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2 QUEENS DERRY TOUR 1983/84

A TRIBUTE TO PTE. ALAN STOCK, PTE. NEIL CLARKE AND LT. JULIAN GIBBS

By Tim Scott (and many others named below)
11 Platoon
C Coy

“We will remember them”

PRIVATE ALAN STOCK

Alan Stock, from Hounslow in Middlesex aged 22 and married, was killed on a typically drizzly Derry Sat night on 15 Oct 1983. C Coy were in the City- Stocks’ Platoon, 10 Pl under Lt (now Lt Col) Duncan Strut and Sgt Dave Munday, was at Rosemount. Lt (now also a Lt Col) Mike Newmans’ 9 Pl at Rosemount. My platoon,11 Pl, was at Fort George.

Derek Kennedy was Stocks team commander, but was unable to take the patrol out that night due to a football injury. He later attended Stocks funeral and hosted his fathers visit to Oakington.

We had heard there was a bomb made up in the City, ready to go.
In fact, the narrow footpath in the middle of the Gobnascale, near the building project all the IRA hoods worked on, was placed out of bounds for this reason. On that Sat evening we had 2 mobiles out- one commanded by me in the Gobnascale and the 10 Pl one - the one that got hit.

I heard the contact report on the radio “Contact- Lonemoor Road” and we speed across the bridge arriving via the small road that linked from the Lecky Road near the Derry City football ground.

The patrol had limped back to Rosemount, there was debris all over the road, and a hole at the top of the stone wall by the cemetery. At this stage we weren’t quite sure what had happened. I later heard at the scene via an RUC officer that Stock had been killed.

A 10lb bomb had been in a gas cylinder and placed against the grass where it met the top of the wall. A 300 ft command wire ran up into the Cemy and a click box was found at the firing point, behind a gravestone. There was also a gunman by the cottage near the Cemy gates.

As a result of this attack we went from both soldiers standing in the rear to one standing, one sitting. Stock had been standing in the back.. His team commander LCpl McGarry was wounded and taken to hospital. The Landrover was patched up and later turned up when we were at Rosemount, much to the consternation of some of the lads!

Back to the incident- we did the usual- set up an ICP, cordon,etc. Further callsigns, Major James Ewart our OC, the ATO (bomb disposal) team to clear the area, and Nitesun arrived. Unfortunately, Nitesun came down so low we couldn’t hear ourselves think. Also the Storno/Clansman interface broke down, so I got a message via Ebrington that Nitesun was going back to Ballykelly. At which, the ATO said -I’m back to Fort George , see you in the morning.

A long night on the cordon loomed!

Talking of which, the cordon was attracting some attention by this time.
Some petrol bombs came in and the cordon was also shot at. About 4 in the morning Lt Julian Gibbs’ platoon (6 Pl B Coy) came over from Ebrington to relieve us on the cordon. I remember briefing him in the back of a freezing cold pig before returning to Fort George.

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PRIVATE NEIL CLARKE

Neil Clarke, aged 20 from Margate in Kent and engaged, was killed on Easter Monday April 23rd 1984.

His Platoon Commander (2 Platoon), Alistair Holmes, was on a course and the platoon was being commanded by Sgt Lee Tanner . The acting Pl Sgt was Cpl Dunstan, who led the patrol that was attacked. Previous 2 Pl Comds in Derry were Lt Stanford Jeffrey, attached from the Pay Corps and Lt Jon Dixon.

He was in the rear Land Rover of a double mobile patrol that was bringing back a foot patrol- so it was double bunked with 8 guys in each vehicle. They were driving up Bishop Street Without back to Masonic. The rear vehicle was very badly petrol bombed and crashed. 2 or 3 gunmen (accounts vary) opened up from under an arch going through the houses on the left hand side of the road.

Pte Bovell, on fire, nevertheless returned fire. Pte Grant, a good friend of Clarkes, was also badly burned about the face and hands. His former Pl Comd Jon Dixon remembers visiting him at Woolwich Hospital and not recognising him at first.

Cpl Jordan, despite a wound to the foot, took charge. They got Grant into a house and doused his burns with water. The driver of the second vehicle, Pte Scott, was also wounded. Cpl Jordan later won the Military Medal. The gunmen escaped down the back of the houses to the Lecky Road.

I recollect from the time that 3 different weapons were involved- and the Armalite fired 1 round and jammed, as 1 empty case and 1 damaged round were recovered.
Later press stories claimed that the weapons were hidden in the Cemetery and known about- but not lifted so as to not betray a source. Was the Armalite ‘jarked’ or knobbled? Previous to the attack I remember the ‘spooks’ taking over Kilo Sangar at Masonic with surveillance kit to keep an eye on the cemy. Either way its stoppage certainly saved lives, as the death toll could easily have been worse.

In all about 6 soldiers were hit or received burns. The IRA said about a dozen of its volunteers were involved and 30 shots were fired. Several minor hoods were later charged and sentenced for petrol bomb and dicking offences. The gunmen were never charged, tho Lt John Fisher- also of A Coy- remembers a well known IRA man taunting a patrol from his platoon, saying he had shot Clarke. One of the other gunmen may have been Paddy Derry, who was later killed in 1987 in the Creggan when a bomb he was carrying exploded prematurely.

Alan Ley was a very close friend of Clarkes and was due to be his best man. He remembers them being sent on a fencing course together and they both took to the sport well. Alan now works as a professional fencing coach in the Channel Islands.

Neil Clarke was buried at Shorncliffe Military Cemetery. Stanford Jeffrey attended the funeral and went straight to Woolwich to visit Grant in hospital. Jon Dixon remembers visiting the grave whilst based there.

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LIEUTENANT JULES GIBBS

Lt Jules Gibbs (6 Pl-B Coy) was hit on the back of the head by a paving slab thrown from nearby the Rossville Flats in 1984. He was knocked unconscious and could easily have been killed. Ray Heathfield was in his team and along with Paul Wren and some of the others carried him back to Rosemount via Creggan Cross (uphill virtually all the way if memory serves), where he was picked up by ambulance. This injury was to plague him with terrible headaches for years until his untimely death in 1998 from a brain haemorrhage.

I well remember Jules’ arrival in Derry! It was the tradition to ‘spoof’ a new Subaltern on arrival- as I found out at the hands of Lts Stillwell, Adam and Garrett in Cyprus! On the day of Jules arrival something that shouldn’t have been there was placed in the boot of his car (a rather natty Fiat X-19 I seem to remember) This was then ‘discovered’ at the gate by the Guard commander. I was Orderly Officer and was called to this ‘incident’ at the gate. Jules was then placed under Mess Arrest with an officer in Service Dress with Sword outside his room at all times! Lt (now Lt Col) Mike Newman and Sgt Major Forrester led the interrogations long into the night.

Jules later became 2 i/c B Coy in Oakington and was very friendly with Jon Dixon, who was 2 i/c A Coy.This friendship continued after they had both left the Army and were living in Kent. Julian left from Oakington in about 1985 and worked in central London- Centerpoint with its fantastic views- selling financial stuff for the Porchester Group. He was quite good at this and soon built up a client bank.

We used to meet occasionally and have lunch. One on occasion he even turned up unannounced on my doorstep one Saturday morning in central London asking if I needed any more life insurance! He was apparently short of his sales target for a promotion. He married Penny Scott-Fox,, the sister of Lesley Scott-Fox who was a WRAC Lt. in Derry. He was certainly very fond of Lt Danny Goddards (Army Air Corps and then Queens) sister, for reasons I could quite understand! She came to stay for a Ball and Julian was appointed to ‘escort’ her.

Returning to London, about 1990 Julians brother- who ran a pub- became ill (a stroke I think). Julian left his job to take over the pub. It was also about this time that his marriage broke down. Running a pub obviously appealed to him and he later bought his own pub-The Baynard Arms, nr Cranleigh on the Surrey/Sussex border.

The last time I saw Julian was in 1996-my wife Penny and I were flying to Malta from Gatwick and we stayed the night before at his pub. I remember remarking to Penny that Julian didn’t look well- he’d really aged. He was also drinking and smoking a lot. Though he did seem in good form and proudly showed me a collection of Queens momentos and photies. The latter included one of all the officers outside the Mess. In 1998 I heard from Jules former OC Major Richard Jackson that Jules had died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage.

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I post here this offering with the accounts above in mind. I copied it from www.nivits.co.uk a site for all Veterans of Northern Ireland.

Still the Angels Died
Posted on www.nivits.co.uk by Lee Massey on 16-Oct-2005

Still The Angels Died

Two Gods, a province they divide.
For God, Queen and Ulster.
The loud one has always cried.

The other is quiet with a face full of hair.
Uniting the Ireland by terror, twisting the political word is his flare.

Their followers to them flock in masses.
Priests, Teachers and Doctors but mostly the working classes.

The loud God yells “this land is ours.”
His followers scream in support.
On fresh graves are bunches and bouquets of flowers.
Followers of this God with death do cavort.

The Quiet God has an enemy, he’s decided.
The loud God and his followers are now derided.
For to unite this land he must have none.
With this in mind foul deeds and death are done.

Enters now the third God, Westminster.
This God is just and aiding and not at all sinister.
He sends his angels the rival Gods to divide.
This God has got it wrong, civil rights has lied.

The Angels died.

“No surrender” the loud God screams.
One Ulster and one Queen are all the loud God dreams
Now the followers of green and gold do not get older.
His followers in defence set forth with death and confidence, bolder.

Still the Angels died.

The Angels of Westminster in too many ways died.
The loud God and his people bowed and sighed.
The quiet God tricked, lied, killed and maimed.
Both wanted peace they said but they each other blamed.

Still the Angels died.

The quiet God struck Westminster at home many times.
The land of liberty and peace sent the quiet God all its dimes
Innocence and peace he devoured, his hunger he could not quell.
The God Westminster sent more Angels to this hell.

Still the Angels died.

With hearts of Lions, souls of steel and a ready smile.
For peace and safety of others they would do that extra mile.
No matter that each tempting cup put within reach.
Would conceal broken glass or be half filled with bleach.

Still the Angels died.

So what, if on seeing an Angel smile children and adults spat.
People young and old abused us as with their injured we calmly sat.
The men folk, cowards to a gene.
Would never face us, but killed Angels without being seen.

Still Angels died.