BLOODY SUNDAY: THE REAL STORY
General Robert Ford
Anyone hoping that the full truth about Bloody Sunday will emerge from the trial of Soldier F is likely to be disappointed. The official narrative, outlined in Lord Saville’s 2010 report, claims paratroopers, in an impromptu frenzy, massacred 13 innocent people in Derry, with a 14th dying later. However, Saville discounted significant evidence suggesting the soldiers were acting on orders.
Military intelligence and MI5 ran James Miller, a shared spy within the no-go area known as Free Derry. Miller fabricated a story that 40 republican gunmen were training at the Rossville Flats to attack the British Army if they entered the Bogside. Incredibly, this ‘information’ was withheld from Brigadier Patrick MacLellan of 8 Brigade in Derry.
MacLellan was under orders from General Robert Ford to stop an NI Civil Rights Association march from reaching the Guildhall on January 30, 1972. Ford was based at HQNI in Lisburn.
MacLellan was loaned troops from 1 Para to assist him – although 1 Para normally operated in Belfast. On Bloody Sunday, two companies from 1 Para were sent to Derry: C Company and Support Company (SC). Soldier F was attached to SC.
Although both groups were supposedly under MacLellan’s temporary command, they behaved very differently. C Company was positioned behind a barrier, consistent with the plan to contain the march. SC, however, was stationed in a yard behind a Presbyterian Church on Great James Street, distant from the expected riot zone.
While C Company operated on foot, SC used vehicles and raced away from the riot zone, up Rossville Street towards the Bogside, contrary to MacLellan’s orders.
SC’s deployment in an attack pattern suggests they were prepared to confront the IRA gunmen Miller had falsely reported, retake the Bogside and end the no-go zone.
C Company carried batons or kept their arms free for arrests, occasionally using rifle butts to strike. SC held rifles in their fists from the moment they disembarked, carrying no batons – indicating preparation for a gun battle. They even applied war paint to their faces, a clear sign of combat readiness.
All 108 declared army shots came from SC, with none attributed to C Company.
Colonel Derek Wilford
Each SC unit deployed from their convoy of Saracens had a radio operator. Such equipment hinders chasing rioters on foot and was not used in similar situations in Belfast.
Colonel Wilford, commander of 1 Para, visited Soldiers F and H at the Presbyterian Church shortly before the massacre. Soldier F has never revealed Wilford’s orders but admitted it was “unusual” for an officer of Wilford’s rank to visit so late. The ongoing trial in Belfast is unlikely to explore this crucial aspect.
After it became clear no one was firing at SC, Byron Lewis, a radio operator with SC, relayed Major Loden’s order to cease fire. Yet Soldier F and others, it is alleged, defied the order, moving into Glenfada Park and continuing to shoot.
Why did they disobey? The worst-case scenario is they were following secret orders from Ford and Wilford to provoke the IRA, hoping local gunmen would respond and defend the Bogside.
Neither wing of the IRA had taken the bait during Operation Hailstone, a previous attempt to provoke them, in July 1971. Shooting people dead might have forced the IRA on to the streets, where paratroopers could have wiped them out.
Ford, the most senior officer on the ground, told both the Widgery (1972) and Saville (1998-2010) inquiries that he was merely an observer. Yet he used a truck equipped with radio gear and a controller, accompanied by armed bodyguards. The frequencies he used remain unknown. He had both the authority to override any command and the radio capability to issue orders.
In the event, the IRA were stood down on the day, leaving Wilford and others to lie about the presence of the IRA.
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