Creggan was no-go area in 1971, soldier tells inquest
National Trust identifies the threats to its sites over the next 40 years
PATROLLING Londonderry’s Creggan area in 1971 “could severely damage your health”, an inquest into the death of a mother of six has heard.
Kathleen Thompson (47) was shot in disputed circumstances during an Army operation in the estate.
A former soldier who was on the operation on the night of November 5/6 that year was giving evidence to the resumed inquest yesterday.
The witness, identified as KTM 381, was asked about his knowledge of the Creggan area and said that it was “a no go area and when we went out it was all sneaky beaky”.
The former soldier said he remembered being on this operation as it was the only time while on a training course that he was involved in actual actions.
He said that normally the training course would involve patrolling in parts of Co Down called by soldiers ‘cake and buns’ country as they patrolled and the locals brought tea and cake.
The witness added: “You didn’t get a cup of tea in Rathlin Drive, believe me.”
He said that he and others were brought to the scene of the ‘search and arrest’ operation that night by armoured vehicle.
The witness said he was assigned to provide cover and took up a firing position at the corner of an alleyway.
While there he said he could only see into the alleyway but he heard “shooting, shouts, voices and bangs”.
The former soldier said that he saw three tracer rounds coming over a roof and added “the Army would never fire tracer rounds” in situations like that.
The inquest was told that during the operation, which the witness believed lasted about 30 minutes, he did not observe any “soldiers or anyone firing any rounds”.
At a debrief the following day he recalled that they were told the operation was “unsuccessful and there had been a death” but said he knew nothing about Kathleen Thompson’s death until contacted by the coroner’s service.
KTM 381 said he was not interviewed by the RMP, which is responsible for the policing of Army personnel, and assumed that was because he was not a witness to anything.
He was asked by Ian Skelt QC counsel for the Coroner if he knew at the time that the death was due to Army fire and he said he didn’t.
The witness was asked about his claim that he had been brought to the scene in an armoured vehicle which contradicted other witnesses and he answered about the vehicle: “When I got out it was there and when I got back it was there.”
The inquest was then told by Ian Skelt QC, counsel for the coroner, that there were potentially nine or 10 more witnesses to be heard and the next hearing was scheduled for June 21.
NORTHERN Ireland’s only World Heritage Site — the Giant’s Causeway — is likely to experience a growing number of landslides as climate change accelerates, the National Trust has revealed.
The charity has drawn up a “game changer” climate change map plotting possible threats to its stately homes, landscapes and coastline.
They include Mount Stewart — the 19th-century house and garden in Co Down — where rising sea levels in Strangford Lough have contributed to coastal erosion. The car park has been relocated and a shelter-belt from incoming sea water created.
Meanwhile, coastal erosion and flooding will increase in Northern Ireland, potentially leading to more landslides around locations such as the Giant’s Causeway.
The mapping tool outlines threats posed by climate impacts including extreme heat and humidity, landslides, high winds, and floods, and how they could change by 2060, to help the charity intervene to protect its sites.
The map is based on a “worstcase scenario” of a failure to drive down carbon emissions over the coming decades, but is intended to be a flagging tool to highlight potential hazards in the area of a heritage or countryside site.
It reveals that, without action on emissions, the number of National Trust sites in areas at the highest threat level from climate impacts could more than treble from 3,371 (5%) to 11,462 (17%) over the next 40 years.
And the number of sites at high or medium risk of climate-related hazards could increase from 20,457, or 30% of sites, to 47,888, or 71%, by 2060.
Identifying areas at risk will help the National Trust pinpoint locations that could need interventions such as planting trees or restoring peat bogs to hold or slow the flow of water to prevent flooding, or more shade to protect areas at risk of high temperatures. The map will ensure that, under a commitment to plant or establish 20m trees to tackle climate change, trees go in the places they are needed most, the charity said.
The map shows high heat and humidity will hit the south-east of England, with a third of National Trust sites in the region experiencing at least 15 days above 30C (86F) a year, and storm damage, landslides and flooding will become common and more widespread, particularly in the north of England and Wales.
National Trust director for land and nature Harry Bowell said: “This map is a game changer in how we face the threat climate change poses to the places we care for. While the data draws on a worst-case scenario, the map paints a stark picture of what we have to prepare for.
“But by acting now, and working with nature, we can adapt to many of these risks.”
The National Trust is working in partnership with government bodies to plot all cultural heritage sites in the UK, and has unveiled the map ahead of key UN climate talks in Glasgow to drive international action on climate change — which if successful would avoid the worst case scenario in the map.
The map plots the impacts of extreme heat and humidity, landslides, coastal erosion, shrinking and shifting ground due to wet and dry conditions known as “soil heave”, and high winds, in 2020 and 2060.