Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings

Hyde Park & Regent's Park bombings
Part of The Troubles
Location	Hyde Park & Regent's Park, London, England
Date	20 July 1982 (GMT)
Target	British Army military parades
Attack type	Nail bombs
Deaths	11 soldiers
Injured	50+ soldiers and civilians
Perpetrator(s)	Provisional IRA

The Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings occurred on 20 July 1982 in London, England. Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated two bombs during British military ceremonies in Hyde Park and Regent's Park. The explosions killed eleven military personnel: four soldiers of the Blues & Royals and seven military bandsmen of the Royal Green Jackets. Seven of the Blues and Royals' horses also died in the attack. One of the seriously injured horses, Sefton, survived; afterwards he featured on many television programmes and was awarded "Horse of the Year".

First bomb

A memorial sign of Regent's Park bombing

The first attack was a large nail bomb hidden in a blue Austin car parked on South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park, along the route used by the Household Cavalry – the Queen's official bodyguard regiment during the Changing of the Guard between Buckingham Palace and Knightsbridge. Three soldiers of the Blues and Royals were killed instantly, and another died on 23 July from his injuries. The other soldiers in the procession were all badly wounded and shrapnel and nails sprayed into the crowd of tourists assembled to watch the parade, causing further injuries. Seven of the regiment's horses were also killed or had to be put down because of their injuries.

Bomb experts believed that the first bomb was a remote-detonated improvised explosive device, which was exploded at just the right point to catch the parade.

Second bomb

The second explosion occurred just over two hours later, when a bomb hidden underneath the bandstand in Regent's Park exploded during a performance of the music from Oliver! by the Royal Green Jackets band to a crowd of 120 people. Here too, the crowd was peppered by shrapnel from the iron bandstand, causing dozens of injuries amongst the audience, as well as killing or wounding the entire band. The blast was so powerful that one of the bodies was thrown onto an iron fence 30 yards away, and seven bandsmen were killed outright.

The second bomb was thought to have been placed under the bandstand weeks in advance, with a timer set to the date and time of the advertised concert.

Aftermath

The IRA claimed responsibility for the attack by deliberately mirroring Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's words just a few months previously when Britain entered the Falklands War. They proclaimed that: "The Irish people have sovereign and national rights which no task or occupational force can put down". Reacting to the bombing, Thatcher stated that "These callous and cowardly crimes have been committed by evil, brutal men who know nothing of democracy. We shall not rest until they are brought to justice."

In 1987, Danny McNamee was sentenced to 25 years for the Hyde Park bomb despite McNamee pleading that he was innocent. In 1998, shortly after his release under the Good Friday Agreement, a judge overturned his conviction, deeming it "unsafe" because of withheld fingerprint evidence that implicated other bomb-makers.

Sefton, a horse that survived the Hyde Park bombing despite serious injuries became well-known due to the Horse of the Year Show where he was awarded Horse of the Year and his numerous television appearances.

The British Progressive rock band Pink Floyd made reference to the bombings in their song "The Gunner's Dream" from the album The Final Cut. One of the lines goes "You can relax, on both sides of the tracks, and maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control".

A memorial marks the place of the Hyde Park explosion and the troop honours it daily with an eyes left and salute with drawn swords.

External links

• BBC On this Day Report
• BBC Report on McNamee appeal