Guildford pub bombs inquest: Firemen thought blast was a hoax - BBC News

2022-07-02 01:35:15 By : Mr. kui wang

By Tanya Gupta BBC News

Firefighters "giggled" on their way to a 1974 IRA pub bombing thinking it was a hoax, an inquest heard.

But arriving at the Horse and Groom pub in Guildford eight minutes after being called, they witnessed a scene of devastation and terror.

The inquest heard Andrew Saunders had helped take two bodies and two other people who later died out from a cellar which had been exposed by the blast.

Four soldiers and a civilian died in the attack, and 65 people were injured.

The Guildford Four and Maguire Seven were wrongly-convicted before the IRA claimed responsibility.

The inquest at Woking Coroner's Court heard the fire station was alerted to the explosion at 20:50 GMT on 5 October.

Mr Saunders said: "We were giggling on the way there. We were used to getting hoax calls."

On arrival, he saw the front of the pub blown out and a man sitting outside. Inside, he saw a hole in the floor into the cellar.

He borrowed a lamp and went down into the cellar and saw bodies lying among the rubble and described how a doctor also arrived at the scene.

Oliver Sanders, counsel to the inquest, said: "The doctor said this person is still breathing and he needed a sucker."

He said a nurse handed the doctor the ventilator.

Mr Sanders added: "We think this is possibly Private Caroline Slater."

Those who died in the bombing were 21-year-old civilian Paul Craig and soldiers Caroline Slater, 18, Ann Hamilton, 19, William Forsyth, 18, and John Hunter, 17.

The inquest heard Mr Saunders also helped another woman, who was understood to be Private Ann Hamilton, into a sitting position and the doctor used a stethoscope to listen to her chest.

Mr Sanders said: "The doctor said 'this one is still' - and you didn't hear the word - but you think it was 'this one is still alive'. You helped put her on the stretcher and passed her up through the hole."

He said to Mr Saunders: "You helped four people on to stretchers and out of the hole. Possibly two of them were still alive."

The inquest heard a fire brigade report noted the whole pub was cleared of people within 20 or 30 minutes, and Mr Saunders was back outside the pub when the second bomb went off at the Seven Stars at 21:34.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.

Bomb victims warned of IRA threat, inquest hears

Death of young in IRA attack tragic, says coroner

New England captain Jos Buttler unable to prevent Lancashire defeat in Blast

More first-choice places for secondary pupils in Surrey

Councillor tells council chief in meeting: ‘Don’t b****** me’

Dom Sibley to return to Surrey from Warwickshire at end of the season

Why Indian farmers are ready for new protests

Texas trucker 'didn't know air con had failed'

Biden vows to protect women travelling for abortion

'How could I let this happen to my children?'

Rio's residents garden their way out of hunger

Unique terror trial that changed France

UK women face abortion protests by emboldened campaigners

FBI-wanted cryptoqueen ‘a Bitcoin billionaire’

What weapons are being supplied to Ukraine?

The country that could be descended from one Viking woman

Elite Russian regiment fights for support and the war for borsch

Ukraine demands seizure of Russian-flagged grain ship

The case for turning off your Zoom camera

Workers may have a strong argument against appearing on screen

America's first interracial love song

How a taboo-busting duet became a hit and broke new ground

A breakfast staple created by accident

More than a century ago, a glut of oranges kick-started a craze

© 2022 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.