ON THIS DAY IN 1978, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA murdered a British soldier in a booby-trap bomb attack in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.  Rifleman Nicholas Smith, of the Royal Green Jackets, had been attempting to remove an Irish tricolour that had been nailed to a telegraph pole.  He and a colleague had inspected the pole, but could not see anything suspicious.  However, as Rifleman Smith tried to remove the flag a bomb exploded beneath him, killing the young soldier and injuring his colleague.  IRA snipers opened fire immediately after the explosion and the patrol took up defensive positions, but no further casualties were inflicted and the terrorists withdrew.

Rifleman Smith was 20 and came from Battersea in south London.  He was serving in the 2nd Battalion Royal Green Jackets.

Rifleman Nicholas Smith

Crossmaglen was at the heart of what was dubbed 'bandit country', an area of south Armagh close to the Irish border that was an IRA stronghold.  The IRA's South Armagh Brigade were responsible for the deaths of 123 British soldiers during the Troubles.

ON THIS DAY IN 1973, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA murdered two British soldiers in a bomb attack in south Armagh.  Security forces had been lured to the village of Cullaville, near Crossmaglen, after a masked terrorist had told a local woman there was a bomb inside the house opposite.  He had knocked her door and told her to call Newry police station with the news.  The house was owned by a soldier serving with the Royal Irish Rangers, but all the occupants were out at the time.

The police were first to arrive on the scene and checked the perimeter of the property.  A short time later soldiers arrived in a helicopter and prepared to enter the house.  A police sergeant described how he heard glass breaking followed by a loud explosion.  The house was partially demolished by the blast and Warrant Officer Ian Donald was killed instantly.  Sergeant John Wallace was fatally injured and a third soldier was seriously injured.  The house was just 500 yards from the border and it is thought the bomb was detonated remotely by terrorists who then fled into the Republic.

WO2 Donald was a bomb disposal officer serving with 48th Field Squadron the Royal Engineers.  He was 35 and came from Ripon in North Yorkshire.  He was survived by his wife and two children.

Sgt Wallace, 31, was a member of 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment and came from Frome in Somerset.  He was survived by his wife and child.

Sgt John Wallace

ON THIS DAY IN 1986, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA murdered two policemen and an army officer in a bomb attack in south Armagh.  An eight-man joint police/army foot patrol were moving through countryside near the notorious republican stronghold of Crossmaglen.  As they were crossing a ditch the terrorists detonated the bomb by remote control, killing the two RUC officers instantly.  The army officer, a major, died later at Newry's Daisy Hill Hospital.  The five other members of the patrol escaped uninjured.

The terrorists were thought to have been hiding on a hill overlooking the site and had triggered the bomb before fleeing.  The casualties were ferried away by army helicopters, while security forces on the ground struggled to secure the area fearing a second device.

The murdered policemen came from both communities.  Constable David McBride was a 27-year-old Protestant from Enniskillen.  His brother-in-law had also been a policeman and had been killed in a similar IRA bombing two years earlier.  Constable William Smyth was a 25-year-old Catholic from the village of Cloughy in County Down.  He had been a talented Gaelic footballer, but was not allowed to play professionally because the Gaelic Athletic Association forbade members of the security forces.  In the event of his death he had instructed that his possessions be donated to the cause of Mother Teresa.

Major Andrew French MBE was one of the most senior army officers to be killed during the course of the Troubles.  Major French was the commanding officer of 2nd Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment.  The 35-year-old came from Millswood in Suffolk and was laid to rest in his home county.

ON THIS DAY IN 1980, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA exploded a car bomb in Crossmaglen, south Armagh.  The device was hidden in a Ford Cortina on North Street and was detonated as an army patrol passed by.  Private Sean Walker was seriously injured and airlifted to Belfast.  He was later transferred to a hospital on the mainland where he died of his injuries on March 21st, two weeks after the explosion.

Pte Walker was 18 and was only nine days into his tour.  He was serving with the King's Own Royal Border Regiment and came from Morecambe in Lancashire.  His mother suffered a heart attack when she heard of his injuries and was also rushed to hospital.

North Street in Crossmaglen as it looks today