24 November 1976: Andrew Crocker, 18-years-old, single and a soldier with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers was serving with his regiments 1st Battalion. He was shot by the INLA while he was on foot patrol between Ardmonagh Gardens and Whiterock Road. He died almost immediately after being hit once in the neck. As soldiers were moving in to conduct a search after the killing, a riot broke out. Women and children were rattling dustbin lids and blowing whistles. Two men were jailed for 12 years in October 1977 after pleading guilty to manslaughter while a 3rd man was jailed for 10 years for conspiring to rob a nearby post office. The court was told the men were carrying out a robbery and that the lookout fired the shot as soldiers arrived on the scene. The shot was fired to cause a distraction while the robbers escaped. Fusilier Crocker was hit when the bullet passed through 2 sets of railings. LEST WE FORGET!
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 10:49:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015