Former officer's diary recalls 'legalised murder' by 'savage trained terrorists'

A former British army officer has described the killings by paratroopers of 13 unarmed civilians in Derry's Bogside 31 years …

A former British army officer has described the killings by paratroopers of 13 unarmed civilians in Derry's Bogside 31 years ago as "legalised murder" carried out by "savage trained terrorists".

The descriptions are contained in a diary of a former major in the Coldstream Guards, who gave evidence to the Saville Inquiry into the Bloody Sunday killings yesterday.

Known as Inquiry 179, the major told the inquiry's three judges it was "extremely distressing" for him to see the contents of his diary being made public.

He said he wrote the comments in his private diary on the day of and on the days immediately after the Bloody Sunday killings in January and February 1972.

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The witness told the inquiry that, although he was emotionally unstable when he wrote the comments because of the recent death of his father, it did not alter his belief that what he wrote was fairly accurate.

"I would like to emphasise that they include my personal private views at that time," he told the inquiry.

"What I saw on Bloody Sunday was horrifying.

"It was a dreadful day, on which I hold very powerful views. Given the feelings that I as a soldier had, I wonder how much worse the Irish must have felt."

The former major said he was based in Fort George army base, where people arrested on Bloody Sunday were brought by paratroopers.

He said the detainees were "treated appallingly", adding: "I do remember that the paratroopers were very brutal to these Irish people.

"It is possible that the paratroopers kicked or struck the civilians.

"I just have a vivid memory of mistreatment. I was so appalled by what I had seen the paratroopers do to the civilians that I told my commanding officer what I had seen," he informed the inquiry.

Extracts from the witness's diary from 1972 were then shown to the inquiry judges.

Under the date "Sunday, 30 January 1972", he wrote: "Today has been an appalling slaughter of Irishmen in the streets.

"Thirteen people, mostly boys and young men, shot down by the Parachute Regiment. Words cannot described what a dreadful and ghastly regiment that is. I was horrified by what I saw in their treatment of prisoners."

On the following day, the major wrote: "There is something quite horrible in seeing young men shot down by totally undisciplined troops, who take a pride and pleasure in this legalised murder.

"I saw the snatch squad of the Parachute Regiment bring in civilian prisoners; the way these savage trained terrorists treated those civilians was beyond description.

"It was quite ghastly and frightful."

On February 2nd, 1972, he recorded: "Today is the funeral of the victims of the Parachute Regiment's indiscriminate fire. Nearly all the 13 people murdered were young men in their prime of life under 20 years of age.

"It horrifies me to think of a young body destroyed at such an early age.

"Sunday was the shame of the army in Ireland."

The witness said although his diary entries contained somewhat intemperate language, it was not meant to stand the test of objective scrutiny.

His diary was not meant to be read or seen by anyone else.