The Droppin Well bombing. December 6, 1982,

Thursday 6th December 1982

This is a poem I wrote the first two paragrafs on the 7th December and the rest after I got there on the 10th December. on the

Rest in peace all the friends I never met till next time.
Rest in peace the girl I knew,so sad I never got to say goodbye,
Why I wasn't there to see you, my plane it left well before time,
When I heard, so sad, so bad, a man I cried and cried.

I couldn't go, they stopped me, they forced me,
You a corporal, a serving soldier, you cant go there now,
They gave me pills so I cannot flee,
To no avail, I left, a train, a plane I go there now.

When at last her dad I met, the tears, the sadness clear
Why wasn't I there to comfort and with her join
On the journey that's far from here,
I told him, she's waiting with god for both of us to join....

Why cant I join you now, in heaven my dear,
The pills, they help no more the pain to great,
because the shots, I killed, what i did so bad the fear,
A soldiers lot, I may never join you, i'll go to hell.

So sleep my dear, my freinds I never met
that went with you that awful painful night,
will treat you nice, will treat you well.
For they are in heaven and not in my hell.

Mark S********** December 1982

This is a poem I wrote to my freind and I have carried it ever since, I suffered PTSD, ive had a stroke and still I remember her and the freinds I never met from that night. Those who says memories fade with time, that is rubbish, I still remember every single thing from that time, I spent thousands of my own money truing to forge tit but I still cant, or rather wont forget.
Thank god for this forum, to remind us all of how important these memories are.

God rest their souls
and may god look down on all of my borthers an dsisters

Thanks guys. It is something that had to be done as it was the right time for me to do it. Spanner, likewise i did that for his first book, the ist time I had written anything down on paper about it but like you it had to be done in one go, took me several weeks to get over it.

[spanner]

well done

Well done mate, I wrote the story of the bombing I was caught in and sent it to Skydiver who assures me it will be in book 3, Bloody Belfast , writing it left me a wreck, I had to do it in one go as I knew if I stopped i would not continue, but I did it, as for going back, one day mate, one day.

Taffy...

Well done....On all counts.

I have spoken to Taffy in the past. I was involved that night/next day as a VERY young (18) RMA from the Poachers, not long out of the RMA trg with the Greenjacket Band members who were killed on the Regents Park Bandstand. I was involved with the Casevac, and of course the DJ was a Poacher.

I wanted to go, but several things held me back. One, I felt a bit of a fraud (Taffy has since corrected me!) and two...I was informed that I would be out of the country in the Afghan...(Hmm...Hurry up and wait...No flight details as yet!).

This was something that I wanted to attend (and may well do next year...Subject to any further far flung postings...), and I'm really glad that a member of our community did. He stood there for us all, and his own unique bravery that night and indeed over that weekend is a testament to him.

Well done that man.

RMEMBER THE FALLEN AT BK 6/12/1982

FOR THREE YEARS I TRAVELLED PASSED THE GARDEN OF REMEBERANCE LOCATED OUTSIDE THE X-KEYS CLUB ON MY WAY TO WORK AT HANGER SIX. IT GAVE ME THE REASON TO WORK TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY IN SUPPORT OF OPERATION BANNER AND IN TRIBUTE TO THE FALLEN.

COOPERMAN EX 655 SQN AAC.

Yeah - good for you mate, a step well worth taking on the road to some form of sanity. Speaking from experience visiting the site of your demons does help some people, I did it and it helped me, especially with the support of loved ones.

Good for you Taffy; good for you. You've made another important step on your own journey, may there be many more.

Salut, to yourself and all those on similar journeys - and to those like Sarah who make those journeys with us.

The 26th Droppin Well Memorial Service & Dedication of Memorial Garden, 7th December 2008


On the 7th December 2008 a memorial service was held at Tamlaghtfinlagan Parish Church, Ballykelly to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the DroppinWell Public Hse bombing on 6th Dec 1982 by the INLA.

Due to Shackleton Barracks in Ballykelly being sold off to develop a housing complex, it was decided that the memorial stone should be moved from the military base to the local church.

The memorial and re-dedication service was attended by relatives who lost loved ones from both civilian and military circles. They were accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of Londonderry, The Bishop of Londonderry and a number of senior military figures serving and former officers all connected with the 1Bn 22 Cheshire regiment who lost 8 members of the regiment, along with 2 members of the Army Catering Corps and one member of the Light Infantry.

A good friend of mine from the CRA, Cheshire Regimental Association will be sending me the complete set of photos taken by a local news reporter. Once I have the piccies I will add one or two to this thread for you all to see the new memorial garden. The UDR memorial stone sits along side the DroppinWell stone in the memorial garden which is a very tranquil place for both so that anyone can visit without having to gain permission and access to Shackleton Bks as in previous years.

I remember at last yrs visit by Mrs. Taffy (Saztaffy) and I it took several of the Cheshire lads to help me cross the nightmarish threshold of the pub for the 1st time since the incident. This year I was able to repay the compliment with a good pal who was visiting for the 1st time this year. It took him several attempts, the same as it did me last yr to enter the pub and visit the disco area. Once there we spent some time remembering a few of the horrible events from that night. But the rewarding thing was remembering the good times with our buddies and the local girls we all knew.

On the night of Sat 6th this year I took a very heart breaking walk to the pub on my own at 2215hrs. Once in the bar on the right side of the pub I supped one pint of Guinness and a large bushmills for dutch courage. Then I went through to the other bar closest to the disco area. With a pint of Guinness and a large bush in hand I took a slow walk through the narrow corridor to the disco area doors. I was met by two burly doormen who explained that within the next hour a party was starting for one of the local lads. One of the doormen recognized me from last yr, offered his hand and told me I could take as much time in the disco hall as I wanted. Once inside I spent some time remembering where people were sat when the bomb went off. I had just opened the toilet door when I ended up covered in rubble on the night. Having got out of the rubble I ended up treating a casualty with major leg injuries.
(Paused to mop up tears off my keyboard)
For 25yrs I have been having a nightmare about this casualty not knowing whether they survived or not, my nightmare also convinced me that it was one of the lads. Last year at the 25th anniversary I found out that it was in fact one of the local girls who I was treating, she DID survive and for over the past year I’ve met members of the family and we now keep in touch.

Back to the pub. I spent the best part of 45mins remembering, crying and sometimes laughing about memories from that night. I wanted to be there at the exact time the explosion happened. At just before 11pm I toasted our brothers and sisters lost and vowed to always toast and remember them for all time.

On leaving the disco area the doorman and I chatted for a few minutes. The thing that amazed both of us was how far the community had come in 26yrs. We shook hands and hugged to confirm that we both respected each others side of things. For those of you who know the local area you may be surprised to hear that the doorman and I had closed the divide between us the military and the area of Greysteel for at least one evening. Paul (The doorman) lost friends that night, even though he is Catholic and from Greysteel we both shared a moment of grief and remembrance on Sat night. Having paid my respects and dues I made my way back to my patient wife in the hotel. I’d been waiting 26yrs to be at the spot and time that it happened. Hopefully it may lead to another jigsaw piece being put in place as part of my healing process for my ‘monsters’ as I call them.

Thanks for listening folks and reading my personal acct of the more somber side of mine and Sarah’s trip this year to Ballykelly.

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

Hi Folks,

As my better half Sarah (Saztaffy) has explained, just got back from sunny NI today.

Will update you all on our trip with a humourous version and the more somber tribute. Good to be back home spk soon.

Hendy, need to spk buddy re Ruth. Have some news as both of us knew Ruth, will pm you soon buddy.

Wait out.

Taffy

Hi Guys
just got back today from Ballykelly this afty, it was another emotional weekend.
It was the Droppin well re-dedication service as well as the Memorial service
They have now moved the memorial stones, just behind the church ( memorial garden).
Taffy will tell you more.


Sarah

[spanner]

rememberance

And THAT is a good thing mate, we will not forget and will not let them be forgotten.

REMEMBER

I WILL ALLWAYS REMEMBER THEM ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE

Once more WE REMEMBER THEM

bobc.............

I REMEMBER IT WELL MANY OF THE GIRLS WHO DIED THAT DAY HAVE ALLWAYS BEEN IN MY THOUGHTS ESPECIALLY RUTH DIXON WHO I KNEW VERY WELL EVERY ARGYLL WOULD HAVE DONE ANY THING TO HAVE COME BACK & GAVE THE SCUMBAGS THE GOOD NEWS 10 RAPID TO THE HEAD

[spanner]

rememberance

We will not forget them, they live on in us.