Derek Wilford

Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford, OBE, was the British Army officer commanding the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in Derry, Northern Ireland on Bloody Sunday in 1972.[1][2]

Col Wilford was exonerated by the Widgery tribunal. On 3 October 1972 he was appointed OBE.[3] However, the Saville Inquiry, many years later, determined that Wilford had expressly disobeyed an order from a superior officer, Brigadier Pat MacLellan, who prohibited Wilford from sending troops into the Bogside. The Saville inquiry found that MacLellan was not to blame for the shootings.[4]

Lieutenant Colonel Wilford left the Army a decade later. In 2000, he was living outside the United Kingdom[5]. According to the Derry Journal, as of 2010, Wilford has been living in Belgium for a number of years with his wife.[6]

References

  1. ^ Simon Winchester, "Amid the tears and cheers, a full stop to Britain's colonial experience in Northern Ireland", The Guardian, 15 June 2010
  2. ^ David McKittrick, "Saville pins the blame for Bloody Sunday on British soldiers", The Independent, 16 June 2010
  3. ^ London Gazette
  4. ^ "Saville pins the blame for Bloody Sunday on British soldiers", The Independent, op cit.
  5. ^ "Col Wilford: Don't blame my soldiers", BBC, 24 March 2000
  6. ^ "Wilford-is-alive". http://www.derryjournal.com/journal/Photos-prove-Wilford-is-alive.6376945.jp. Retrieved 23 June 2010. 

External links