Birmingham pub blasts kill 21

21st November 1974

Bombs have devastated two central Birmingham pubs, killing 19* people and injuring over 180.

Police have said they believe the Provisional IRA planted the devices in the Mulberry Bush and the nearby Tavern in the Town.

The two blasts were only seconds apart and happened at about 2030 GMT, when the bars were packed with mainly teenage drinkers.

Police attempted to clear both pubs, but the bombs went off only 12 minutes after a man with an Irish accent telephoned the Birmingham Post newspaper with a warning. BBC

The bombers have never been prosecuted. The final number of dead was 21. They were:

Michael Beasley, 30

Lynn Bennett, 18

Standley Bodman, 51

James Caddick, 40

Paul Davies, 20

Jane Davies, 17

Charles Harper Grey, 44

Maxine Hambleton, 18

Ann Hayes, 19

John Jones, 51

Neil Marsh, 17

Marilyn Nash, 22

Pamela Palmer, 19

Desmond Reilly, 21

Eugene Reilly, 23

Maureen Roberts, 20

John Rowlands, 46

Trevor Thrupp, 33

Stephen Walley, 24

Thomas Chaytor, 28

James Craig, 34

I was a student and lived in Central Birmingham at the time of the bombing. It is not a night I will forget.


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