The Troubles in Bessbrook

The Troubles in Bessbrook recounts incidents during and the effects of the Troubles in Bessbrook, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

Bessbrook, a staunchly republican area, saw some of the worst violence in the Troubles. 25 British soldiers and local Protestants, all male, lost their lives. Four soldiers died in a non-combat related air accident, but the rest (21 men) were killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA).

The linen mill was converted by the British Army into a major military base. A helicopter landing area was established to supply other military outposts in the area since road-borne movements of troops and supplies were vulnerable to landmine attack. At one stage the little village was reportedly the busiest helicopter airport in Europe, more so than the major heliports supplying the North Sea oil rigs. For many years British Army helicopters would take off and land every few minutes. To avoid the risk of missile attack they would fly at rooftop level over the village. For a time, direct access to much of the village was sealed off by security barriers to minimise the risk of vehicle-borne bomb attacks on the security forces. Some have claimed that this contributed to the commercial decline of local businesses.

Incidents in Bessbrook during the Troubles:

*5 January 1976 - John McConville (20), Walter Chapman (23), Reginald Chapman (25), Joseph Lemon (46), James McWhirter (58), Kenneth Wharton (24), Robert Chambers (19), John Bryans (46), Robert Freeburn (50) and Robert Walker (46), all Protestant civilians, were shot dead by the Republican Action Force shortly after their firm's minibus was stopped at a bogus vehicle check point at Kingsmills, near Bessbrook and Whitecross, while travelling home from work at the textiles factory in Glenanne. The men were ordered to state their religious denomination. The driver, a Catholic, was released, while the passengers, all Protestant, were shot with automatic weapons. Ten died at the scene and one man (Alan Black) survived despite being struck eighteen times. For more information see "Kingsmill massacre".

*17 April 1979 - Paul Gray (25), Robert Lockhart (44), Richard Baird (28) and Noel Webb (30), all Protestant members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army remote controlled bomb hidden in a parked van, and detonated when their mobile patrol drove past, Bessbrook.

*2 April 1981 - Royal Ulster Constabulary Constable Kenneth Acheson, the father of an eleven-month-old son, had been married for three years and was based at Bessbrook. On the night of 2 April, as he drove home along Derrywilligan Road, a device exploded under his car, killing him instantly. The bomb had been placed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, while the car was parked close to the police station. Kenneth Acheson was described as 'conscientious about his duties and popular with his mates'.

*19 May 1981 - Andrew Gavin (19), Paul Bulman (19), Michael Bagshaw (25), John King (20) and Grenville Winstone (27), all members of the British Army, were killed in a Provisional Irish Republican Army land mine attack on their Armoured personnel carrier near Bessbrook.

*26 November 1992 - a non-combat related accident took place on the helicopter landing pad. Four Royal Air Force airmen were killed when their Aérospatiale Puma aircraft collided with an Aérospatiale Gazelle of the Army Air Corps. The accident was attributed to mechanical failure in the Puma.

*1 March 1993 - The Royal Ulster Constabulary police station was struck by a "barrack buster" mortar. There were no fatalities although four people were injured and extensive damage was caused to some fifty homes and the neighbouring Anglican church.

*12 February 1997 - The last British Army soldier to have been killed whilst on active duty in Northern Ireland was shot dead in Bessbrook. Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army sniper's bullet whilst manning a vehicle checkpoint on Green Road, Bessbrook. The passenger whose car he was checking, Lorraine McElroy, a non-partisan civilian, later met and publicly reconciled with Restorick's mother, Rita, with both women expressing their hope that peace would come soon.

References

* [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/chron/ NI Conflict Archive on the Internet]