Chapter 133: Events after the arrival of Corporal 150 and Gerald Donaghey at the Regimental Aid Post
Contents
Paragraph
Corporal 150 133.1
Captain 138 133.11
Corporal 150
133.1 According to Corporal 150’s first RMP statement,1once he had arrived at the Bridge Camp “the MO [Medical Officer] examined the dead man. The MO pronounced the man dead and I drove the car to one side whilst the injured person in 104 car was re-examined. I then returned to the barrier in Barrack Street … ”
1 B1900
133.2 In his written statement for the Widgery Inquiry,1Corporal 150 recorded that it was the Medical Officer who told him to move the car out of the way “to make room for another car that was coming in ”. In this statement he added that when he had reached the Bridge Camp and was waiting for the Medical Officer to come, no-one touched the body except that “I tried to feel the man’s pulse but could feel nothing ”. He had been shown Constable Simpson’s photograph of Raymond Rogan’s car and said that this car looked very like the one he had driven. He had also been shown Constable Simpson’s photograph of Gerald Donaghey’s body, and said that it was:
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“… almost certainly a photograph of the body which was in the car I drove. The arms are in the same position as I remember his to have been. I looked at him, however, from a different angle, from the off side of the car. My recollection is that the zip of his trousers was slightly open as is shown in the picture and his clothes were disarranged in that area where there seemed to me to be blood so that I supposed that he had been shot in that area. ” |
133.3 He continued: “I have also been shown photograph EP5A/26. I cannot remember seeing any object sticking out of his pocket, but looking at photograph 25 I suppose that it is possible that his hand is concealing it. ”
133.4 In his oral evidence to the Widgery Inquiry, Corporal 150 said that he was not sure which wrist he felt for a pulse but thought it was the right hand, that he was at the Bridge Camp for two minutes before the Medical Officer arrived, and that he distinctly remembered seeing the top part of the zip of Gerald Donaghey’s trousers undone and that part of the clothes were disarranged when he first saw the body.1We should note at this point that Corporal 150’s apparently affirmative answer to the question as to whether he saw the nail bombs when he got into the car to drive2was clearly either not responsive to this question or a transcription error, since a few answers later he replied “That is correct, sir ” to the question “You did not notice any bomb on the body at any time? ”3
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2 WT16.56 |
3 WT16.57 |
133.5 Corporal 150 also told the Widgery Inquiry that after the Medical Officer had pronounced Gerald Donaghey dead and he had moved the car as requested, he had nothing to do with the car or the body, and did not speak to any police officer.1We have no doubt that, as Corporal 150 recorded in his RMP statements, he then returned to Barrier 20 and escorted the four men who had been arrested there, namely CIV 1 and Eugene O’Donnell from the car carrying Joe Friel, and Raymond Rogan and Hugh Leo Young from the car carrying Gerald Donaghey, to the RMP control point for identification.2
1 WT16.56-57 2B1900; B1902
133.6 Corporal 150’s written and oral evidence to this Inquiry was consistent with his previous accounts.1As already observed, we were impressed by this witness, who we are sure was doing his best to give us an accurate account of what he saw and did that day. Understandably, there were some details in his previous accounts that he said that he could no longer recall, but his evidence was convincing. In the course of it he told us that after he moved the car at the Bridge Camp he was still in sight of the second car, to which the Medical Officer had gone.2He explained to us that he believed that the Medical Officer had later conducted a second examination of the body, but that this was on the basis of the Medical Officer telling him that he would go and check the other casualty and then come back; and that he was not present at any second examination.3He also said that while he was with the car, he was not aware of other soldiers gathering round and that his recollection was that he and the Medical Officer were alone.4He said that he “must ” have notified somebody when he arrived that there was a dead body in the car, but had no memory of doing so and no recollection of speaking to any police officer on his arrival.5
133.7 Corporal 150 was asked about some of the evidence that Sergeant Vernon Carson, one of the police officers on duty at the Bridge Camp, had given to the Widgery Inquiry, namely that when this officer searched the body he found a nail bomb which he then showed to the soldier who had driven the car to the Bridge Camp, which caused the latter to say “F--- me ”. When asked whether anything like that had occurred, Corporal 150 replied “No ”.1He also said that while he was in control of the car, there was no incident such as that described by Woman Constable Clara Hamilton, another police officer on duty at the Bridge Camp, of the discovery of a nail bomb and of a soldier identifying it as such with a shout, “Get out, it is a bomb ”.2We consider the evidence of these and other police officers below.
1 Day 380/40-41 2Day 380/43-44
133.8 Corporal 150 also told us that he did not recall seeing anything in Gerald Donaghey’s pockets1and that he had only learned that there had been nail bombs in Gerald Donaghey’s pockets when he was “at the Widgery Tribunal ”.2 He also said3 that he was certain that he had not seen the object shown in Gerald Donaghey’s pocket in the second of Constable Simpson’s photographs. He confirmed that it was his evidence, as he had simply expressed it in his written statement,4 that the nail bombs were not there.
133.9 As we have already indicated, we are sure that Corporal 150 did not plant nail bombs on Gerald Donaghey. We are also sure that Corporal 150 did not know until much later that a nail bomb or bombs had been discovered.
133.10 As with the civilians at 10 Abbey Park, we are sure that if a nail bomb had been visible in one of Gerald Donaghey’s pockets as shown in the photographs taken by Constable Simpson in the car park on the north side of Craigavon Bridge, Corporal 150 would have noticed it. Again, as with the civilians, the true question is not whether Corporal 150 saw a nail bomb or bombs in Gerald Donaghey’s pockets, but whether he could have failed to notice heavy and bulky objects if they had been there. Since Corporal 150 only had a quick glance at the body before he left Barrier 20,1only touched the body to take the pulse, and did not move the body2it is unlikely that he would have noticed such objects had they been there but out of sight in the pockets.
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1 B1899 |
Captain 138
133.11 According to his RMP statement dated 2nd February 1972, the Medical Officer of 1 R ANGLIAN (Captain 138) was at the RAP when three civilian cars arrived almost simultaneously:1
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“The first car I looked at was a white Mk 1 Cortina GT with a red stripe on the side. Lying on the back seat of the car with his left side against the back of the seat was a youth of approximately 15 or 16 years of age, I do not remember how he was dressed. I examined him and he was dead. There was no obvious cause of death on a very quick examination, so rather than waste time I proceeded to treat the other two injured persons who had arrived at the same time. After transferring the two injured persons to hospital, I returned to the dead body to try and determine cause of death. It was then that I heard that there was some sort of explosive device on the body, so I decided not to move the body for closer examination until it had been cleared by the ATO [Ammunition Technical Officer]. After the ATO had examined the explosive devices which turned out to be four nail bombs, the body was transported direct to the Mortuary at the ALTNAGELVIN HOSPITAL by Army transport, before further examination by myself. ” |
1 B1844
133.12 In his written statement for the Widgery Inquiry dated 8th March 1972,1Captain 138 said that he had examined the body for colour, pupils, breathing and pulse.
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“I made no further examination. I did not at that stage see a nail bomb on his person. I have never seen a nail bomb so that I would not have known one if I had seen it. I have, however, been shown a photograph EP5A/26. I did not notice any such object as is shown in that picture, but I cannot say that I wouldn’t have noticed this if it had been there. I cannot recall that he had any bulky articles in his coat, but the nature of my preliminary examination was such that I would not necessarily have felt them had they been there. ” |
133.13 It seems to us that what Captain 138 meant to record in this passage was “I cannot say that I would have noticed this if it had been there ”. That would be more consistent with his comment about the second examination1 (“Again, in making this second examination I did not notice any bulky objects … but from the nature of the examination there was no reason why I should ”) and with his oral evidence to the Widgery Inquiry,2 in which he said that if there had been a bomb in one of Gerald Donaghey’s pockets when he made his first examination he did not think that he would have seen it.
133.14 Later in this statement Captain 138 told the Widgery Inquiry that he had made a further examination of the body after he had tended to the two casualties who had arrived in the other cars. He stated that he had conducted this examination through “the right-hand door ”1and that the examination did not reveal the cause of death.
1 B1848
133.15 Captain 138 then stated that about five minutes after he had finished his second examination he heard someone say that a nail bomb had been found “either on the man’s person or in the car, I cannot remember which. As a result there was a delay in the time before the body left for the Mortuary, because a bomb disposal officer was sent for. ”1
1 B1848
133.16 In his oral evidence to the Widgery Inquiry, Captain 138 said that he was notified over the radio that casualties were coming in, so that he was “virtually ” at the doorway of the RAP when they arrived, and first saw the Cortina with the body when he was 25 paces away.1
1 WT15.22
133.17 Captain 138 told the Widgery Inquiry that he opened the rear door of the car so that he could see the face of the casualty immediately beside him.1He repeated his description of the steps he took to ascertain whether the casualty was dead.2He said that having regard to the nature of his examination he would not have seen a nail bomb in the casualty’s pocket if one had been there.3
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1 WT15.20 |
3 WT15.21 |
133.18 Captain 138 also told the Widgery Inquiry that it was difficult to say how long he spent with the other casualties before he returned to the dead person, but estimated that he had spent “say 6 minutes for each of them ”.1He said his second examination took about eight to ten minutes, but that he was unable to determine the cause of death. He said he did not see a wound on the left side of the body because in order to examine the left side he would have had to shift the body and he did not think that it was worth moving the body at this stage. He said that he did not notice anything in the pockets. “I was not looking in his pockets. I was trying to determine the cause of death. ”2
133.19 Captain 138 was asked about the fact that the trousers are shown unzipped in the first photograph1. He said that the trousers were originally zipped up and that he unzipped them.2Captain 138 may have been wrong about this, as Dr Swords told the Widgery Inquiry that he had undone the trousers.3
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1 It seems clear that this was Constable Simpson’s first photograph, which we have reproduced in paragraph 125.10. |
2 WT15.21 |
133.20 Captain 138 gave written and oral evidence to this Inquiry.1We formed the view that Captain 138 no longer had a clear recollection of events. He was asked about the fact that it appeared from his RMP statement that he had been told of explosive devices on the body when he returned after going to the two injured men,2whereas in his evidence to the Widgery Inquiry, he said that he learned of this after he had conducted a second examination of the body. Captain 138 was unable to explain this discrepancy.3He told us that he still had a vague memory of conducting a second examination but agreed that it was possible that this could have been a cursory one.4
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1 B1859.002-008; Day 383/12-86 2 B1844; Day 383/33 |
133.21 Captain 138 was also asked about the fact that in his written evidence to us1he stated that he would have noticed at least one of the four bombs had they been there, whereas he told the Widgery Inquiry that there was no reason why he should have noticed bulky objects in the pockets. Again Captain 138 was unable to provide an explanation.2He accepted that it was possible that he had conducted a second examination of the body after Captain 127, the ATO, had removed the bombs, since he did not (despite what he said in his RMP statement3) conduct any examination at the hospital. In this regard he agreed that it was possible that the phrase “before further examination by myself ” in that statement should have read “after further examination by myself ”.4
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3 B1844 |
133.22 Captain 138 also told us that his memory now was that he had stopped the second examination because someone had told him that there was possibly a nail bomb on the man, but could not explain why he had told the Widgery Inquiry that he learned this some minutes after he had completed his second examination.1
133.23 In his written statement to this Inquiry, Captain 138 told us that the time taken to treat the two living casualties might have been only six to ten minutes in total, rather than six minutes each as he had told the Widgery Inquiry; and that his second examination of Gerald Donaghey might have taken only five to eight minutes, rather than eight to ten minutes as he had told that Inquiry.1In his oral evidence to the present Inquiry, Captain 138 accepted that the times could have been shorter still.2
1 B1859.003; B1859.007-008 2Day 383/42
133.24 We have no doubt that Captain 138 made an initial examination of Gerald Donaghey in order to check whether he was dead, and did not notice any nail bomb or bombs in his pockets. His evidence in this regard is supported by that of Corporal 150. In our view, however, this evidence does not establish the absence of nail bombs on Gerald Donaghey at this time. If they were there, but at this stage they were out of sight in Gerald Donaghey’s pockets, it seems to us that Captain 138’s “very quick ” examination for signs of life might well not have revealed their presence. The same, however, could not be said if one of the nail bombs was visible as shown in the photographs1though it must again be kept in mind that these photographs were taken after a nail bomb had been discovered in this pocket and so do not necessarily represent the scene at an earlier stage. Thus the evidence of Captain 138 about his initial examination does not establish whether or not Gerald Donaghey then had nail bombs in his pockets.
133.25 It is far from clear from Captain 138’s evidence as a whole whether he did in fact conduct any sort of a second examination in order to ascertain the cause of death. It seems to us very unlikely that it could have been after the nail bombs had been discovered and Captain 127 had removed them, since the latter, as will be seen from his evidence (considered below), saw the wound on Gerald Donaghey’s abdomen1and it is difficult to see how a trained doctor could then have failed to do so.
1 B1783
133.26 Captain 138 has throughout maintained that he did not discover any wound on Gerald Donaghey’s body. His original explanation for this was that the body was on its left side, so concealing the wound on the left side of the abdomen, and that he chose not to move the body.1It might be, as Captain 138 now says he seems to recall, that he embarked or was about to embark on a second examination but stopped before discovering the wound when told that there might be a bomb.
133.27 Such a possibility is consistent with Captain 138’s RMP statement1and with an entry in the incident report dated 4th February 1972 prepared by 1 R ANGLIAN subtitled “3 Cars Containing Dead/Wounded Men at Br Location (Extract from MOs Notes) ”,2which recorded, so far as Gerald Donaghey was concerned:
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“White Cortina GT Mk 1 with Red Flash (now known to be 3933 PZ Owned/Driven by Raymond Rogan, 10 Abbey Pk). Youth inside aged 16 yrs approx. Dead on examination. Exact location of wound not visible from front and MO did not turn over the body because of nail bomb in pocket. ” |
133.28 Captain 138 told this Inquiry that he would normally have made notes of an examination of the type he conducted, but he did not recall supplying any such notes to anyone compiling an incident report and could not help in interpreting the entry in this report.1
133.29 The difficulty with the possibility that Captain 138 did not carry out a second examination or only started to do so is that it is inconsistent with his evidence to the Widgery Inquiry that he spent some eight minutes doing so, though this evidence in turn is hard to reconcile with his RMP statement. In our assessment, Captain 138 was a confused witness whose recollections lacked clarity, leading to the discrepancies and inconsistencies in his evidence that he was unable to explain. Despite his evidence to the Widgery Inquiry, it seems to us on the whole that Captain 138 did not conduct a second examination or had only started to do so when informed of the discovery of a nail bomb.
133.30 In this regard, we accept the evidence of Inspector Dickson, which we consider below, that if a nail bomb had been discovered a Medical Officer would not have been allowed to carry out an examination of the body except possibly to confirm that the person was dead.1In view of the timings in the logs of the arrival of the car bearing Gerald Donaghey and the report of a nail bomb, together with the time Captain 138 said that he spent examining the two injured, Captain 138 could hardly have done much more than return to the car, which once again is consistent with his RMP statement.
133.31 In these circumstances and in view of the discrepancies and inconsistencies in his evidence, we have concluded that it would be unwise to rely on Captain 138’s evidence to draw any conclusions about what he did or did not see when he returned to the body of Gerald Donaghey.
