In August 1972, Hollywood actor Ben Affleck was born. Affleck is famous for many big blockbuster hits such as Good Will Hunting, The Accountant and Armageddon, to name a few. However, he also starred in a movie in 2020 called ‘Finding The Way Back’. Although the plot has no connection to what we saw happening in Northern Ireland, I thought that the movie title was quite apt given the efforts of the political leaders to try and gain control and bring peace during turbulent times.
From a political point of view, August began with the Attorney General publishing in Hansard an answer, in response to a Parliamentary Question, about the file sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland by the RUC on the matter of 'Bloody Sunday' (30th of January 1972). The conclusion was that there would be no prosecution of any member of the security forces as a result of the killings. Charges in respect of riotous behaviour against some civilians were also dropped. In the general review of security, the following was recorded from a meeting on Law and Order. However, you can read the full report here.
The GOC and Chief Constable reported a generally quiet night. The reception in most of the former Republican no-go areas had not been actively hostile although some resentment had been shown.
There were rumours that Provisional IRA leaders had gone over the Border and that arms had been hidden both in country areas in Northern Ireland and across the Border in Co Donegal. The car bombs in Claudy, Co Londonderry, which had killed 6 people, were probably planted by the Provisional IRA which had then reacted to adverse publicity, as in the case of the Aborcorn Restaurant explosion in Belfast, by disclaiming involvement.
More public records that were released in January 2003 also contained a note from R.T. Armstrong, then with the Prime Minister's office, to T.C. Platt, then with the Northern Ireland Office on the 4th of August. The note shows that Prime Minister Edward Heath was highly sensitive to the issue of the interrogation of prisoners by the security forces.
Another political development at the end of August was a letter sent from D. Holden to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland W. Whitelaw on the subject of integration. There were four points in the letter.
When submitting our earlier paper entitled. "A Devolutionary Solution" I indicated that Northern Ireland Permanent Secretaries under the general umbrella of the Future Policy Group were also working on a paper on the integration approach.
The attached paper is the outcome of a number of discussions and, as with the paper on devolution, not all our members supported in full each of the detailed suggestions. I have also cut short some of the enquiries which some members would have liked to pursue. I did this because I thought that it was more important to produce a paper quickly.
We have considered integration in the context of existing arrangements in the United Kingdom and have not tried to anticipate the recommendations of the Kilbrandon (formerly Crowther) Commission or the reaction of the UK Government to them. Our proposal for a Scottish Convention on the general lines suggested by the Douglas-Home Committee might well be affected by the findings of the Kilbrandon Commission in relation either to Scotland or to regional Government generally.
We are at present at work on the draft of a paper on what we call "The Irish Dimension". This recognises that the Northern Ireland problem has an "external" as well as an "internal" character and that any real solution must take account of both.
On the 29th of August, a meeting was held by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw. The meeting covered what they classed as several ‘short-term’ problems that required early action.
Sectarian Murders
The Chief Constable reported that since 1 July there had been some 48 cases of murder - 26 of Roman Catholics and 22 of Protestants - where political or sectarian motives might be involved: it would be wrong however to attribute all the murders on one side to the other as among the dead were several men with criminal records who might well have been killed by those of their own community. The very high number of these murders was indicative of the general state of lawlessness, the number of arms held illegally and the lack of cooperation by the public in bringing forward information. The Secretary of State accepted a suggestion by Sir David Holden that in attempting to allay public fears about inactivity in dealing with these murders he could, when meeting the press on the following day at least categorise these murders as sectarian shootings of selected victims, random sectarian shootings and the elimination of renegades by their own people. He would also mention the £50,000 award fund for information, the acceptance of anonymous information and the possibility of direct communication with himself.
Bomb Attacks on Claudy
The Chief Constable reported that the RUC wished to interview 5 people - some believed to be over the Border - in connection with the car bomb attacks on Claudy village and the Secretary of State welcomed the opportunity of Mr Lynch's visit to Mr Heath on the following Monday to confront the former with a direct request for extradition.
Case of Miss Anne Walsh
The meeting considered the possibility of bringing charges against Miss Anne Walsh who had been detained for questioning a few days previously. The Chief Constable was to report back the following morning.
Illegal Road Checks
The GOC informed the Secretary of State that there had been some reduction in the number of illegal CESA and UDA road checks but that some fringe elements were still creating a nuisance.
Army Occupation of Roman Catholic Schools
The GOC reported on the progress made in vacating some school accommodations and on the need for retaining the remainder until the end of the year. A press statement would be issued the following day on the lines indicated.
Protection of Belfast City Centre
The GOC explained the difficulties of balancing maximum security precautions against minimum interference with normal life and urged that the Corporation and other bodies concerned with the City Centre should keep in close contact with the local Army Commander in the area rather than bring complaints at intervals to Stormont Castle. The Secretary of State wished to have details for his press conference the following day of IRA penetrations of the security screen around the centre of Belfast.
Longer-Term Appraisal
The GOC saw the next few months as falling into 3 separate phases each requiring a different security policy:
1. The present period leading up to the September constitutional conference.
2. The period of further negotiations and planning.
3. The period during which the political solution would be implemented.
As the politicians continued to beaver away in the background to try and contain and control the violence on the streets of Northern Ireland, there was still a resistance movement taking place. In recent months, quite several shootings, beatings or stabbings had taken place.
03/08/72 - IRA volunteer Robert McCrudden (19), was shot by the British Army during a gun battle on Hooker Street, Ardoyne, Belfast.
04/08/72 - British soldier David Card (21), was killed by an IRA sniper while on foot patrol in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.
07/08/72 - Civilian Terence Hennebrey (17), was found shot in entry off Glenmachan Street, Village, Belfast. It’s believed that loyalist paramilitaries were responsible.
07/08/72 - Off-duty UDR Officer William Creighton (27), was shot by the IRA outside his home, Drumrainey, Magheraveely, near Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh.
12/08/72 - The body of a Catholic civilian (Francis Wynne, 37) was found in an abandoned car on Jaffa Street, Shankill, Belfast. He had been kidnapped, beaten and shot twice in the head by UDA volunteers.
13/08/72 - The UDA stabbed a Catholic civilian (Thomas Madden, 48) to death in a shop doorway on Oldpark Road, Belfast. He was a night watchman. The man had 110 stab wounds on all parts of his body.
14/08/72 - Civilian Charles McNeill (70), was also killed in the crossfire between an IRA unit and a British patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast.
16/08/72 - The UVF shot dead a Protestant civilian (William Spence, 32) in the Long Bar, Shankill, Belfast, where he worked as a barman.
17/08/72 - British soldier Michael Boddy (24), was shot dead by the IRA in a sniper attack just off the Grosvenor Road in Belfast.
18/08/72 - British soldiers Leonard Layfield (24) and Richard Jones (23), were killed in separate IRA sniper attacks in Belfast. Mr Jones was killed while on mobile patrol at Excise Street off Grosvenor Road, whilst Mr Layfield was killed at the junction of Beechmount Avenue & Falls Road while manning a vehicle checkpoint.
18/08/72 - The UDA shot dead a Catholic civilian (Philip Faye, 21) at his home on Island Street, Belfast.
20/08/72 - The UVF shot dead a Protestant civilian (James Lindsay, 45), and dumped his body on the Glencairn Road, Glencairn, Belfast.
22/08/72 - The IRA shot dead a member of the Loyalist Association of Workers (James Johnston, 40) on Turin Street in Belfast.
23/08/72 - British soldier Alan Tingey (25) was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack in the Andersonstown area of Belfast.
23/08/72 - A British soldier and four civilians were shot and wounded in Belfast, Hollywood and Lurgan.
25/08/72 - British soldier Arthur Whitelock (24), was shot dead by an IRA sniper in the Shantallow area of Derry.
26/08/72 - The UVF shot dead two Catholic civilians in Belfast. One, John Nulty (26), was found on Agnes Street, Shankill; the other, Patrick Kelly (26), was found on Benwell Street, Lower Oldpark.
27/08/72 - British soldier Anthony Metcalfe (28), was shot dead by an IRA sniper in Creggan Heights, Derry.
27/08/72 - The UDA shot dead a Protestant civilian (Thomas Boyd, 28) at his home on Carlisle Street, off Crumlin Road, Belfast.
28/08/72 - British soldier Ian Morrell (29), was shot dead in an IRA sniper attack on Beechmount Avenue in Belfast.
30/08/72 - British soldier David Griffiths (20), was shot by an IRA sniper while on British Army foot patrol, Clonard Street, Lower Falls, Belfast.
31/08/72 - The UDA shot dead a Catholic civilian (Patrick Devenney, 27) on Rugby Road, Belfast. The body was found in a sack.
31/08/72 - A Catholic civilian (Eamon McMahon, 19) was found dead in the River Bann at Portadown. He had been tied up and beaten to death by UDA volunteers.
Bombings continued to be a method of choice for mass destruction and death for the IRA in August 1972, with 23 fatalities as a result.
03/08/72 - British soldier William Clark (34), was killed attempting to defuse an IRA bomb discovered by the side of the road, Urney, near Clady, County Tyrone.
07/08/72 - British soldiers David Wayne (21), Errol Gordon (22) and Geoffrey Knipe (24), were killed as a result of IRA bombs. Mr Wayne and Mr Gordon were killed in a land mine attack on British Army (BA) mobile patrol, Forfey, near Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh. Mr Knipe was killed when a British Army Armoured Personnel Carrier crashed after coming under a missile attack thrown from a crowd, in Drumarg, Armagh.
07/08/72 - The British army claimed that the IRA launched a rocket attack on La Salle school, in Andersontown, Belfast. The building had been converted to be used by the military. The IRA claimed instead that two 50 lb bombs were planted in the facilities.
09/08/72 - IRA volunteer Colm Murtagh (24), was killed when a bomb exploded accidentally in a garage in Newry.
11/08/72 - IRA volunteers Anne Parker (18) and Michael Clarke (22), died when the van bomb they were transporting exploded prematurely in the Lower Falls area of Belfast.
14/08/72 - British soldiers David Storey (36) and Brian Hope (20), were killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack at Casement Park British Army base in Belfast.
17/08/72 - A bomb planted by the IRA wrecked a crowded bar at Agnes Street, in Shankill Road. There were 55 injuries and damage to 35 surrounding residences.
22/08/72 - A bomb that was being planted by the IRA exploded prematurely at a customs post at Newry, County Down. Nine people, including three members of the IRA (Noel Madden (18), Patrick Hughes (35) and Oliver Rowntree (22)) and six civilians (Francis Quinn (28), Patrick Murphy (45), Craig Lawrence (33), Michael Gilleece (32), Joseph Fegan (28) and John McCann (60)), were killed in the explosion.
24/08/72 - British soldier Ian Caie (19), was killed in an IRA landmine attack on a British mobile patrol in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
25/08/72 - UDR soldiers Alfred Johnston (32) and James Eames (33), were killed by an IRA remote-controlled bomb, hidden in an abandoned car, detonated when Ulster Defence Regiment patrol approached, Cherrymount, near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.
28/08/72 - Civilian William Trotter (57) was killed when he triggered a booby-trap bomb near his farm in County Fermanagh. It was reported that the bomb had been intended for soldiers who were patrolling the area following reports of gunfire.
30/08/72 - British soldier Christopher Roy (20), died 12 days after being injured in a bomb attack on British Army (BA) foot patrol, Cupar Street, Belfast.
Some recommended reading based on research for this instalment of Tales of The Troubles.