Walton's Restaurant bombing
| Waltons Restaurant Bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Troubles | |
| Location | Walton Street, Chelsea, London |
| Date |
18 November 1975 21:00 (GMT) |
| Target | London's West End Business' |
Attack type | Time bomb |
| Deaths | 2 |
Non-fatal injuries | 23 |
| Perpetrator | Provisional IRA |
On 18 November 1975 an IRA unit nicknamed the Balcombe Street Gang threw a bomb into Walton's Restaurant in Walton Street, Knightsbridge, London.[1]
Background
In February 1975 the Provisional Irish Republican Army agreed to a truce and ceasefire with the British government and the Northern Ireland Office.[2][3] Several "incident centres" were established in Irish nationalist areas in Northern Ireland to monitor the ceasefire and the activity of the security forces. Before the truce, the IRA active service unit (ASU) later dubbed the Balcombe Street Gang (because of the December 1975 Balcombe Street siege) had been bombing targets in England since the autumn of 1974, particularly in London and surrounding areas. Their last attack was an assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Edward Heath but he was not home when the attackers thew a bomb into his bedroom window on 22 December 1974.
The bombing
After the 1975 PIRA/British Army truce began to break the IRA's Balcombe Street ASU stepped up its bombing and shooting campaign on mainland Britain. On the night of 18 November 1975 the unit picked Waltons Restaurant to bomb. Two civilians, Audrey Edgson (aged 45) and Theodore Williams (aged 49), were killed [4] when a bomb was thrown by one of the IRA Volunteers through the window of Walton’s Restaurant in Walton Street, Chelsea. The device, injured 23 other people, the oldest of them 71 years of age. In the bomb the IRA used miniature ball bearings to maximise injuries. This was a calculated bombing campaign aimed at destroying businesses and scaring customers in London's West End. Other previous attacks by the unit in 1975 included Scott’s Oyster Bar bombing on 12 November, the London Hilton bombing on 5 September and the Caterham Arms Pub Bombing on 27 August. In total the unit carried out over 40 attacks on mainland Britain.
Aftermath
The IRA's units bombing campaign would continue until December 1975 when they were caught at the Balcombe Street Siege. The unit would eventually end up planting close to 50 bombs in England and carried out several shootings which cost millions of pounds. In custody the ASU also admitted to carrying out the Guildford pub bombings and the Kings Arms, Woolwich bombing for which the Guildford Four had been arrested, and received lengthy jail terms.
See also
Guildford pub bombings Balcombe Street Siege
References
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