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 ...

(IRA) planted a bomb underneath a minibus at an army recruiting centre in

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, northwest London on 16 May 1990, killing a soldier and injuring four others. The dead victim was the van's driver, 34-year-old Sergeant Charles Chapman from the

Queen's Regiment The Queen's Regiment (QUEENS) was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1966 through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade. Then, until 1971 the regiment remained one of the largest regiments in the arm ...

, a father of two. The injured included his colleague, who got shrapnel wounds to his legs and right shoulder, and a burned face. The bomb was believed to have been of

Semtex Semtex is a general-purpose plastic explosive containing RDX and Pentaerythritol tetranitrate, PETN. It is used in commercial blasting, demolition, and in certain military applications. Semtex was developed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia, or ...

and shattered nearby windows when it exploded around 5:15 pm. The van was an unmarked white

Leyland Sherpa Leyland may refer to: Places * Leyland, Lancashire, an English town ** Leyland Hundred, an hundred of Lancashire, England * Leyland, Alberta, a community in Canada Companies * Leyland Line, a shipping company Automotive manufacturers * Le ...

(registration G466 AGX) parked in an alleyway behind the office, which was checked by the two soldiers beforehand but the bomb was cleverly hidden, and detonated as Chapman turned on the ignition. The bomb could have caused more casualties had it exploded later when the van entered the busy street. Police were looking for a suspect on a motorbike, but no one was ever convicted of Chapman's murder. The next day the IRA claimed responsibility in a statement from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

: "While the British government persists in its continued occupation of the north of Ireland, the IRA will persist in attacking the British government and its forces in England". Five days prior, the IRA bombed the

Royal Army Educational Corps The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Gene ...

headquarters in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...

which injured five civilians. The attacks were part of the start of a new bombing campaign in London. Chapman is buried at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

Crematorium A crematorium or crematory is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a crematorium can also be ...

References

{{coord missing, London 1990 crimes in the United Kingdom 1990 in London Explosions in 1990 Provisional IRA bombings in London Terrorist incidents in London in the 1990s Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1990 May 1990 events in the United Kingdom

See also

References