The Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings were carried out on 20 July 1982 in London, England. Members of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

(IRA) detonated two

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

s during

British military The British Armed Forces are the unified military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping e ...

ceremonies in Hyde Park and

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

, both in

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

. The

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...

s killed eleven

military personnel Military personnel or military service members are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, coast guard, air force, and space force), rank ( office ...

: four soldiers of the

Blues and Royals The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) (RHG/D) is a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel (United Kingdom)#Colonel of the Regiment, Colonel of ...

at Hyde Park, and seven bandsmen of the

Royal Green Jackets The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry). History The Royal Green Jackets was formed on 1 January 1966 by the amalgam ...

at Regent's Park. Seven of the Blues and Royals' horses were also killed in the attack. One seriously injured horse, Sefton, survived and was featured on television programmes and was awarded " Horse of the Year". In 1987, Gilbert "Danny" McNamee was

convicted In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...

of making the Hyde Park bomb and jailed for 25 years. He served 12 years before being released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement; his conviction was later quashed. In 2013, IRA member John Downey was charged with four counts of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

in relation to the Hyde Park attack; his trial began in January 2014, but collapsed the following month after a ruling upon a letter sent to him by the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

assuring him that he would not be

prosecute A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

d over the attack. On 18 December 2019, the High Court ruled in a civil case that John Downey was an "active participant" in the bombing. No one has ever been charged in connection with the Regent's Park bombing.

The attacks

Hyde Park bombing

At 10:43 am, a

nail bomb A nail bomb is an anti-personnel explosive device containing nails to increase its effectiveness at harming victims. The nails act as shrapnel, leading almost certainly to more injury in inhabited areas than the explosives alone would. A nail ...

exploded in the boot of a blue Morris Marina parked on South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park. McKittrick, David. ''Lost Lives: The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland Troubles''. Random House, 2001. pp. 908–909 The bomb comprised of

gelignite Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and Potassi ...

and of nails. It exploded as soldiers of the Household Cavalry, Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

's official bodyguard regiment, were passing. They were taking part in their daily Changing of the Guard procession from their barracks in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large Military parade, parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at British national grid reference system, grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the K ...

. Three soldiers of the

were killed immediately, and another, their standard-bearer, died from his wounds three days later. The other soldiers in the procession were badly wounded, and a number of civilians were injured. Seven of the regiment's horses were also killed or had to be euthanised because of their injuries. Explosives experts believed that the Hyde Park bomb was remotely triggered by an IRA member inside the park.

Regent's Park bombing

The second attack happened at 12:55 pm,Chalk, Peter. ''Encyclopedia of Terrorism''. ABC-CLIO, 2012. pp.614–615. when a bomb exploded underneath a

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

. Thirty

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

smen of the Band of the 1st Battalion,

were on the stand performing music from '' Oliver!'' to a crowd of 120 people. It was the first in a series of advertised lunchtime concerts there. Six of the bandsmen were killed outright and the rest were wounded; a seventh died of his wounds on 1 August. At least eight

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

s were also injured. The bomb had been hidden under the stand some time before and triggered by a timer. Unlike the Hyde Park bomb, it contained no nails and seemed to be designed to cause minimal harm to bystanders.

Aftermath

At least 51 people were injured, and a total of 22 people were admitted to hospital as a result of the blasts: 18 soldiers, a police officer, and three civilians. The IRA claimed responsibility for the attacks by deliberately mirroring Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

's words a few months before when Britain entered the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

, proclaiming that "the Irish people have sovereign and national rights which no task or occupational force can put down". Reacting to the bombing, Thatcher stated: "These callous and cowardly crimes have been committed by evil, brutal men who know nothing of democracy. We shall not rest until they are brought to justice." The bombings weakened public support in the United States for the Irish republican cause. The CIA and the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

ramped up their anti-IRA activity, and public opinion polls showed that sympathy for the IRA in particular, and Irish re-unification in general, plummeted in the United States in response to the attacks. Charles Haughey,

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

of Ireland, said: "Those responsible for these inhuman crimes do irreparable damage to the good name of Ireland and the cause of Irish unity." Sefton, a horse that survived the attack at Hyde Park despite suffering serious wounds, became famous after appearing in many television shows and was awarded Horse of the Year. Sefton's rider at the time of the bombing, Michael Pedersen, survived but he told his doctor that he was suffering from

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

; after splitting from his wife, he committed suicide in September 2012 after stabbing to death two of his children. A memorial marks the spot of the Hyde Park bombing; and the troop honours it daily with an eyes-left and salute with drawn swords. A plaque commemorating the victims of the second attack stands in Regent's Park. The event was alluded to in the 1983 Pink Floyd song " The Gunner's Dream" (from the album '' The Final Cut''), where a dying RAF gunner dreams of a world where "maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control". A 1986 album by experimental musicians Coil was inspired in part by an apocalyptic nightmare, linked to the bombings, that the band's songwriter and vocalist, John Balance, had. The front cover of the album, '' Horse Rotorvator'', featured a photo of the Regent's Park bandstand, taken by Balance.

Criminal proceedings

In October 1987, 27-year-old Gilbert "Danny" McNamee, from

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, was sentenced at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

to 25 years in prison for his role in the Hyde Park bombing and others. In December 1998, shortly after his release from the

Maze prison HM Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as the Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to September 2000. On 15 ...

under the Good Friday Agreement, three

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

judges quashed his conviction, deeming it "unsafe" because of withheld

fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfa ...

evidence that implicated other bomb-makers. They stated that though the conviction was unsafe it did not mean McNamee was necessarily innocent of the charge. On 19 May 2013, 61-year-old John Anthony Downey, from

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, was charged with murder in relation to the Hyde Park bomb and intending to cause an explosion likely to endanger life. He appeared by videolink from Belmarsh prison for a bail hearing at the Old Bailey on 24 May, and did not apply for bail, so was remanded in custody. At a hearing on 1 August 2013, Downey was granted conditional bail and a trial was scheduled for January 2014. On 24 January 2014, Downey appeared at the Old Bailey for the beginning of his trial; he entered a not guilty plea on the four murder charges and the charge of intending to cause an explosion. On 25 February 2014, it was revealed that Downey's trial had collapsed after the presiding judge had ruled, on 21 February, upon a letter sent by the

to Downey in 2007, assuring him that he would not face criminal charges over the attack. Although the assurance was made in error and the police realised the mistake, it was never withdrawn, and the judge ruled that therefore the defendant had been misled and prosecuting him would be an abuse of executive power. Downey is one of 187 IRA suspects who received secret on-the-run letters guaranteeing them unofficial

immunity from prosecution Legal immunity, or immunity from prosecution, is a legal status wherein an individual or entity cannot be held liable for a violation of the law, in order to facilitate societal aims that outweigh the value of imposing liability in such cases. S ...

. In December 2019 the High Court ruled, in a civil action against Downey by the family of a victim, that he had been an "active participant" in the Hyde Park bombing, subject to a claim for damages.

References

{{Murders in the United Kingdom in the 1980s 1982 in London 1982 murders in the United Kingdom 1980s in the City of Westminster 1980s murders in London 1980s trials 2010s trials 20th-century mass murder in England 1982 building bombings Building bombings in London British Army in Operation Banner Car and truck bombings in London Car and truck bombings in the 1980s Crime in the City of Westminster Household Cavalry Regent's Park bombings Improvised explosive device bombings in 1982 1982 crimes July 1982 in the United Kingdom Mass murder in 1982 Mass murder in London Military actions and engagements during the Troubles (Northern Ireland) Murder trials in the United Kingdom Provisional IRA bombings in London Regent's Park Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1982 Trials in London 1982 animal deaths Animal killing Equine welfare