The
Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
carried out two separate attacks on the same day on 1 May 1988 against British military personnel in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
which resulted in the deaths of three
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
members and another three being injured.
It was the worst attack suffered by the British security forces during
The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
from 1969 to 1998 in mainland
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
.
Background
1988 was one of the worst years of
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
conflict in terms of violence during the 1980s. It saw an increase in IRA activity, a new campaign of
sectarian killings by
loyalist paramilitaries, and a heavy response by the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
to IRA attacks. On 6 March the
SAS shot dead 3 IRA members in Gibraltar. On 16 March at the funerals of the IRA
volunteers
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
shot in
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
, a loyalist UDA
volunteer
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
killed an IRA member, Kevin Brady, as well as 2 civilians and injured dozens of other people in a
grenade and gun attack at
Milltown cemetery
Milltown Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Bhaile an Mhuilinn) is a large cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and the M1 motorway.
History
Milltown Cemetery opened in 1869 as part ...
in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
. At Brady's funeral, two plain clothed, off-duty, British Army corporals were cornered by an angry crowd who assumed they were under attack and the
IRA killed both of them. In May, the UVF killed 3 Catholic civilians and injured 9 in a gun attack in a Belfast pub.
On 15 June, 7 people were killed, first 6 British soldiers were killed in the
Lisburn van bombing and then the IRA shot dead a UVF member.
On 7 July, an IRA member and 2 civilians were killed in a premature bomb explosion.
Later that month on 23 July the IRA killed a family of three in a botched operation in Armagh.
On 20 August the IRA killed 8 British soldiers and injured a further 28 in the
Ballygawley bus bombing, this was the worst attack suffered from the British army since 1982. Ten days later on 30 August the SAS shot dead 3 more IRA Volunteers at
Drumnakilly
Drumnakilly (Irish language, Irish: ''Droim na Coille'', "Ridge of the Wood").) is a small village and townland between Carrickmore and Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census it had a population ...
.
One day later 3 civilians were killed when somebody triggered an IRA booby-trap bomb by mistake.
Twenty-nine people were killed in the month of August alone.
104 people died in 1988 compared to 61 in 1986 and 57 in 1985. It was the worst year since 1982 when 110 people were killed.
Previous attacks in mainland Europe
The IRA and other Republican paramilitaries such as the
Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) had been carrying out attacks against British military personnel and British diplomats on
mainland Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
since the mid-1970s. Prominent attacks included:
*January 1973: A
car bomb exploded in the Globe cinema carpark of
JHQ Rheindahlen
JHQ (Joint Headquarters) Rheindahlen was a military base in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany active from 1954 to 2013. It functioned as the main headquarters for British forces in Germany and for the NATO Northern Army Group. Lat ...
. The bomb was timed to go off when British military personnel were leaving the carpark. Nobody was hurt in the attack.
*22 March 1979:
Richard Sykes, then British Ambassador to the Netherlands, and his Dutch valet, Karel Straub, were killed in a gun attack in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, Netherlands.
*28 August 1979: Four British soldiers were wounded when the IRA detonated a bomb under a bandstand in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium, as British Army musicians were preparing to perform.
*16 February 1980: a British soldier was shot dead by the IRA outside his home,
Bielefeld
Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...
, West Germany.
*24 November 1981: the left-wing Republican group INLA claimed responsibility for exploding a bomb outside the British Consulate in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
[The Bulletin. 26 November 1981.]
*25 November 1981: the INLA claimed responsibility for exploding a bomb at a British Army base in
Herford
Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford.
Geography
Geographic locat ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
; one British soldier was injured.
*23 March 1987: 31 people were injured in a car bomb attack at
Rheindahlen Military Complex
JHQ (Joint Headquarters) Rheindahlen was a military base in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany active from 1954 to 2013. It functioned as the main headquarters for British forces in Germany and for the NATO Northern Army Group. La ...
, near
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border.
Geography Municipal subdivisions
Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...
in Germany.
The attacks
The first attack of 1 May 1988 took place in the market of
Roermond
Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Ro ...
city, a popular social centre for British military personnel in the southeastern part of the Netherlands on the
West German
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
border. Two enlisted
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
members from the
RAF Regiment based at
RAF Wildenrath
Royal Air Force Wildenrath, commonly known as RAF Wildenrath, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military airbase near Wildenrath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that operated from 1952 to 1992. Wildenrath was the first of four 'clutch' stations ...
in Germany were sitting in a parked car near their base at around 01:00 am when IRA members fired shots from an automatic rifle into their car, killing one of the airmen (
SAC Ian Shinner, 20) and badly injuring his companion. Police on the scene said that at least 23 bullets were fired into the vehicle.
Half an hour later in
Nieuw-Bergen, about 30 miles north of Roermond, a booby-trap bomb that was placed under the car of four other RAF airmen exploded while they were parked outside a discotheque. The bombing killed two more RAF airmen (John Miller Reid and John Baxter) and injured two others. "The bodies were in such a condition that they could not immediately be identified", police spokesman Louis Steens told
The Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newsp ...
in Nieuw Bergen. The airmen were based at
RAF Laarbruch
Royal Air Force , more commonly known as RAF ICAO EDUL (from 1 January 1995 ETUL) was a Royal Air Force station, a military airfield, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands. The Station's motto was ().
The site now operates ...
, about away across the border in West Germany.
The IRA were able to identify the British military personnel due to the number plates on the cars. In both attacks, the cars being driven by the RAF members had
British military licence plates.
The IRA issued a statement from Belfast in relation to the attacks saying: "We have a simple message for
rime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Disengage from Ireland and there will be peace. If not, there will be no haven for your military personnel and you will regularly be at airports awaiting your dead."
Both the British and Irish governments condemned the attacks.
Many Irish Republicans saw the attacks as revenge for the killings of the three IRA volunteers in
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
two months before (see
Operation Flavius). In 1990, two Australian tourists were
shot dead by the IRA in Roermond after being mistaken for British military personnel.
See also
*
1987 Rheindahlen bombing
The 1987 Rheindahlen bombing was a car bomb attack on 23 March 1987 at JHQ Rheindahlen military barracks, the British Army headquarters in West Germany, injuring thirty-one. The large 300 lb (140 kg) car bomb exploded near the visito ...
(Germany)
*
Operation Flavius (Gibraltar)
*
Killings of Nick Spanos and Stephen Melrose (Netherlands)
*
Osnabrück mortar attack (Germany)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:IRA attacks in the Netherlands
1988 in military history
1983 murders in the Netherlands
20th-century history of the Royal Air Force
Car and truck bombings in Europe
Improvised explosive device bombings in 1988
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
Military actions and engagements during the Troubles (Northern Ireland)
1988 crimes
May 1988 events
May 1988 events in Europe
Netherlands–United Kingdom relations
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
Terrorist incidents in the Netherlands in the 1980s