General Chat

...Bombs exploded in The Tavern in the Town and The Mulberry Bush pubs in Birmingham city centre 21 people died and 182 injured.

I remember I was doing my school homework when the news broke, News Flash on ITV in those pre internet days. I sat with my parents watching the coverage until the early hours.

Amazing isn't it that we always remember what were doing when disasters (either natural or man made) occur

Can't say I remember that, maybe it was not shown on our TV in London area in detail

But I remember 41 years ago today. being given the day off of school as it was the Queen and prince Philips 25th wedding anniversary.....A group of us got a Red bus Rover ticket 25p and went Ice skating in London... Queensway I believe

I remember the Birmingham bombings..
I don't know if I heard it on TV first , or the next day read about it in the papers. Dreadful.

and there are moves afoot to no longer prosecute the bombers or anyone involved in terrorist acts after the Good Friday agreement :-S

You are quite right Ann - so nobody pays :-( :-0

Yes I heard that Ann, couldn't quite believe what I was hearing.
I cannot imagine how that announcement has gone down with those who were maimed during such atrocities and for the families of those who were killed.

I remember well the news of the Birmingham bombings breaking, it was too much to take in and very worrying.

The night before my eldest brother had taken me to the cinema in Birmingham (The Odeon next to the Tavern in the Town) and we were evacuated due to a bomb scare at the cinema (quite common in the troubled 1970's).
As it was raining we sheltered just inside the doorway to the Tavern - then 24 hours later it was blown up. Being a basement pub those there didn't stand a chance and even the survivors suffered terrible life changing injuries

I only heard a little bit about these bombings, 'cos we were over here by then!

we also only heard a little bit about the bombing on Horse Guards Parade in 1982

Only the very basic information made to our news media



I do remember very clearly where I was when I heard that John F Kennedy had been assassinated .................. and that is 50 years on Friday :-0

I also remember what I was doing when Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were killed.



and where we were when I heard about the bus and tube bombings in London in July 2005.

My daughter was 6 weeks old. We had moved from Birmingham to Kendal a year or so previously, so still had all our friends & family in Brum.
We had no phone in those days, so dashed next door to phone my parents to make sure none of the family were involved, but of course it was far too soon to know anything.
In the event, we didn´t know any or the people involved, but still found it hard to come to terms with something like that happening in "our home".

My OH had been in the Rotunda which was another target of the bombers, he was walking across the city with friends when they heard the bombs go off.

Members of the family of one of the young victims killed are continuing to campaign
to get the Government to investigate the police activities and to reopen the investigation to find the real perpetrators of these atrocities.

My brother and his girlfriend had arranged to meet up with friends in the Tavern in the Town that night but his girlfriend had a migraine so they stayed at home. The group of friends they were to meet didn't survive.

I dont actually remember the news or the event of the bombing as I was only 6 at the time, but I do remember news item of the parents of 1 of the bombers ( found innocent years later) the mum was wearing a head scarf and being led a way from the house at night by the police, people in street were shouting and geering at them I felt so sorry for the mum she looked worried to dealth and so scared I shared my concern with my mum and actually get quiet upset and tearful , my mum was outraged asking why I felt sorry for her when she had a hand in murdering all those people, I said she is just a mum....the same news footage was used in the film In the name of the Father.

I remember hearing it on the TV and remarking all the Irish should be sent home, my poor mum did not speak to me for ages (she irish) and I grown up a lot since then and I love my love Irish cousins

I remember the incident for 2 reasons.

At the time I was a very keen amateur photographer and a few weeks after the bombing I was in the city centre taking some photographs of the reflections of shop lights in puddles for an upcoming photographic competition. I was approached by 2 police officers who asked who I was and what was I doing. I answered their questions satisfactorily and they then explained that the reason for their curiosity was because it was thought that those responsible for the bombing had taken photographs of their intended targets before committing their atrocious deed so anyone spotted taking photographs in the city centre after dark was being viewed with suspicion.

The second reason I recall the incident was because a friend of mine was a police officer who was part of the security force present at the trial of those accused of being the perpetrators of the bombings. He told me that he and some of his fellow officers had been issued with firearms, in his case a revolver, to clandestinely take with them into the courtroom just in case any attempt was made by the defendants associates to storm the court. Although the police had been issued with guns they had not been issued with holsters in which to keep them. As a result my friend had resorted to tucking his gun into his waistband. On one occasion during the proceedings when rising from his seat his gun had fallen out of his waistband and on to the courtroom floor. He received a right royal rollicking from his superiors for that.

I remember the Birmingham pub bombings. I lived just outside Birn=mingahm at the time. It was a friday night and I saww reports on t.v.

I had been in both of these pubs more than once but not in the previous seven months (since the birth of my son).

I was horrified by it - shocked and stunned.

Also worried about my mother, who was Irish. She was a Social Workers Assistant and visited old people in their homes to give help support and advice. She called on some of her clientsquite often, just to check that they were ok.
I was concerned that she would be turned away, sworn at etc.

In fact, quite the opposite happened. Het "old ladies" were all lovely to her asking how she was etc (there had been cases reported in the local press of Irish people having a hard time if they went out in public).

I also remember photos of the suspects in the paper - these were official police photos. All the six men showed signs of being beaten in theface.

A few days later there were more photos - this time the men had even more signs of being beaten.
At this time these men had not had a trial - they were just suspects. I remember being horrified, not just that they had been beaten but also by the thought that this could rebound on the powers that be.

A few years later there was a documentry on t.v It was about the bombing and the victimms and theirfamilies. An Irish man (I think from Kingstanding, Birmingham), reported that one of his sons had not come home or contacted him. The son had been going into town that night.

He gave a desription of his son (I'll call him E) When all the bodies had been recovered from the bombimg site they were taken somewhere for relatives to identify.
The people in charge, got in touch with Dad and told him that there was a body that looked like E could he go to identify him? (Sorry if this sounds a bit off-hand - the officials concerned were very kind and supportive) Dad was shown the body, he got upset - yes, it was his son - but it was'nt E. it was T, who lived in Manchester.
This poor family lost two sons in the blast. Son T was in Manchester to work - he had come home to surprise his parents and met up with his brother E.
I am sure that a lot of the families ofvictims all had equally sad stories to tell.

As well as twenty one people being killed, there were many, many more maimed and injued.

I will never understand how anyone could think that killing in this way can do good for any cause.

I would love the real bombers and their organisers to be bought to justice.

There is a memorial in St Phillips Churchyard, in Birmingham City Centre for the victims of the bombing.

As a student I often used to drink in the Mulberry Bush. I was at home when the bombings happened but I was very shaken for weeks afterwards at what might have happened.

I wouldn´t have remembered the date with out this but I do remember the bombings. I had only left the area a year previous and still had many friends who would have been in the area.

As you said Col how we remember what we were doing when disasters happen, I don´t always remember what I was doing but can usually remember where I was and pinpoint a year (good for quizzes maybe). I remember exactly where I was when Di died as sitting outside your own pub at stupid o´clock listen to the radio from a cab is not easy to forget.
I remember Aberfan Oct 1966 ..coming from a mining area where slag heaps were around the school you don´t forget it that easy.