ON THIS DAY IN 1976, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA shot dead a part-time British Army officer at his civilian place of work.  Lieutenant Joseph Wilson had worked at the same Protestant supermarket in the town of Armagh for 20 years and had survived a previous attempt to kill him there.  On the day of the murder a young man entered the store and joined the queue for Lt Wilson's meat counter.  He asked the UDR man for some salami, but as the lieutenant turned around the man shot him three times in the back.  Lt Wilson collapsed and was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.  The gunman fled the scene and escaped in a Hillman Avenger that had been hijacked earlier.

13 months prior to his murder, Lt Wilson had got into his car after finishing a shift when a gunman approached and fired a revolver into his windscreen.  He escaped that day, but a newspaper report following his death described him as a 'marked man'.  Earlier in the Troubles he testified in court against several Official IRA members, who were subsequently jailed for a theft from his home.

Lieutenant Joseph Wilson of 2 UDR

Lt Wilson was 53 and served in 2nd Battalion the Ulster Defence Regiment, based in Armagh.  He came from Lisdown, just outside the town, and was survived by his wife and nine children.  He was buried with full military honours at Knappagh Presbyterian Church.  The following year his UDR company unveiled a plaque inside the church in his memory.  In 1984 Lt Wilson's son-in-law was murdered by the IRA in a bomb attack.

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

The Provisional IRA launched a co-ordinated attack on the border village of Tullyhommon in County Fermanagh.  Two carloads of terrorists crossed the border from the Republic just after 11am and split into two.  One group went to a garage in order to murder the off-duty soldier who owned it, while the other planted bombs at the village post office and a customs post.

Staff at the garage were forced outside at gunpoint and asked to provide their names.  When the owner gave his name one of the terrorists raised his pistol to shoot him.  However, the part-time UDR man was light on his feet and made a run for it while he dodged bullets from his would-be assassins.  He managed to get to his house, a hundred yards away, and returned fire with his personal protection weapon.  A 13-year-old boy from the Irish Republic, who was at the garage, was struck in the arm during the shoot-out.  The UDR man continued to fire at his assailants as they fled back over the border and said at least one of his bullets struck their vehicle.  This was the second time his business had been targeted, having been bombed earlier in the Troubles.

During the botched garage operation the second group was planting their bombs.  They robbed the post office before leaving a bomb concealed in a plastic bag.  They left another bomb at the temporary customs post before returning to the Republic.  The permanent customs building had been destroyed by an earlier bomb and had been replaced by a caravan.  The whole operation was over within 30 minutes and both groups were safely back across the border, despite the best efforts of the garage owner.

While the IRA failed to kill their intended target, they would still claim a military victim that day.  At around midday the device at the caravan exploded, but no-one was hurt.  The device at the post office failed to detonate and a bomb disposal squad was called.  Staff Sergeant Ronald Beckett of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps was tasked with making the bomb safe.  He examined the device and found that it contained around 20-30lbs of explosive and was connected to a ticking clock.  He attempted to disrupt the device remotely and then entered the building armed with wire cutters in case the bomb was still active.  Around two minutes later the device exploded, gutting the post office and killing S/Sgt Beckett.

Staff Sergeant Ron Beckett

S/Sgt Ron Beckett was 36 and came from Hereford.  He was survived by his wife and two daughters.  He had been present during an IRA bombing a month earlier in which another soldier had been killed, Cpl Bryan Criddle.

ON THIS DAY IN 1984, CORBYN'S MATES

The Provisional IRA murdered two British soldiers in a landmine attack near the Irish border.  Eight members of the Ulster Defence Regiment were patrolling near the village of Castlederg in County Tyrone when the 200lb device was detonated.  The mid-morning attack was carried out from the safety of the Irish Republic, a few hundred yards away.  After triggering the device the terrorists opened fire on the stricken UDR patrol as they radioed for help.

Private Norman McKinley, 32, was killed instantly in the explosion.  His colleague, Corporal Heather Kerrigan, died en route to hospital.  She was 20.  Both soldiers were local Protestants and came from Castlederg.  Cpl Kerrigan's brother was also part of the patrol and was seriously injured.

David Kerrigan holds a picture of his murdered sister

Cpl Kerrigan's brother-in-law, also a member of the UDR, was murdered by the IRA four months earlier.  No-one was ever brought to justice for any of these murders, but in 2016 David Kerrigan told the media that he believed Martin McGuinness had information about the landmine attack.  Mr Kerrigan said that nothing happened on the Tyrone-Donegal border without McGuinness knowing about it.  McGuinness died a year later.

In 2014 - following a service to mark the 30th anniversary of the attack - a makeshift memorial was vandalised and a sign erected in its place that read "IRA 2 UDR 0".  The police removed the sign and said they were treating it as a hate crime.  Mr Kerrigan said the memorial was also desecrated five years earlier on the 25th anniversary of the soldiers' deaths.

ON THIS DAY IN 1984, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA murdered an off duty soldier in County Armagh.  Private David Chambers was a part-time member of the Ulster Defence Regiment and also worked as a foreman in a factory near Lurgan, his hometown.  He was ambushed on his way to work by two IRA gunman who were laying in wait behind a hedge near the factory.  The terrorists knocked Pte Chambers off his motorbike with a shotgun blast and as he lay injured on the ground shot him a further four times.

The attackers were not finished after they had killed Pte Chambers.  Before fleeing they primed a 200lb bomb designed to kill members of the security forces when they arrived at the scene.  Miraculously the bomb failed to inflict loss of life, despite a bus full of children passing by as it exploded.  Several elderly residents were treated for shock and two policemen and a soldier were injured.  One of the factory workers described the attackers as "Satan's agents".

Pte Chambers' wife worked in the same factory as a packer, but was at home at the time of her husband's murder.  She told reporters she was "absolutely shattered".  The couple had two children together and were due to celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary the following day.  34-year-old Pte Chambers had been a member of the UDR for seven years and served in the 11th Battalion.

Two Lurgan men were later sentenced for life for his murder.

Private David Chambers

ON THIS DAY IN 1972, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA shot dead a British soldier in County Tyrone.  Armed with a rifle and a sub-machine gun, two terrorists had positioned themselves in a field overlooking a country road three miles outside Dungannon.  At 09:20 hrs an army Land Rover passed along the road and they opened fire on the vehicle.  Lance-Corporal Henry Gillespie was fatally injured and one of his colleagues was also struck.

One of the soldiers told the inquest how he heard five shots in total.  One of the bullets passed through the shoulder of one soldier and struck L/Cpl Gillespie in the chest.  The driver rushed his stricken comrades straight to South Tyrone Hospital where L/Cpl Gillespie was later pronounced dead.

L/Cpl Henry William Gillespie was 32.  He was a single man from Ballygawley and had joined the Ulster Defence Regiment a year earlier.  He had previously served for six years in the Irish Guards.

L/Cpl Gillespie

ON THIS DAY IN 1988, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA murdered an off duty British soldier in County Tyrone.  Private Edward 'Ned' Gibson was a part-time member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, but was performing his other job as a binman when the terrorists struck.

On the mid-morning of that fateful day, Ned's bin lorry had arrived in the village of Moortown.  He was on the street collecting bins when two gunmen appeared and called his name before opening fire.  After being hit Pte Gibson ducked behind a small wall, but the terrorists shot him again several times as he lay on the ground, both in the head and torso.  He was already dead when the ambulance arrived.

Pte Gibson and his daughter Marlene

The 22-year-old lived in the village of Coagh with his wife and three-year-old daughter.  As a binman he was employed by Cookstown Borough Council, but being the sole breadwinner had recently signed up with the UDR to make some extra money.  He had passed out basic training just two weeks prior to his death and had not received a personal protection weapon.  

No-one was ever arrested for his murder, although Pte Gibson's widow believes that the men responsible were later shot dead by the SAS.  The terrorists were ambushed in June 1991 as they lay in wait to murder another part-time UDR soldier, just around the corner from the Gibson family home in Coagh.  One of the three terrorists shot dead that day was a cousin of the current deputy first minister of Northern Ireland - Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill.

ON THIS DAY IN 1989, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA shot dead an off duty soldier in Dungannon, County Tyrone.  Thomas Hardy, known by his middle name John, was a part-time member of the Ulster Defence Regiment.  In his other job he was a delivery driver for a meat processing plant and this was where he was shot.  After parking his lorry in a loading bay he was ambushed by two gunmen, one of whom was known to him.  A statement from the man was later read out in court: "I saw John Hardy come out, and he saw me at the same time.  I fired two or three bursts of automatic fire and saw him fall.  I saw his feet sticking out of the door, I heard him moaning.  I knew he wasn't dead so I fired at his head to make sure I killed him".  The shooter worked at the same plant and had taken the day off work so he could take part in Private Hardy's murder.

The killers were apprehended a mile from the factory after a disastrous getaway.  Their Vauxhall Astra got stuck in rough ground a short distance away, so they hijacked a passing car.  However, they somehow crashed this vehicle and attempted to flee on foot before being spotted by soldiers.

Four men from County Tyrone received life sentences for the murder, including the man who knew Private Hardy.

Private John Hardy

Private Hardy was 48 and lived in Dungannon.  He had served in the UDR for almost twenty years, since its foundation in 1970.  He had previously served with the Territorials.  He was survived by his wife and two sons.  Ulster Unionist MP Ken Maginnis had served with Private Hardy in the UDR for 11 years and was quickly on the scene after hearing of the attack.  He told reporters: "I knew him from the regiment, I knew him from church and I knew his wife and two children.  He was a quiet, sensible man whose main concern was for his family and after that for his job and the regiment.  In many ways he was the typical soft target the terrorists always go after.  Like every other UDR man he simply went about his normal work while daily running the gauntlet of IRA terrorism".

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

The Provisional IRA murdered three young British soldiers near the town of Castlewellan in County Down.  The three men were travelling in one of two Land Rovers when a huge culvert bomb was detonated at around 20:30hrs.  The terrorists were hiding in a derelict farm building 250 yards away and triggered the one ton device by command wire.  The explosion created a 30-foot wide crater, 13 feet deep.  The second Land Rover was unable to stop after the bomb exploded and ended up inside the crater with the shattered remains of the first vehicle.  The explosion also ruptured water mains, further complicating rescue efforts as emergency services had to work waist deep in muddy water in darkness.

The scene of the attack showing both Land Rovers inside the crater

The three murdered privates were all locally drawn members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, including a 21-year-old Catholic from Downpatrick - James Cochrane.  Catholics rarely enlisted in the army, but Pte Cochrane's mother successfully fought to have his name included on the local war memorial.  The others killed were Protestants Robert Smith, 18, from Comber, and Richard Wilson, 21, from Newcastle.  Four colleagues were also seriously injured in the attack.

ON THIS DAY IN 1987, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA murdered a civilian in a car bomb attack in central Belfast.  Nathaniel Cush had spent more than half his life in the British Army, but had left ten weeks prior to his murder.  The 47-year-old worked at the post office in Tomb Street and was leaving work when the bomb exploded.  Having left the army Nathaniel probably didn't check under his car and when he turned on the ignition the bomb exploded.  He was killed instantly.

Nathaniel Cush was a colour sergeant when he left the Ulster Defence Regiment.  He had a total of 24 years service under his belt, 15 of which had been spent in the UDR, and was buried with full military honours.  The funeral took place the day before he was due to have a farewell dinner arranged by his former comrades.  Nathaniel came from west Belfast and was survived by his wife and two children.

A tree dedicated to Nathaniel Cush at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire

NEVER FORGET

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ON THIS DAY IN 1972, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA murdered off duty British soldier Thomas Fletcher at his home near Garrison, Co Fermanagh.  The part-time UDR man lived on a farm adjacent to the Irish border and was stopped by four terrorists as he left home for work.  He was marched into a nearby field and shot at least 14 times.  His wife Edith witnessed the murder from their farmhouse and watched as the gunmen fled back over the border on foot.

Pte Thomas John Fletcher, known as Johnny, was 43.  Several of his colleagues fled their homes after his murder, leading to an exodus of the last remaining Protestant families in Garrison.  The IRA was accused of cleansing the border region of Protestants.

Memorial plaque to Pte Fletcher at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire

ON THIS DAY IN 1992, CORBYN'S MATES...

The Provisional IRA attempted to murder a part-time member of the Ulster Defence Regiment.  Corporal Eric Glass was also a dog warden employed by Fermanagh District Council.  It was in this capacity that he was lured to an isolated farmhouse near the border, having received a report of a dog attack.  The bogus call had been made by a four-man IRA gang that had taken over the farmhouse the previous night, holding the elderly farmer captive.

As Cpl Glass approached the property the terrorists began their ambush and ordered him out of his van.  However, the off duty soldier had his personal protection weapon close to hand and opened fire on the gunmen, killing one of them.  In the ensuing gun battle Cpl Glass was struck in the legs and seriously injured, but he managed to fight off his attackers despite the odds being stacked against him.  There were four of them and they had automatic weapons.  He had a pistol.  The three survivors fled back across the border.

The dead terrorist came from Sligo in the Republic and was a member of a high profile republican family.  Gerry Adams gave the eulogy at his funeral and his father later became the Sinn Fein mayor of Sligo.

Cpl Glass was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal and Distinguished Conduct Medal for his action, making him the most highly decorated soldier in the history of the regiment.  He later gave a full account of the ambush to the Belfast Newsletter.

Cpl Glass of 4th Battalion Ulster Defence Regiment