Chapter 57: Evidence from the soldiers concerning the known casualties
Contents
Paragraph
Lieutenant N 57.1
Sergeant O 57.4
Corporal P 57.8
Private Q 57.9
Private R 57.12
Private S 57.15
Private T and Private U 57.18
Lance Corporal V 57.19
Private 006 57.23
Private 013 57.24
Private 017 57.25
Private 019 57.26
Private 112 57.27
Corporal 162 57.28
Lance Corporal INQ 768 57.29
Private INQ 1579 57.30
Private INQ 1918 57.31
Lieutenant N
57.1 In his oral evidence to the Widgery Inquiry,1 Lieutenant N said that he did not see a young boy fall dead in the area of the car park of the Rossville Flats.
1 WT12.78
57.2 In his oral evidence to this Inquiry,1 Lieutenant N said that he had no recollection of seeing the body of a boy in the car park or of seeing a group of men gathered around what might have been the body of a boy. He said that he had no recollection of seeing the scenes shown in Gilles Peress’s and Sam Gillespie’s photographs of Jackie Duddy and the group around him,2which we have reproduced above.3 He told us that he did not see anyone other than his own target shot in the leg in the area shown in Sam Gillespie’s photograph of Michael Bridge on his own in the car park,4which we have also reproduced above.5
57.3 Lieutenant N was asked1 how he had failed to see any of his soldiers shooting anyone, or to see anything of significance in the car park during a time when several people were shot, and said that he was very busy with the events in which he was directly involved.
Sergeant O
57.4 In his written statement to this Inquiry,1 Sergeant O said that he had no recollection of seeing a group including Fr Edward Daly around a body at any stage, or of the scene shown in Sam Gillespie’s photograph of the group round Jackie Duddy. In his oral evidence to this Inquiry,2 he said that he had no recollection of seeing Fr Daly attending to a body on the ground. He completely missed the shooting of Jackie Duddy, and the group of people attending to him. His only explanation of this was that he had “tunnel vision ” while engaging his first two gunmen and was then concentrating on the location towards which Private S was firing. He said that he did not recall seeing the scene shown in Fulvio Grimaldi’s photograph3 of Jackie Duddy being carried out of the car park, or anything like it.4
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1 B575.115 |
57.5 In his written statement to this Inquiry,1 Sergeant O said that he did not remember a woman being shot in or around the car park.
1 B575.118
57.6 In his oral evidence to this Inquiry,1 Sergeant O said that he did not remember a tall man being shot in the leg in the entrance to the car park. He accepted2 that he was probably the soldier shown standing at the rear of his Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and marked with an arrow in Sam Gillespie’s photograph of Michael Bridge (shown again below)3 but said that he did not see Michael Bridge or the body that lay on the ground behind him, surrounded by a group of civilians that included a priest.
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3 B575.171 |
57.7 Sergeant O said1 that he did not see a man shot in front of Block 2 of the Rossville Flats either in the arm or in the chest. He was shown Larry Doherty’s photograph2 of Michael Bradley being taken away on a stretcher at a later stage, and said that so far as he was aware he had never seen his face before.
1 Day 335/83-84 2 Shown at paragraph 55.259.
Corporal P
57.8 Corporal P did not describe seeing any of the known casualties in Sector 2.
Private Q
57.9 In his oral evidence to this Inquiry,1 Private Q said that he did not recall seeing a group of people around a body in the position shown in Fulvio Grimaldi’s photograph of Fr Daly and Charles Glenn attending to Jackie Duddy,2 nor did he see a group of people carrying a body out of the car park.
57.10 Private Q said1 that he did not see the shooting of Michael Bridge, nor did he see him being carried away towards Chamberlain Street.
57.11 Private Q said1 that he could give no assistance as to who might have shot Jackie Duddy, Michael Bridge or Michael Bradley.
Private R
57.12 In his written statement to this Inquiry,1 Private R said that he did not remember seeing any civilians shot in the car park other than the two at whom he fired, one of whom he might not have hit, and the gunman at whom he saw Sergeant O fire.
1 B691.005
57.13 In his oral evidence to this Inquiry,1 Private R said that he had not seen the scene shown in Fulvio Grimaldi’s photograph2 of Jackie Duddy being carried out of the car park. He said3 that he had no recollection of seeing scenes such as those shown in Gilles Peress’s photograph of Jackie Duddy and the group around him,4 or Fulvio Grimaldi’s photograph of Fr Daly and Charles Glenn attending to Jackie Duddy,5 and that he did not see Jackie Duddy being carried out of the car park, as shown in the CBS film.6
57.14 Private R said1 that he did not see a man approaching Sergeant O’s APC from around a group surrounding a body in the southern part of the car park, nor did he see anyone shoot a man in the leg in the car park. He also said2 that he did not see anyone shot in the arms and chest near the low wall parallel to Block 2. So far as he was aware, he had not seen the man (Michael Bradley) shown being taken away on a stretcher in Larry Doherty’s photograph.3
1 Day 337/67-68 3Paragraph 55.259
Private S
57.15 In his oral evidence to the Widgery Inquiry,1 Private S said that he had seen what he took to be a body lying on the ground in front of him, at a stage which he thought was after he had taken up his position at the back of 34 Chamberlain Street but before he had fired his first shots. He did not notice whether there was a priest near the body at any time. A lot of people were milling about in the car park even after he saw the body. In his oral evidence to this Inquiry,2 Private S said that he had no recollection of seeing the body. None was prompted when he was shown some of the photographs of Jackie Duddy lying on the ground reproduced above.3 He said4 that he had no recollection of witnessing the scene shown in Fulvio Grimaldi’s photograph of Jackie Duddy’s body being carried away.5
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1 WT13.7-8 |
57.16 Private S said1 that he did not recall seeing anyone fall, or anyone who had fallen, in the area where he was positioned at the back of the Chamberlain Street houses. He was certainly not aware of a woman being shot in the leg close to him. He said2 that he did not see a woman being shot by another soldier as he made his way along the back of the Chamberlain Street houses, and had no recollection of seeing a woman being carried away from that area.
1 Day 331/90-92 2Day 332/54-55
57.17 Private S said,1 after being shown Sam Gillespie’s photograph of Michael Bridge standing on his own in the car park,2 that he did not recall seeing anyone being shot close to the mouth of the car park.
Private T and Private U
57.18 Neither of these soldiers gave any evidence of seeing any of the known casualties in Sector 2.
Lance Corporal V
57.19 In his RMP statement,1 Lance Corporal V recorded that when he fired a shot at a man who had thrown a bottle with a fuse attached to the end, the man was thrown to the ground. The crowd scattered but four or five people returned. Lance Corporal V saw them waving white handkerchiefs and attending to the man.
1 B788
57.20 In his written statement for the Widgery Inquiry1 and in his oral evidence to the Widgery Inquiry,2 Lance Corporal V said that four or five male persons approached the body of the man whom he had shot, with their hands in the air, waving white handkerchiefs. He was asked3 whether one of these people had been a priest in clerical clothes, and said that he thought so.
2 WT13.13
57.21 In his oral evidence to this Inquiry,1 Lance Corporal V said that although he had no present recollection, it had been his impression at the time, possibly mistaken, that a group of people including a priest had attended to the man whom he had shot. He then said that he had seen a body on the ground being attended to by a priest, which he had taken to be the body of the man whom he had shot. However, he repeatedly rejected the suggestion2 that this man was Jackie Duddy, since he said that the man whom he shot had been wearing a white shirt and was hit in the centre of the body. Lance Corporal V said3 that he did not recognise the scene shown in Gilles Peress’s photograph of Jackie Duddy and the group around him,4 and5 that he could not explain how he had failed to see the body of Jackie Duddy lying on the ground. He said,6 after being shown Fulvio Grimaldi’s photograph of Jackie Duddy being carried,7 that he did not see that scene.
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2 Day 333/86-90; Day 333/147-150; Day 333/156-157; |
57.22 Lance Corporal V said1 that he did not see the shooting of Margaret Deery. He also said,2 after being shown Sam Gillespie’s photographs of Michael Bridge reproduced above,3 that he did not see a tall man shot in the leg in the car park. He said4 that he could not explain how he had failed to see Michael Bridge approaching his position, shouting and gesticulating, and said that he did not see the shooting of Michael Bridge.
Private 006
57.23 Private 006 gave no evidence of seeing any of the known casualties in Sector 2.
Private 013
57.24 In his written statement to this Inquiry,1 Private 013 said that he did not remember seeing “anyone hit or anyone being shot ” in the car park, although he saw people falling over in the crowd.
Private 017
57.25 Private 017 gave no evidence of seeing any of the known casualties in Sector 2.
Private 019
57.26 Private 019 gave no evidence of seeing any of the known casualties in Sector 2. In his written statement to this Inquiry,1 he told us that he saw no bodies other than the three placed inside Lieutenant N’s vehicle, an incident that occurred later and to which we return in due course.2
Private 112
57.27 In his oral evidence to this Inquiry,1 Private 112 said that, as far as he could recall, while at the north-east corner of Block 1 he did not see anyone who had been injured. He said2 that he did not see any civilians lying on the ground, nor did he recollect seeing a group of people gathered around the body of a young man, or seeing a priest in the car park.
Corporal 162
57.28 Corporal 162 gave no evidence of seeing any of the known casualties in Sector 2.
Lance Corporal INQ 768
57.29 Lance Corporal INQ 768 gave no evidence of seeing any of the known casualties in Sector 2. In his oral evidence to this Inquiry,1 he said that he did not at any time see any civilian fall to the ground.
Private INQ 1579
57.30 In his oral evidence to this Inquiry,1 Private INQ 1579 said that he had no recollection of seeing the shooting of Jackie Duddy or of any of the other known casualties.
Private INQ 1918
57.31 Private INQ 1918 gave no evidence of seeing any of the known casualties in Sector 2. In his oral evidence to this Inquiry,1 he said that he had no idea when he first learned that civilians had been killed and wounded.
57.32 As we have observed earlier in this report,1 none of the soldiers has admitted shooting any of the gunfire casualties in Sector 2. With the exception, perhaps, of Private R, none admitted even the possibility that any of the gunfire casualties could have been hit by accident. When this is added to the fact that, while Lance Corporal V and Private S each said that he saw a body, none of the soldiers has admitted seeing any of the known gunfire casualties and many have asserted that they did not do so, our view, that the evidence of one or more of them must be inaccurate and incomplete, is reinforced. Some at least of them must have seen Jackie Duddy lying in the car park and then being carried away, Margaret Deery shot and being carried away and Michael Bridge out on his own facing the soldiers and then shot in the leg, if not Michael Bradley being shot as well.
