17 July 1975 Peter J. Willis, 37-years-old, a soldier with the Green Howards holding the rank of Major. Edward Garside, 34-years-old, a soldier with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Calvert Brown, a soldier with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Samuel R. McCarter, a soldier with the Royal Engineers holding the rank of Sergeant. Shortly after 9:00AM, the 4 soldiers were killed in an IRA bomb explosion that had been left south of Fords Cross. Major Willis and the 3 soldiers who died with him were technical officers that had landed in a 16-man patrol by helicopter to investigate suspicious milk churns. The milk churns were placed as a decoy while the 70lb bomb in a beer keg had been placed in a gap in a hedge near a bridge. As the soldiers were passing by the gap, the bomb was detonated from 400 yards away. One soldier was badly injured and was flown to Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast. On April 1, 1976, a 21-year-old man from the area was found guilty of murder and IRA membership, the judge recommending he serve at least 30 years. LEST WE FORGET!
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 10:31:56 +0000
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