the time they left the hospital. Father Irvine, who was also at the hospital, recorded the time when the bodies arrived at the mortuary as being 18:15.
Fort George
Sergeant O was ordered, via the radio, to return to Drumahoe Barracks to meet up with the rest of the battalion. Later, about 21:00, he was ordered to go to Fort George to identify prisoners. When he got there he went into a dimly lit hanger and saw 50-60 people inside a wire cage being guarded by police officers with dogs. An RUC officer asked him to pick out the man he had arrested and he did so. He told the RUC officer the man he identified had thrown a bottle at him. The man tried to say something but Sergeant O interrupted him and stopped him from saying anything. They were photographed together and Sergeant O left. Sergeant O denied there was any brutality towards prisoners on this or any other occasion. He said complaints of brutality were frequent and they devised a “buddy system” so that each soldier would have a witness to an arrest which would help to secure a conviction at court.
Ammunition Check
Sergeant O said he did not remember the ammunition check and speculated it may have occurred after he and his men got back from Fort George. He would have got the platoon together to account for the ammunition but he said he did not do the physical check at 17:00 referred to by Company Sergeant Major Lewis [B2030]. CSM Lewis said this was done by the platoon sergeants and they came up with a figure of 94 rounds expended. This figure was confirmed by CSM Lewis who did his own check. However Lord Widgery subsequently determined that 108 rounds had been fired by the Paras and this accords with the figure which appears in the radio logs at 18:10 [W0091].
In his statement to the Inquiry Sergeant O refers to Soldier 162, a senior corporal, having already begun the ammunition check by the time he returned to Drumahoe from the hospital. However he said he could not remember this now. The ammunition had been issued by the Company Sergeant Major (CSM Lewis) and had to be returned to him. He said he may have done a quick ammunition check when they left Rossville Street and made all the rifles safe. At Drumahoe he would have checked each member of the platoon to see if he had fired any rounds. The platoon ammunition count would have been written on a piece of paper which Sergeant O would have been given to CSM Lewis. It would then have been thrown away. Sergeant O said he was not aware members of his platoon had fired 43 rounds. He denied being alarmed by the shooting.
Statements
Later that evening Sergeant O gave a statement to the RMP (RMP 1). He was one of the last soldiers to make a statement that evening. He thought it was later than the time 21:30 recorded on the statement. Much earlier, around 18:00, Major Loden had debriefed Support Company at the original forming up position and had made a list of engagements. Sergeant O may have been at Altnagelvin hospital at this time. Neither his nor Private S’ alleged gunmen and exchanges of fire appear on the Loden List. Private S and Sergeant O both made supplementary statements later in which they each corroborated the other’s account.
In both his first and second RMP statements Sergeant O refers to the second gunman as being on the veranda between blocks 2 and 3, i.e. the enclosed walkway above the alleyway, as opposed to the balcony of block 3. In evidence to Lord Widgery he also referred to the lowest of the 2 cat walks between blocks 1 and 2 [B0478]. It was put to him by Barry Macdonald QC that he had altered his evidence because he had not realised the walkways were enclosed so he had to move his alleged gunman to the balcony of block 3. Sergeant O denied this.
In his first RMP statement he refers to being under constant “small arms fire” and in his statement to this Inquiry he said in his mind an M1 rifle was a small arm. Sergeant O said in his most recent statement that the inaccuracies in his first statement were due to the fact that he was tired when he made it. He claims to have noticed an error, regarding firing only 2 shots at the second gunman, when he read through a typed copy the next day. However he says the RMP officer did not want him to correct it but instead make a second statement.
Sergeant O made a third statement to the RMP on 15 February 1972. This deals with his witnessing the acid bombing and ordering Private T to fire. In this statement he claims to have witnessed seeing more than one acid bomb being thrown. Sergeant O said after so long he was inclined to rely on this earlier account.
On 27 February 1972 Sergeant O, Lieutenant N and another officer (whose name he cannot now recall) drove to Coleraine to make statements to Mr. Heritage of the Widgery inquiry team. Lieutenant N gave his statement first, then Sergeant O. The other officer just “came along for the ride.” It was at this interview that Mr. Heritage marked a photograph with the trajectory of the shots Sergeant O claims to have fired.
Sergeant O denied he had ever told anyone he had seen a man fall from a window or balcony of the Rossville Flats after he had been shot.
Sergeant O claimed it was “unrealistic” for anyone to have had private supplies of ammunition and says he never came across anyone with private ammunition during his entire army carrier. He claimed he had never heard of it and saw no reason for it.
When giving evidence to Lord Widgery Sergeant O estimated between 80-100 rounds had been fired at him and his men. He said this was only an estimate and it could have been 60 or 120. However no soldier was hit by any bullet, ricochet or shrapnel. Nor was there any evidence to suggest even the pig was hit by a single shot. Sergeant O said he did not think to check the pig for damage. It was put to him that he would have noticed had the windscreen, tyres or headlights been damages and it was remarkable given all the shooting that there was no damage. At no stage did Sergeant O order anyone to report the fact that they had come under fire.
Sergeant O denied being anti-Irish or being aware of hostility towards Irish Catholics from Scottish Protestants. He denied he was a true blue Loyalist but he is a Protestant. He had heard comments such as “fucking Irish” or “fucking Paddy” but denied any personal hostility. He did object to the existence of ‘no go’ areas. He thought things had to be sorted out and the hard core rioters taken off the streets. He and others in the Paras referred to other regiments as crap hats.
Sergeant O admitted feeling pumped up but denied feeling like John Wayne. He said John Wayne was one of his heroes. In the 1991 Channel 4 interview Sergeant O said “Derry was not wrong… it was a disciplined force caught in a situation.” He told the interviewers he did not want to talk about Bloody Sunday but said this was because they had lied to him about the nature of the programme they were making rather than because he had difficulties talking about Bloody Sunday itself.
INQ 1493 said senior NCOs told him to “button his lip.” Sergeant O knew INQ 1493, although they were not in the same platoon. He denied saying this to him.
INQ 1579
Private, Mechanised Transport platoon, B Company, 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment
Made Statement to the Inquiry on 25 May 2000 [C1579]
INQ 1579 was a driver and in January 1972 he had been driving Sergeant O’s pig for motor platoon for about six months. He was 19 years old and 12 months out of training. He was never asked to make a statement in 1972. He said the pig was a heavy and cumbersome vehicle. Its top speed was about 30 mph but he would not have had time to get up to that speed in the distance he drove from barrier 12. He did not remember stopping to let people out in Rossville Street before turning onto the Rossville Flats car park.
INQ 1579 said when they went in they had to think the worst therefore they considered everyone in the crowd to be a rioter.
As he drove through barrier 12 in Little James Street he hit the barricade dragging it along for a while. A soldier was knocked into the barbed wire and also dragged along by the pig. INQ 1579 admitted to hitting a man as he stopped the pig in the car park. He said the man stood in front of the vehicle with his arms outstretched and the pig nudged him as it moved forward on the springs before coming to a halt.
Even though he did not feel the impact when he hit the soldier he denied it was possible that he could have hit Alana Burke without noticing. She was struck by the pig as it entered the car park. INQ 1579 insisted this did not happen.
INQ 1579 cocked his weapon when he jumped out of the pig. He then went to the rear of the vehicle. He described a hail of missiles coming down from the Rossville Flats and debris all over the car park. However when shown photographs of the car park taken on the day he agreed there was a lot less debris than he remembered. He described hearing gunfire and seeing bullets strike the ground around the pig. However in his statement to the Inquiry he had only said he heard and did not see the strike. INQ 1579 said he had had a flashback. He said he heard the sound of metal being struck and he assumed bullets had hit the pig. After the shooting stopped he moved to the rubble barricade.
INQ 1579 says he observed his colleagues whilst at the back of the pig yet he denies seeing anyone fire a single shot. Lord Saville asked if he really had no memory of any of the shootings and INQ 1579 said it had all faded and gone.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
