The biggest story in the world in May 1972 was the death of Edward VIII, who died at his home in Paris. Edward VIII's reign as king was one of the shortest in British history, lasting only 326 days. He abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, an American woman who had previously been divorced. The British government and the Church of England, at the time, considered their marriage to be unacceptable for a reigning monarch.
After his abdication, Edward was given the title of Duke of Windsor, and he lived the rest of his life in exile, spending much of his time in France and the United States. He was succeeded by his younger brother, who became King George VI.
We’ll see that in the case of Northern Ireland’s ongoing conflict in 1972, the British Government may have made some similarly dubious calls to that of frowning upon a man’s choice of wife. That may be a contentious opinion, but I can’t help but feel that some old traditions and rules don’t fit the modern world.
The fallout from Bloody Sunday continued into May 1972, when The Irish Times (13th of May 1972; page 11) reported that, in reply to a written Parliamentary question by MP Bernadette Devlin, the British government stated that no disciplinary action would be taken against the soldiers who shot dead thirteen civilians in Derry on Bloody Sunday. Naturally, this didn’t go down well amongst some quarters of the conflict in Northern Ireland, proving to be fuel for their fire.
On the 24th of May, a meeting of the Future Policy Group was held in the Ministerial Conference Room, Stormont Castle at 11:30 am. In attendance was Mr Hill from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Sir William Nield, Permanent Under Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office. Some of what they discussed was as follows;
Current security situation.
During a general discussion on the security situation, Sir William Nield said that he welcomed the opportunity to discuss this important topic with Permanent Secretaries and would be quite happy to see it included on the agenda for subsequent meetings of the Future Policy Group as and when considered desirable.
Consideration of a paper on “review of options on political settlement”.
Sir William Nield said that the paper under consideration had been prepared by Mr Bloomfield as a starting point for discussion which it was hoped would lead to the submission to the Secretary of State of a paper setting out the views of heads of Northern Ireland Departments on the options open for a political settlement in Northern Ireland. After discussion, it was agreed that Northern Ireland as an independent State could not be considered a serious option because it would be economically disastrous, psychologically unacceptable and conducive to greater instability rather than the reverse. They also discussed that Northern Ireland could only be embodied in an all-Ireland State with the consent of a majority of the people in Northern Ireland, which would include looking to the Government in the Republic for a much more constructive contribution towards the maintenance of stability in the whole island of Ireland.
Integration
Mr Hill said that “integration" solutions would be opposed by the minority community and by many members of the majority community including possibly the Unionist Party. He said that he favoured a"devolutionary" solution but suggested that if there were to be a devolutionary Parliament it would be necessary for that Parliament to have responsibility for law and order. In relation to cooperation with the Republic of Ireland, he thought that Common Market membership for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland would create a new situation where greater cooperation could more easily develop and that the concept of a Joint Ministerial Council of Ireland was worthy of further
consideration. Not everyone present favoured Mr Hill’s idea of a devolutionary solution, with some suggesting that the practical options open were considerably reduced by the decision to proceed with the re-organisation of local government as previously planned.
Later that month in the Republic of Ireland, the Special Criminal Court was re-instituted to deal with crimes arising out of the Northern Ireland conflict. As part of the measures, trial by jury was suspended.
The biggest political development in May 1972 was the Official Irish Republican Army announcing a ceasefire, reserving the right of self-defence against attacks by the British Army and sectarian groups. However, the Provisional IRA dismissed the truce as having "little effect" on the situation. The Northern Ireland Secretary, William Whitelaw, welcomed the move and a spokesperson said it was "a step in the right direction". A statement about the ceasefire was issued by the Executive of the Northern Republican Clubs. It said;
"The overwhelming desire of the great majority of all the people of the north is for an end to military actions by all sides."
It went on to say that a suspension of activities would be a chance to prevent an all-out civil war in Ulster. The group insisted it would continue a campaign of civil disobedience and political struggle until its demands were met - namely;
the release of all internees,
an amnesty for political prisoners in British and Irish jails,
the withdrawal of British troops from the streets of Northern Ireland,
the abolition of the Special Powers Act
and a declaration of freedom of political expression.
One of the reasons for the ceasefire was the public reaction to the killing of Ranger Best on the 21st of May 1972 (we’ll discuss this further down). Although the OIRA was involved in several incidents following the ceasefire, it was to mark the end of its armed campaign.
The Future Policy Group met again on the 31st of May at Stormont Castle, with the discussion going as follows;
Sir William Nield said that further measures were being considered to combat the activities of the car bombers. It was agreed that the unattended car in the city centre in circumstances where there had been recent bombings without warning was a very serious problem. Mr Brooke emphasised that early measures to reassure people working in the centre of the city were essential. It was agreed that Mr Kidd should put the particular problem of Clarendon House, which was built around a car park which was due to re-open on 16 June, to Mr Woodfield.
In relation to a number of suggestions which were made about the security situation, Sir William Nield said that new arrangements were likely to be introduced replacing the Joint Security Committee which would provide a forum for official discussion. It was agreed that ideas could be fed into this forum from the Future Policy Group where appropriate.
Sir William Nield said that he hoped it would be possible to prepare a paper by the weekend which would set out the current thinking of heads of Northern Ireland departments on the options open for a political settlement in Northern Ireland.
Mr Holden said that Permanent Secretaries had had a further discussion on this important topic which could form the basis of at least a preliminary paper. Mr Holden said that Permanent Secretaries agreed that Northern Ireland as an independent State and early reunification of Ireland should not be regarded as serious options at this point in time. The options open therefore could effectively be divided into "integration solutions" and "devolutionary solutions". Mr Holden then summarised the different approaches and the views of Permanent Secretaries on them.
It was agreed that Mr Holden's summary, subject to a number of minor points largely of clarification, should be used as the basis for the proposed paper giving the views of heads of Northern Ireland departments on the options open for a political settlement in Northern Ireland.
Although promising that leading politicians were actively searching for a solution to the ongoing problems in Northern Ireland, unfortunately, it didn’t deter those intent on raging war from continuing their campaign of terror.
With a lot of shootings and bombings to document in May 1972, over the weekend of the 13th-14th of May, the worst of the violence that arose was in the Battle of Springmartin in Belfast. It consisted of a series of gun battles involving the British Army, the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and the Ulster Volunteer Force. The violence began when a car bomb, planted by Ulster loyalists, exploded outside a crowded public house in the mainly Irish nationalist and Catholic district of Ballymurphy. UVF snipers then opened fire on the survivors from an abandoned high-rise flat. For the rest of the night and throughout the next day, local IRA units fought gun battles with both the UVF and British Army. Most of the fighting took place along the interface between the Catholic Ballymurphy and Ulster Protestant Springmartin housing estates, and the British Army base that sat between them.
Seven people were killed in the violence; five civilians (four Catholics, one Protestant), a British soldier and a member of the IRA Youth Section. Four of the dead were teenagers.
A total of 31 shootings took place in May. A sobering thought of how frightening it would have been growing up during those troubled times.
01/05/72 - A man, reported to be an IRA member, was shot and wounded in the legs in a punishment attack in Derry. The IRA claimed he was a thief.
03/05/72 - The British Army reported 29 shooting incidents involving the IRA on the previous night. Two soldiers were wounded in the Springfield area of Belfast, while a military observation post was raked with gunfire at Corry's timber yard.
04/05/72 - Three RUC officers on a mobile patrol were wounded in an IRA machine gun attack in Derry.
06/05/72 - At approximately 9:00 pm, a man aged 18 was shot and injured in the Glen Road area of west Belfast. On the 1st of December 2015, the PSNI listed this shooting as one of nine incidents it was investigating about the activities of the British Army's Military Reaction Force.
07/05/72 - At approximately 11:50 pm, a 15-year-old boy was shot and injured outside a disco at Oliver Plunkett School, Glen Road, Belfast. On the 1st of December 2015, the PSNI listed this shooting as one of nine incidents it was investigating about the activities of the British Army's Military Reaction Force.
09/05/72 - At approximately 2:00 pm, shots were fired at a vehicle in the Kashmir Road area of west Belfast. On the 1st of December 2015, the PSNI listed this shooting as one of nine incidents it was investigating about the activities of the British Army's Military Reaction Force.
09/05/72 - The British Army reported that five IRA members launched 18 small-arms attacks on a military post at Bligh's Lane, Derry.
11/05/72 - British soldier John Ballard (18), was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on patrol, Sultan Street, Lower Falls, Belfast.
12/05/72 - Patrick McVeigh (44), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by a member of an undercover British Army unit at Riverdale Park South, Andersonstown, Belfast. Four other men were shot and injured during this incident. On the 1st of December 2015, the PSNI listed this shooting as one of nine incidents it was investigating about the activities of the British Army's Military Reaction Force.
12/05/72 - At approximately 11:30 pm, an 18-year-old man was shot and injured in the Slievegallion area of west Belfast. This shooting was also part of the PSNI investigation into MRF activities.
13/05/72 - IRA volunteer John Starrs (19), was shot dead in a gun battle with the British Army on William Street, Derry City.
13/05/72 - British soldier Alan Buckley (22), was shot dead in a gun battle with the IRA in Ballymurphy, Belfast.
13/05/72 - Civilian, Thomas McIlroy (50), was shot by a loyalist sniper firing from Springmartin shortly after a car bomb attack on Kelly's Bar, Whiterock Road, Ballymurphy, Belfast.
13/05/72 - Civilian, Robert McMullan (32), was shot by a sniper while walking along New Barnsley Park, Ballymurphy, Belfast.
14/05/72 - A 13-year-old Catholic girl, Martha Campbell, was shot dead by Loyalist paramilitaries in Ballymurphy, Belfast.
14/05/72 - Protestant civilian John Pedlow (17), died one day after being shot during a gun battle between IRA volunteers and loyalists, Springmartin Road, Belfast.
14/05/72 - Catholic civilian Gerard McCusker (24) was found beaten and shot dead on waste ground at Hopeton Street, Shankill Road, Belfast. It is believed the UDA was responsible.
17/05/72 - The Irish Republican Army opened fire on workers leaving the Mackies engineering works in west Belfast. Although the factory was sited in a Catholic area it had an almost entirely Protestant workforce.
17/05/72 - British soldier Ronald Hurst (25), was shot dead by an IRA sniper while repairing a damaged perimeter fence at the British Army base, Crossmaglen, County Armagh.
17/05/72 - The UDA kidnapped Catholic civilian Bernard Moane (46) from a pub on the Shankill Road in Belfast. They took him to Knockagh War Memorial near Greenisland, County Antrim, and shot him to death.
18/05/72 - British soldier John Hillman (28), died three days after being shot by a sniper, in Flax Street, Ardoyne, Belfast.
20/05/72 - UDR soldier Henry Gillespie (32), was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on mobile patrol, Killyliss, near Dungannon, County Tyrone.
21/05/72 - The Official Irish Republican Army kidnapped and shot dead William Best (19) who was a member of the Royal Irish Rangers (a regiment of the British Army). Best was originally from Derry and was home on leave from a posting in Germany to visit friends when he was picked up by the OIRA. There was outrage among local people at the killing. The public reaction to this incident contributed to the OIRA calling a ceasefire on the 29th of May 1972.
The following day, approximately 250 women in Derry marched to premises used by Official Sinn Féin (OSF) in Meenan Square, Lecky Road, Derry to protest the shooting of William Best. There were reports of an angry confrontation at the premises. Later in the evening, approximately 300 women gathered in protest at the Bishop's Field, Creggan. The protest followed the removal of the remains of Ranger Best from his home to St Mary's Church, Creggan.
23/05/72 - British soldier Eustace Handley (20), was shot dead by an IRA sniper while on foot patrol, Springhill Avenue, Ballymurphy, Belfast.
23/05/72 - The UDA shot dead a Catholic civilian Andrew Brennan (22) at his home in Sicily Park, Finaghy, Belfast.
26/05/72 - At approximately 12:20 pm, a 34-year-old man was shot and injured in the Silvio Street area of north Belfast. This shooting was also part of the PSNI investigation into MRF activities.
27/05/72 - The UVF killed a Catholic civilian, Gerard Duddy (20), in a drive-by shooting at the junction of Finaghy Road North and Andersonstown Road, Belfast.
28/05/72 - The UVF killed a Catholic civilian, James Teer (21), in a drive-by shooting on the Springfield Road, Belfast.
29/05/72 - The UVF shot and killed a Catholic civilian, Thomas Wardlow (32), Millfield, Belfast.
30/05/72 - Protestant civilian, Joan Scott (12), died three days after being shot during an IRA sniper attack on a RUC mobile patrol, Oldpark Road, Belfast.
31/05/72 - British Army soldier on mobile patrol, Michael Bruce (27), was shot dead by an IRA sniper, at Kennedy Way, Andersonstown, Belfast.
As if 31 shootings weren’t enough chaos for one month, there were also 6 bombs in May which killed an additional 10 people.
10/05/72 - An Irish Republican Army bomb started a fire that destroyed the Belfast Co-operative store.
13/05/72 - A car bomb, planted by Ulster loyalists, explodes without warning outside the crowded Kelly’s Bar, at the junction of Springfield Road and Whiterock Road. At the time of the blast, the pub is crowded with patrons watching a football match between England and West Germany on TV.
14/05/72 - Two commercial areas of Derry were bombed by the IRA. A four-storey building and a neighbouring shop were set on fire.
26/05/72 - The IRA planted a bomb in Oxford Street, Belfast which killed 64-year-old Margaret Young. The explosion also seriously injured Edward Mills who was crossing the road at the time.
28/05/72 - Four IRA volunteers, Joseph Fitzsimmons (17), John McIlhone (17), Edward McDonnell (29), and Martin Engelen (19)), along with four Catholic civilians (Henry Crawford (39), Mary Clarke (27), John Nugent (31), and Geraldine McMahon (17)) were killed when a bomb being prepared detonated prematurely inside a house on Anderson Street, Short Strand, Belfast.
30/05/72 - British Army soldier, Marcel Doglay (28), was killed when a time bomb exploded inside the Springfield Road RUC/British Army base, Belfast.
Thanks very much for reading this instalment of our journey through the timeline of The Troubles. Stay tuned for the next edition on Tuesday.