In a 2020 reflection on the tenth anniversary of the Saville report, Eamonn McCann wrote: “Saville pointed the finger of blame at 10 rank and file soldiers and one allegedly undisciplined officer. The top brass and the politicians were, without exception, given a clean bill of health.” (Hot Press)
On the side wall to the new Bloody Sunday mural in Derry, the chain of command is found guilty war crimes in Northern Ireland on January 30th, 1972 – Bloody Sunday: “Guilty; Heath, Wilford, Ford, Kitson, Loden”. From the top down, the five people mentioned are:
Ted Heath, UK Prime Minister, 1970-1974
Frank Kitson, “counterinsurgency theorist” and commander of troops in Belfast 1970-1972 (History Ireland)
Robert Ford, commander of land forces 1971-1973, who wanted to block the march and make arrests in Creggan, and who wrote a January 7th memo suggesting that gaining control of Derry would require the shooting of “young hooligans” in Derry (The Irish Story).
Derek Wilford, commander of the 1st Parachute regiment on Bloody Sunday, who gave the order for soldiers to make arrests
Ted Loden, commander of ‘Support Company’, the soldiers that went into the Bogside.
The main panel shows General Sir Michael Jackson, second-in-command on Bloody Sunday and who acted as spokesperson for the event and provided the inaccurate account of the killings that was used by the media and the Widgery Report of April 1972 (see An Phoblacht and previously Jail Jackson for his connection to the Ballymurphy Massacre).
Update: By February 14th, the mural had been painted out – see final image, below.
Click and click again to enlarge (to 1050 x 700)
Copyright © 2023 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
Camera Settings: f8, 1/3.2, ISO 400, full size 3648 x 5472
Click and click again to enlarge (to 1050 x 700)
Copyright © 2023 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
Camera Settings: f8, 1/3.2, ISO 400, full size 3648 x 5472
Click and click again to enlarge (to 1050 x 700)
Copyright © 2023 Andy McDonagh/Eclipso Pictures (ig | Fb)
Camera Settings: f8, 1/3.2, ISO 400, full size 3648 x 5472
Click and click again to enlarge (to 1200 x 900)
Copyright © 2023 Paddy Duffy
Camera Settings: f4, 1/60, ISO 100, full size 2049 x 1537
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Extramural Activity 