1972 Aldershot bombing: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:48, 31 May 2006

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The '''1972 Aldershot Bombing''' occurred on [[February 22]], [[1972]] in [[Aldershot]], [[Hampshire]], just three weeks after [[Bloody Sunday (1972)|Bloody Sunday]]. It was the [[Official Irish Republican Army]]'s largest attack in [[Britain]] during the [[Troubles]] and one of the last major actions of their armed campaign before their ceasefire in June of that year.

Their target was the headquarters of the 16th Brigade [[Parachute Regiment]], which had been heavily accusedinvolved in the [[Bloody Sunday (1972)]] shootings in [[Derry]]. A [[Ford Cortina]] with a large bomb hidden inside was left in the base car park, deliberately positioned outside the officer's mess.

The time-release bomb exploded suddenly on the morning of the 22nd, withand the blast destroyingdestroyed the officer's mess. Theand wrecked several nearby army office buildings in an explosion which could be heard over a mile away. Officers,The soldiers who were the intended targets of the bomb were not present, as the bombregiment haditself failedwas tostationed detonateabroad goneand offmost earlystaff officers were in their offices, not in the mess. NeverthelessNonetheless, seven people were killed., Fiveincluding ofan themelderly [[women]]gardener, afive [[gardener]],cleaning staff just leaving the premises and a [[Roman Catholic]] army [[priest]]. Nineteen people were also wounded by the explosion.

Authorities were shocked and concerned by this first major attack in Britain, and lax security at many bases was tightened up in an effort to prevent a repeat of the attack. The day after the explosion, the Official IRA claimed full responsibility, calling the attack revenge for [[Bloody Sunday (1972)]] and announcing that this would be just the start of a protracted bombing campaign on the mainland. However the fact that the bomb had killed only civilians, including a Catholic priest brought severe criticism on the OIRA and this was one of a numbr of factors that caused their leadership to halt their armed campaign later that year. Although many more innocent civilians died in subsequent attacks.

The larger and more militant, [[Provisional IRA]] continued to attack targets in Britain (see [[Balcombe Street Gang]]). In 1989, they bombed a Royal Marine barracks killing 11 soldiers (See [[1989 Deal barracks bombing]]).

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In November 1972, Noel Jenkinson, a known Republican activist {{ref|Jenkinson}}, was convicted of the murders and received a lengthy jail term, dying in prison of heart failure four years later.

===The dead===

Names of those killed in the attack were

* Thelma Bosley

* Margaret Grant

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*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/22/newsid_2519000/2519029.stm BBC account of the incident]

==References==

# {{note|Jenkinson}} Republican News Letter,.[http://republican-news.org/archive/1997/November06/06ndil.html]

==References==

[[Category:Terrorist incidents in the 1970s]]

[[Category:Irish Republican Army|Aldershot Bombing, 1972]]