Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings

Hyde Park & Regent's Park bombings
Part of The Troubles
Location	Hyde Park & Regent's Park, London, England
Date	20 July 1982 (GMT)
Target	British Army military parades
Attack type	Nail bombs
Deaths	11 soldiers[1]
Injured	50+ soldiers and civilians
Perpetrator(s)	Provisional IRA

The Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings occurred on 20 July 1982 in London, England. Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated two bombs during British military ceremonies in Hyde Park and Regent's Park. The explosions killed eleven military personnel: four soldiers of the Blues & Royals and seven military bandsmen of the Royal Green Jackets. Seven of the Blues and Royals' horses also died in the attack. One of the seriously injured horses, Sefton, survived; afterwards he featured on many television programmes and was awarded "Horse of the Year".

Contents 1 First bomb 2 Second bomb 3 Aftermath 4 References 5 External links

First bomb

The first attack was a large nail bomb hidden in a blue Austin car parked on South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park, along the route used by the Household Cavalry – the Queen's official bodyguard regiment during the Changing of the Guard between Buckingham Palace and Knightsbridge. Three soldiers of the Blues and Royals were killed instantly, and another died on 23 July from his injuries. The other soldiers in the procession were all badly wounded and shrapnel and nails sprayed into the crowd of tourists assembled to watch the parade, causing further injuries. Seven of the regiment's horses were also killed or had to be put down because of their injuries.

Bomb experts believed that the first bomb was a remote-detonated improvised explosive device, which was exploded at just the right point to catch the parade.

Second bomb

The second explosion occurred just over two hours later, when a bomb hidden underneath the bandstand in Regent's Park exploded during a performance of the music from Oliver! by the Royal Green Jackets band to a crowd of 120 people. Here too, the crowd was peppered by shrapnel from the iron bandstand, causing dozens of injuries amongst the audience, as well as killing or wounding the entire band. The blast was so powerful that one of the bodies was thrown onto an iron fence 30 yards away, and seven bandsmen were killed outright.

The second bomb was thought to have been placed under the bandstand weeks in advance, with a timer set to the date and time of the advertised concert.

Aftermath

The IRA claimed responsibility for the attack by deliberately mirroring Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's words just a few months previously when Britain entered the Falklands War. They proclaimed that: "The Irish people have sovereign and national rights which no task or occupational force can put down". Reacting to the bombing, Thatcher stated that "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."^[2]

In 1987, Danny McNamee was sentenced to 25 years for the Hyde Park bomb despite McNamee pleading that he was innocent. In 1998, shortly after his release under the Good Friday Agreement, a judge overturned his conviction, deeming it "unsafe" because of withheld fingerprint evidence that implicated other bomb-makers.

Sefton, a horse that survived the Hyde Park bombing despite serious injuries became well-known due to the Horse of the Year Show where he was awarded Horse of the Year and his numerous television appearances.^[3][4]

The British Progressive rock band Pink Floyd made reference to the bombings in their song "The Gunner's Dream" from the album The Final Cut. One of the lines goes "You can relax, on both sides of the tracks, and maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control".

A memorial marks the place of the Hyde Park explosion and the troop honours it daily with an eyes left and salute with drawn swords.

References

External links

• BBC On this Day Report
• BBC Report on McNamee appeal

The Troubles Timeline – Directory Ireland Battle of the Bogside – August 1969 riots – Battle of St Matthew's – Falls Curfew – Scottish soldiers' killings – Operation Demetrius – Ballymurphy massacre – McGurk's bombing – Bloody Sunday – Abercorn bombing – Springhill massacre – Bloody Friday – Operation Motorman – Claudy bombing – Four Square Laundry – Ulster Workers' Council strike – Dublin & Monaghan bombings – Miami Showband killings – Bayardo Bar attack – Drummuckavall ambush – Reavey & O'Dowd killings – Kingsmill massacre – Flagstaff incident – Chlorane Bar attack – Jonesborough Gazelle shootdown – La Mon bombing – Warrenpoint ambush – Dunmurry explosion – Nellie M attack – Hunger strike – Glasdrumman ambush – St Bedan attack – Ballykelly bombing – Maze Prison escape – Newry barracks – Ballygawley barracks – Loughgall ambush – Enniskillen bombing – Milltown Cemetery attack – Corporals killings – Ballygawley bus bomb – 1989 Jonesborough ambush – Derryard checkpoint – Derrygorry Gazelle shootdown – Operation Conservation – RFA Fort Victoria – Proxy bomb attacks – 1991 Cappagh killings – Glenanne barracks – Coagh ambush – Clonoe ambush – Cloghoge checkpoint – Coalisland riots – South Armagh sniper campaign – 1993 Castlerock killings – 1993 Shankill bombing – Greysteel massacre – Crossmaglen Lynx shootdown – Loughinisland massacre – Drumcree conflict – 1997 Coalisland attack – July 1997 riots – Omagh bombing England Aldershot bombing – M62 coach bombing – Guildford bombings – Birmingham bombings – Marylebone siege – Hyde & Regent's Park bombings – Harrods bombing – Brighton bombing – Deal bombing – Downing Street attack – Warrington bombings – Bishopsgate bombing – Docklands bombing – Manchester bombing Elsewhere Operation Flavius, Gibraltar 1988 – Osnabrück barracks 1996

The Troubles History of Ireland · History of Northern Ireland · History of the United Kingdom · Irish nationalism · Irish republicanism · Irish unionism · Ulster loyalism Participants in the Troubles Chronology Political Parties Republican paramilitaries Security forces of the United Kingdom Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland Loyalist paramilitaries • Provisional IRA • Official IRA • Irish National Liberation Army • Continuity IRA • Real IRA • IPLO • British Army • Royal Air Force • Royal Navy • Ulster Defence Regiment • Royal Irish Regiment • Royal Ulster Constabulary • Ulster Special Constabulary • Garda Síochána • Irish Army • Ulster Defence Association • Ulster Volunteer Force • Loyalist Volunteer Force • Red Hand Commandos • Young Citizen Volunteers • Ulster Young Militants • Ulster Resistance • UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade Linked to • Some RUC and British Army members • Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association formed (1967) • Battle of the Bogside (1969) • Riots across Northern Ireland (1969) • Beginning of Operation Banner (1969) • Social Democratic and Labour Party formed (1970) • Internment without trial begins with Operation Demetrius (1971) • Bloody Sunday by British Army (1972) • Northern Ireland government dissolved. Direct rule from London begins (1972) • Bloody Friday by Provisional IRA (1972) • Power sharing Northern Ireland Assembly set up with SDLP and Ulster Unionist Party in power (1973) • Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape. Three Provisional IRA prisoners escape from Mountjoy Prison by helicopter (1973) • Ulster Workers' Council strike causes power-sharing Northern Ireland Assembly to end (1974) • Dublin and Monaghan bombings by UVF with alleged British Army assistance (1974) • Kingsmill massacre by South Armagh Republican Action Force (1976) • Warrenpoint Ambush by Provisional IRA (1979) • 1981 Irish hunger strike by Provisional IRA and INLA members (1981) • Hunger striker Bobby Sands elected MP. Marks turning point as Sinn Féin begins to move towards electoral politics (1981) • Maze Prison escape. 38 Provisional IRA prisoners escape from H-Block 7 of HM Prison Maze (1983) • Brighton hotel bombing by Provisional IRA (1984) • Anglo-Irish Agreement between British and Irish governments (1985) • Remembrance Day bombing by Provisional IRA (1987) • Peace Process begins (1988) • Operation Flavius, Milltown Cemetery attack and Corporals killings (1988) • Bishopsgate bombing (1993) • Downing Street Declaration (1993) • First Provisional IRA ceasefire (1994) • Loyalist ceasefire (1994) • Docklands bombing (1996) • 1996 Manchester bombing (1996) • Second Provisional IRA ceasefire (1997) • Good Friday Agreement (1998) signals the end of the Troubles • Assembly elections held, with SDLP and UUP winning most seats (1998) • Omagh bombing by dissident Real IRA (1998) • Unionist parties: • Democratic Unionist Party • Northern Ireland Unionist Party • Ulster Unionist Party • Progressive Unionist Party • Conservative Party • UK Unionist Party • Traditional Unionist Voice • Nationalist parties: • Democratic Left • Fianna Fáil • Fine Gael • Labour Party • Progressive Democrats • Sinn Féin • Social Democratic & Labour Party • Workers' Party of Ireland • Irish Republican Socialist Party • Republican Sinn Féin • Cross-community parties: • Alliance Party • Historically important parties: • Nationalist Party • Northern Ireland Labour Party • Protestant Unionist Party • Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party • Northern Ireland Women's Coalition • People's Democracy • Republican Labour Party • Anti H-Block • Irish Independence Party  The Troubles at Wiktionary ·  The Troubles at Wikibooks ·  The Troubles at Wikiquote ·  The Troubles at Wikisource ·  The Troubles at Commons ·  The Troubles at Wikinews