Bomb attack in Hyde Park and Regent's Park
The Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombing occurred on July 20, 1982 in London , Great Britain. It was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), which detonated two bombs during a parade of the British Armed Forces in Hyde Park and Regent's Park . The explosions killed eleven members of the British military: four soldiers from the Blues and Royals and seven members of the Royal Green Jackets military band .
First bomb
The first bomb was a thin-walled high-explosive bomb filled with nails. It exploded at 10:43 am in a blue Austin car that was detonated on South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park as the changing of the Household Cavalry guard passed Austin.
Three Blues and Royals soldiers were killed instantly and another died of his injuries on July 23, 1982. The other soldiers in the parade were seriously injured and the shrapnel , splinters and nails flying around also injured tourists watching the parade. Seven of the regiment's horses were also killed or had to be shot because of their injuries.
Bomb experts assumed that in order to hit the parade the first bomb was detonated remotely at the moment of passing.
Second bomb
The second explosion occurred about an hour later on a stage in Regent's Park when the Royal Green Jackets military band played the musical Oliver! In front of a group of about 120 tourists . played. Here, too, members of the band, but also tourists, were killed or seriously injured. The pressure wave from the explosion was so strong that one of the dead was hurled up to an iron fence 27 meters away. Seven musicians in the band were killed.
The second bomb was positioned weeks beforehand under the musicians' stage and detonated with a time fuse that was programmed for the time of this music performance.
consequences
The IRA justified the attack by stating that it was in response to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's speech when she entered the Falklands War a few months ago . The IRA stated: "The Irish people have sovereign and national rights which no task or occupational force can put down." ("The Irish people have sovereign and national rights that no military or occupying power can suppress.") Thatcher replied on the attack: “These callous and cowardly crimes have been committed by evil, brutal men who know nothing of democracy. We shall not rest until they are brought to justice. "(" This heartless and cowardly criminal act was committed by evil and brutal people who know nothing about democracy. We will not rest until we have brought them to justice ".)
Following the attack, there was heated debate over the safety of the royal family.
In 1987, Danny McNamee was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the Hyde Park bombing despite declaring himself innocent. In 1998, shortly after his release from custody on the basis of the Good Friday Agreement , a judge overturned the court ruling, arguing that it was uncertain that he was the perpetrator because another bomb maker could be considered based on fingerprints.
The horse Sefton , who survived the attack with numerous injuries, became very famous when it was voted Horse of the Year in the Horse of the Year Show and subsequently made numerous television appearances.
The British rock band Pink Floyd referred to the bomb attack in their song The Gunner's Dream on the album The Final Cut , when they sang: “You can relax, on both sides of the tracks, and maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control . ”(“ You can relax on both sides of the way, because no fanatics blow holes in musicians with remote-controlled bombs ”).
A plaque commemorating the explosion in Hyde Park is located at the location of the explosion and in honor of those killed, the military at this location look to the left on command and salute with their swords.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Time Magazine Britain: Terror on a Summer's Day 2 August 1982
- ↑ Horse Show Central Sefton, Battle of a War Horse ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ The Times
