Deal attack in 1989
The Deal attack occurred during the Northern Ireland conflict on September 22, 1989 on the Royal Marines' British Military Music School in Deal , Kent . An explosives caused by the Provisional IRA killed 11 military musicians and injured 21 others.
attack
The later estimated at 6.8 kg explosive device with time fuse had been deposited the night before and exploded around 8:22 a.m. local time in the changing room of the social center of the barracks , could be heard for miles and caused the three-story building to collapse. There was also material damage to numerous buildings in the area. Eleven Royal Marines Band Service soldiers between the ages of 21 and 39 were killed and 21 injured. Some of the injured had to be rescued with heavy recovery equipment and were taken to the Deal and Canterbury hospitals.
consequences
Opposition leader Neil Kinnock called the attack on unarmed musicians a terrible atrocity . Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wrote condolences after being briefed on the event on her trip from Tokyo to Moscow . Even US President George HW Bush expressed his sympathy in a letter.
In 1993, the Deal Memorial Bandstand was opened at the site of the attack , which has plaques with the names of the victims. In 1996 the Military Music School was moved to Portsmouth , where a memorial room commemorates the attack. Around £ 1.2 million has been donated to the families of the victims.
The Provisional IRA claimed responsibility for the attack. According to security authorities, there were two active IRA Active Service Units , each with four to five members, which were operating in Great Britain at the time of the attack. After the digging of a bomb workshop in north London, Patrick Sheehy, nicknamed The Jackal , was considered the most wanted criminal in the kingdom . He was shot in 1991 in the Irish County Tipperary found.