Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. ET, April 28, 2023. March 20th: The Provisional IRAs South Armagh faction shoots dead two high-ranking RUC officers near Jonesborough. September 22nd: The Provisional IRA a bomb in a Royal Marines barracks in Deal, England, killing 11 soldiers, all of them musicians. It was a primary school level short story, titled Janet and John. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. In July, the army's last south Armagh stronghold, at Bessbrook, is closed. October 7th: The Provisional IRA assassinates a 20-year-old Catholic, reputedly an informer, outside Strabane, County Tyrone. The decision is made for the level of British troops to fall to 5,000, leaving a peacetime garrison that would be available for deployment around the world. 'The Sea King had already tilted on its side and I was at the bottom of a heap of bodies. McAleese and the blue team crossed the tall stone pillars out front to reach the first floor balcony. August 4th: Two Protestant civilians working on police barracks in Belleek, County Fermanagh, are shot by the Provisional IRA as they drove out of the base. Below are key events in the history of Operation Banner. The British army, meanwhile, kills 45 people. 'Guys were standing on top of me, their boots digging into my chest. We welcome information about errors or incidents not listed here. Tributes are paid to the two British Army corporals killed at an IRA funeral in Belfast. One dead and seven injured in Cornwall nightclub knife attack, Nurses strike continues: Major disruption for NHS services in England, Additional flight to evacuate Britons from Sudan today, MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo found dead aged 46, Ryanair cancels 220 flights over May 1 bank holiday due to strikes, Hardcore coronation fans already camped outside Buckingham Palace, Sam Heughan is starring in Sky Original film. These chronologies are regularly updated as new information becomes available. In October, two IRA bombs explode inside the army's headquarters in Lisburn, Co Down, killing one soldier. It came six days after Iranian gunmen walked into the embassy at Princes Gate, South Kensington, taking 26 people hostage. 12:07 p.m. 'Men who had been SAS soldiers together for years fought each other, desperately trying to reach a tiny air pocket. Anthony Hughes, 36, who was wearing a boiler suit similar to those donned by the IRA unit, was killed when he accidentally drove into the ambush. It's Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Explosion derails train in Russian border region, Father tells how gunman opened fire on Texas home, Trump says 'great to be home' on visit to Scotland, NFL player's daughter, aged two, drowns in pool, Banana artwork in Seoul museum eaten by visitor, Trump mistrial request denied in NY rape lawsuit. Harrowing accounts emerged of the soldiers fighting each other to access tiny air pockets in the sinking craft. WebMany at Wednesday Funeral Many of the frightened and enraged mourners had been at a funeral Wednesday at which a civilian threw grenades and killed three mourners. Two RUC officers were killed by gunfire and the station building was destroyed by a bomb. McNab was promoted to the rank of Sergeant following his return from Northern Ireland and In 1984, he passed out as a member of the SAS. Miss Doherty also told the hearing that due to the amount of time the case had taken, there needed to be an update on the willingness of military witnesses to be interviewed by the coroners investigator as part of the proceedings. He said: "We should always be vigilant that those who are charged with enforcing the law do it within the law andin a way which will allow people to answer for their crimes, if there are crimes, in a proper court of law". October 4th: A guard at HM Prison Maze, Brian Armour, is killed by a booby trap planted under his car by the Provisional IRA. 10:13 p.m. March 18th: Gillian Johnston, a 21-year-old sales assistant, is gunned down by an IRA unit in Belleek as she sat with her fiance. who he had met while on an SAS tour of Northern Ireland in 1999. It was all too much.'. I feel so fortunate to be able to do other projects with my other job on Outlander and I think its actually been a great place to learn the skills that Ive needed. The IRA rakes the barracks with gunfire and uses a digger to carry a bomb it intended to destroy the site. Years after the raid, Scots soldier McAleese was revealed as the man who blasted the SAS into the Iranian embassy, Hidden behind their gas masks, SAS blue team cross the embassy balconies, Millions watched live on television as Operation Nimrod was carried out in full view of news cameras, McAleese left the military as a sergeant in 1992, then worked in security in Iraq and Afghanistan, A bronze bust of McAleese will be unveiled in tribute to Operation Nimrod, McAleese's twin brother Billy and nephew James at the Laurieston war memorial with a miniature of the bust, ASA Scotland patron Colin MacLachlan and sculptor Helen Runciman with a clay model of McAleese. The charity was founded five years ago as an armed forces education group, with former SAS soldier Colin MacLachlan serving as patron. 1986 Some of the ships Sea Harriers can be seen lined up, Inside the hanger deck of HMS Hermes just before launching a raid on Pebble Island. Corporal Aston added: 'I struggled to process the magnitude of what had just befallen us. May 20th: A Provisional IRA bomb explodes near Killeen, County Armagh, killing four RUC officers. Growing up, McNab spent some time in juvenile detention for petty crimes such as burglary, before enlisting in the Royal Green Jackets at the age of 16. Counsel for the Ministry of Defence, Peter Coll QC said he hoped to follow a similar timescale but warned that there is a series of other cases going through the public interest immunity process and that this could cause a delay. The case contained echoes of a previous ambush in Gibraltar in March 1988, when three unarmed members of the IRA were shot and killed by members of British special forces. August 12th: Seamus Duffy, a 15-year-old Catholic boy, is hit and killed by an RUC-fired plastic bullet in Belfast. Danny Doherty, aged 23, and William Fleming, who was 19, were killed by soldiers at Gransha Hospital in Derry. The loyalist marching season sparks violence in Derry in July, which worsens after the annual Apprentice Boys march in the city in August. Mr Justice Huddleston said: It is the intention to write to the MoD to seek their formal position in respect of all of the various witnesses.. Aircraft were asked to fly low over the embassy to cover the noise of drilling as they inserted listening devices into the walls. More than 100 people attended a memorial in 2012 to mark 30 years since the horrific loss of life. "John's family are overwhelmed that this has been done," says ASA Scotland's Tommy Davidson. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, This website and its associated newspaper are members of Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). ET, April 27, 2023. 'I could feel bodies twisted against mine in their struggle for life.'. Two men, Alex Murphy This timeline lists known examples of paramilitary and politically motivated violence in the Troubles in Northern Ireland, between 1985 and 1989. In August, the former Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain announces a two-year demilitarisation programme after the IRA decides to stand down. The anticipated timescale for the completion of that exercise is mid-September 2022.. 2023 BBC. Army chiefs confirm Operation Banner will formally end on July 31. August 3rd: An off duty UDR member is ambushed and killed by Provisional IRA gunmen while driving to work near Cookstown, County Tyrone. The government later failed to prevent the transmission of a controversial TV documentary which cast doubt on the legality of the Gibraltar killings. One mortar lands on a temporary canteen, killing nine RUC officers and injuring 37 others. By this time, there are some 21,000 troops in the province. McNab has since reflected on the achievement of the first time he read a book, aged 17. December 7th: Members of the Provisional IRA attack an RUC station at Ballygawley, County Tyrone. Army denies murdered corporals were in SAS. February 11th: An off duty RUC officer and a Catholic civilian are shot dead by IRA gunmen at a bar in Maguiresbridge, We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Kate takes Charlotte to watch Cinderella at the Royal Opera House ahead of her 8th Strike-hit NHS hospital has to SHUT intensive care beds after nurses ignored union's last-minute plea to 'Grandpa King is adorable!' McAleese was one of about 30 SAS soldiers who took part in the assault on 5 May 1980. The coalition collapses, and ministers are accused of not using the army soon enough. During the course of the operation, the army was also accused of murdering civilians, including the 13 who were shot dead on Bloody Sunday in 1972. The SAS kills three unarmed IRA members in Gibraltar in March. Viewers saw the shadowy masked soldiers move quickly across the embassy's white facade. 12:07 p.m. March 6th: The British SAS thwarts an IRA plot to bomb troops in Gibraltar. Democratic Unionist Rev William McCrea said: "Innocent life has been spared and I think we have got to be thankful for that. SAS soldiers storm the Iranian embassy in London: May 1980. What was his role in the British military? Corporal Aston then had to swim more than 160feet in freezing water before he clung to a life raft and waited to be rescued. The crowd at an IRA funeral attacks two Army corporals whose car drove into the cortege. Follow the latest Ukraine news here or read through the updates below. The men shot were Peter Ryan - who had been on the run for 10 years after escaping from prison in Belfast - Lawrence McNally and Anthony Dorris. We've had to do it all online instead of being able to holding real-life events. A republican splinter group, the Irish National Liberation Army, kills 17 people at the Droppin Well pub, Ballykelly, Co Londonderry. WebTHE brutal deaths of Derek Wood and Robert Howes on March 19, 1988, came after two weeks of bloody violence in Northern Ireland. The total death toll Another prison guard, John Hanna, supplied Armours home address to the IRA. November 8th: The Provisional IRA bombs a Remembrance Day ceremony in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. WebMon 19 May 2008 19.01 EDT. Members of the SAS's Mountain Troop boarding Navy Lynx helicopters sent from HMS Brilliant en route to South Georgia during the Falklands War, The Sea King tragedy took place on the evening of May 19, 1982. He later worked as a security consultant in Iraq and Afghanistan, before finding television fame in the early 2000s through the BBC series SAS: Are you tough enough? WebBack in Northern Ireland, Taylor says a killing which affected him deeply was that of teenager John Boyle, who was shot dead in 1978 by the SAS the day after his Catholic Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, 23, is killed while manning a checkpoint at Bessbrook, south Armagh, in February. In 1980, millions of people watched on live television as an SAS soldier, armed with explosives and a sub-machine gun, blasted his way into the Iranian embassy in London. Asked about replacing Daniel Craig as 007, he said the speculation was all media driven and added: I feel like Tom Buckingham is equally as interesting and, who knows, maybe this could be the new franchise. January 28th: An RUC officer, aged 26, is killed by an IRA grenade attack on his vehicle outside Strabane, County Tyrone. Then there was an explosion. November 29th: A Provisional IRA volunteer and a Catholic civilian are shot and killed by UVF gunmen during an attack on a bar outside Coagh. He was assessed on his entry to the army and it was discovered that he had a reading age of an 11-year-old. Operation Banner, the British army's longest continuous campaign, comes to a close at midnight tonight after 38 years. An SAS soldier was killed in Iraq in a gunfight early yesterday during a covert operation in the Baghdad area, sources said last night. It would be years until McAleese - with his trademark moustache - would be revealed to the public as the steely Scottish soldier behind the gas mask. Bond is a lot more heightened.. Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? WebThe chain of events recounted here began when three unarmed IRA members on a mission to Gibraltar were shot dead in the street by the SAS on March 6th, 1988. Call for millions to take part in 'Homage of the People' to King Charles at the coronation sparks backlash Princess of Wales 'planned to go without a tiara and wear a floral headpiece for King Charles' coronation Did the King gift the late Queen's dresser Angela Kelly a house in bid to stop another royal memoir? Following that it needs to go to the chief constable and thereafter to the NIO for a certificate. August 30th: Three Provisional IRA volunteers, all in their 20s, are killed by undercover British soldiers during a covert operation in Drumnakilly, County Tyrone.