Wharton - The Bloodiest Year

In Northern Ireland tonight, another British soldier has been killed. The words spoken by Trevor MacDonald on ITVs News at Ten on average three times a week in 1972

This book is dedicated to the following people:

Eddie Atkinson, Green Howards

Dave Hallam, Tim Marsh, Ken Ambrose, Kevin Stevens, Vach and the rest of the Royal Green Jackets; the finest regiment in the British Army

John Swaine, Mike Sangster, Tim Marsh and Mick Pickford, Royal Artillery

Mick Hill, Steve Norman and Andy Thomas, Royal Anglians

Pete Whittall of the Hampshires

Dave Langston, Army Catering Corps

Dave Von Slaps, Royal Armoured Corps

Phil Winstanley and Steve Horvath, Royal Army Medical Corps

Mike Day, Scots Guards

Arfon Williams and Haydn Davis, Royal Regiment of Wales

Paddy Lenaghan and George Prosser, Kings Regiment

Andrew MacDonald, Kings Border Regiment

Ken Anderson, Bob Luke and Tommy Clarke, Royal Corps of Transport

Bill Jones, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

Tiny and June Rose for their combined bravery

Ken Boyd, my UDR comrade

My children Anne-Marie, Anna, Jonathan, Jenny, Robbie, Alex and Nathan; your dad was never a hero, but he knew lots of them My grandchildren Sherriden, Kelsey, William and Samuel; may this never happen again in your lifetimes

To the memory of my late cousin David McGough

To my godson, Jacob Deighton To my new-found New Zealand and Australian and Jordanian friends who now not only understand what happened in Northern

Ireland but actually know where it is!

To Jess Hape; you didnt know a thing about the Troubles, but by God, you are my friend

And to hundreds of others too numerous to mention

To my late parents, Mark Clifford Wharton and Irene Wharton. They brought me into this world and made me what I am today.

Photographs have been kindly supplied by various individuals, some of whom wish to remain anonymous. The author and publishers are extremely grateful to all contributors, in particular The Belfast Telegraph, the Royal Green Jackets Association, the 94 Locating Regiment, RA, Alex B, 10 UDR, Ernie Taylor and Terry Friend, RA. Once again, as he did for the authors previous book, Bloody Belfast, Paul Crispin has provided some memorable images.

Front cover image courtesy of Belfast Telegraph.

First published 2011 by Spellmount

This paperback edition first published by The History Press, 2017

The History Press

The Mill, Brimscombe Port

Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

Ken Wharton, 2011, 2017

The right of Ken Wharton to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the Publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

EPUB ISBN 978 0 7524 7297 3

Typesetting by Geethik Technologies
Printed in Turkey

eBook converted by Geethik Technologies

Ken Whartons account of the bloodiest year of the Troubles is as vivid, powerful and moving as its predecessors. This is good, honest history. Soldiers and civilians alike owe him a debt of gratitude for telling it like it was.

Patrick Bishop, author of Bomber Boys and 3 Para

In this new work, Ken Wharton focuses on the worst year of the Troubles: 1972. Once again he brings to life the thoughts and feelings of those in the British armed forces forced to bear the brunt of the Republicans war of terror. An important book.

Adrian Gilbert, author of POW: Allied Prisoners in Europe, 193945

Lest we forget. Ken Wharton brings to life a period of recent British military history to which attention must be paid.

Damien Lewis, author of Bloody Heroes and Apache Dawn

Ken has produced a meaty masterpiece from those grim and bleakly savage times a forensic examination of the bitter and bloody Troubles that defined soldiering for an entire generation of criminally overused, vastly under-appreciated and shamefully ignored unsung heroes. The pages drip with stinging emotion and angry regrets about beloved comrades lost, at the behest of a spineless government and disenchanted public who seemed at a loss as to how to halt the escalating carnage and defeat an enemy that was as cunning as it was ruthless. The Bloodiest Year is a book that pierces your conscience like a GPMG 7:62mm round punching through a brick wall. Its noisy, its messy and I defy any soldier not to be moved by it.

Steven McLaughlin, author of Squaddie: A Soldiers Story

One of the things which made me angry about all the mess over there, was the fact that we knew who the IRA were, we knew where they lived and whats worse is that they knew we knew, but the bloody Army wouldnt let us do our jobs!

Soldier, Kings Regiment

According to figures, 1972 saw 1,853 bombings in the province. That is an average of over 5 a day. Imagine that happening in England, Scotland or Wales!

Ken Anderson, Royal Corps of Transport

I heard on the television about the soldiers being killed and I just knew that one of them was Eric. I just burst into tears. Later the Army confirmed what I had already guessed; that Eric had been killed.

Widow of a soldier shot in Northern Ireland

One body seemed to be intact apart from the combat jacket being torn, with nothing but dust on it. I still dont know what happened; whether one of them picked up the rifle butt or whether something else triggered a bomb. What was clear was how quickly life could be lost.

Jim, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

As soon as the IRA took a hand in things, we were tasked to go in and get them, thus alienating ourselves from the Roman Catholics. And the Protestants hated us for keeping them away from Roman Catholics.

Terry Friend, Royal Artillery

He was deployed to Northern Ireland aged only nineteen and stationed there for two years. During his time there, he experienced incidents of shootings, explosions, riots; searching houses, children crying, looking through personal property. Worst of all having to talk to known terrorists on a daily basis and be civil and cheerful even though they would boast and smile about trying to kill you. He didnt think he would make it through the tour and honestly thought he would be killed before the two years were up.

Michelle Stevenson, former wife of a soldier

She then told me how her mum had taken out a cup of tea to a soldier lying in a fire position behind the wheel of a car. The soldier just looked at her mum, and said in a broad London accent: This aint a good time darling. Her mum then noticed the gunfire!

Mick Benny Hill, Royal Anglians

Criticisms; too many to mention but all aimed at the government rodents who sent us to do our job. We trained for that job and they never gave a shit about us in any way, shape or form in the whole 38 years of NI. But if you ask me: would I do it all again, as a soldier? Yes I would, just to be at the side of lads like myself who tramped those streets trying to keep the peace. They were caring lads from all backgrounds of life; great mates and priceless and who in the end, were shit all over by our so-called government for all 38 years. I write this with a few tears, Ken; but hey, Im only human.