Derek Wilford

Derek Wilford

Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford, OBE, was the British Army officer commanding the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in Derry, Northern Ireland on Bloody Sunday in 1972.[1][2]

Col Wilford was exonerated by the Widgery tribunal. On 3 October 1972 he was appointed an Officer of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. However, the Saville Inquiry, many years later, determined that Wilford had expressly disobeyed an order from a superior officer, Brigadier Pat MacLellan, who prohibited Wilford from sending troops into the Bogside. The Saville inquiry found that MacLellan was not to blame for the shootings.[3]

Lieutenant Colonel Wilford left the Army a decade later. In 2000, he was living outside the United Kingdom[4]. According to the Derry Journal, as of 2010, Wilford has been living in Belgium for a number of years with his wife.[5]

References

  1. ^ Simon Winchester, "Amid the tears and cheers, a full stop to Britain's colonial experience in Northern Ireland", The Guardian, 15 June 2010
  2. ^ David McKittrick, "Saville pins the blame for Bloody Sunday on British soldiers", The Independent, 16 June 2010
  3. ^ "Saville pins the blame for Bloody Sunday on British soldiers", The Independent, op cit.
  4. ^ "Col Wilford: Don't blame my soldiers", BBC, 24 March 2000
  5. ^ "Wilford-is-alive". http://www.derryjournal.com/journal/Photos-prove-Wilford-is-alive.6376945.jp. Retrieved 23 June 2010. 

External links

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