1974 London pillar box bombings
London pillar box bombings | |
---|---|
Part of Provisional IRA |
On 25 and 27 November 1974 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) placed several bombs in pillar boxes and one in a hedge behind a pillar box. This was a new tactic used by the IRA in England, although a similar tactic had been used in Northern Ireland during The Troubles several times previously. 40 people were wounded from five explosions in several districts.[1]
Background
The IRA began their bombing campaign of England in early 1973 when they bombed the Old Bailey courthouse, the seat of justice in Britain, they used a car bomb to attack it which injured over 200 people, caused extensive damage and one person died from a heart attack.[2]
1974 was to be the IRA's most deadly year in England with close to 50 people being killed and with around 500 being injured. The year started with the M62 coach bombing a military coach which had soldiers and their families on it. Nine soldiers were killed and three civilians with just under 40 being injured, many seriously.[3][4]
The IRA had been bombing targets in and around the London area since October 1974, including the Guildford pub bombings on 5 October and the Woolwich pub bombing on 7 November. Seven people were killed from these two bombings alone (5 British military personnel & 2 civilians) and almost 100 people were injured.[2][5]
On 21 November the
Bombings
Casualties | |
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Caledonian Road | 2 |
Piccadilly Circus | 16 |
Victoria Street | 2 |
Tite Street (1st) | 0 |
Tite Street (2nd) | 20 |
The IRA decided to send a message of defiance to the government over the PTA and to show that the IRA was very much still operational in England. They created bombs concealed in packets small enough to fit in a standard-sized pillar post box.[9]
On 25 November 1974 the IRA planted bombs inside pillar boxes in various places around London. They made three small
The Metropolitan Police called in the army bomb squad to check all pillar boxes in the W1 and N1 postal areas. In addition, false alarms throughout other places in London caused traffic chaos. The next day, many nervous post workers in central London refused to open boxes in fear that there could be a bomb.[9]
Two days later on 27 November, a twin bomb attack near the National Army Museum on
Aftermath
The secondary 'come-on' bomb in Chelsea, the first time it was deployed in London, forced the Metropolitan Police to make changes to responses to explosions. It required all police officers attending an explosion to carry out an immediate search around the scene and cordon the area off to ensure there would be no second bomb.[11]
Sources
References
- ^ Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1974". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ a b Sutton, Malcolm. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Sutton, Malcolm. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1974". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Sutton, Malcolm. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1974". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ "Justice – Miscarriages of justice". sixthformlaw.info. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: HMSO: Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ^ ISBN 9781317856078.
- ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=oR8_DwAcAQBAJ&q=november+1974+bomb+london+piccadilly+circus&pg=PT111[permanent dead link]
- ^ ISBN 9781473879010.