17 July 1973: Christopher Brady, 21-years-old, and a soldier with the Gloucestershire Regiment holding the rank of Private. Geoffrey Alan Breakwell, 20-years-old, single and a soldier with Gloucestershire Regiment, holding the rank of Private. The soldiers were examining a fuse box on the 5th floor of a block in Divis Flats when they were killed when a 20lb IRA bomb was detonated. Two other soldiers in the unit were seriously injured. A Corporal was blinded and a Private lost an eye. Three women were also injured in the explosion. The inquest was told by the private who lost an eye that the explosion happened as the patrol was carrying out a routine check on the top floor of the block. He said they saw a mattress that had been rolled up and stuffed into the fuse box they had regularly checked. He said when Pte Breakwell opened the door, the mattress fell out and they saw a cardboard box with masking tape attached to the back of the cupboard. Then a split second later there was an orange flash and a loud blast that knocked him unconscious. Pte Brady died 20 minutes later and Pte Breakwell died 2 hours later. Pte Brady was from Plymouth and Pte Breakwell was from Brierly Hill, Staffordshire. Both soldiers were serving with the regiments 1st Battalion. LEST WE FORGET!
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 12:02:54 +0000
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