West Yorkshire M62 coach bombing 50th anniversary to be marked

The 12 people were killed in an IRA bomb attack on the M62 in West Yorkshire

A parade and memorial service will take place later to mark the 50th anniversary of an IRA bombing on the M62 in West Yorkshire.

The attack on a coach carrying military personnel and their families killed 12 people and injured 38 on 4 February 1974.

The event, which will also include a wreath-laying ceremony, will take place at Hartshead Moor Services.

Organisers said the day was a "significant milestone".

Mo Norton, whose 24-year-old brother Terence Griffin of the Royal Artillery died in the attack, will be one of those attending.

She said her family had been "devastated" by his death and they had never expected anything to happen while he was on leave.

"It will be hard at the memorial service but having the support of others who have gone through the same experience will be a great help," she said.

"I will always keep Terence's name and memory alive. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else on Sunday."

The bomb had been planted in the luggage compartment of the coach

The coach was returning to military bases at Catterick, North Yorkshire, and Darlington when a bomb went off in the luggage compartment just after midnight between junction 26 and 27 of the motorway.

Of the 12 killed, nine were soldiers and served in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, the Royal Artillery and Royal Corps of Signals.

Cpl Terence Griffin, 24, Gunner Leonard Godden, 22, Signalman Michael Waugh, 23, Signalman Leslie Walsh, 17, Signalman Paul Reid, 17, L/Cpl James McShane, 29, Fusilier Jack Hynes, 20, and Fusilier Stephen Whalley, 18, all died in the blast.

Cpl Clifford Haughton and his wife Linda, who were both 23, and the couple's two sons Lee, five, and Robert, two, were also killed.

Col James Denny, regimental secretary of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, said: "We intend to come together as we always do to remember and pay tribute to those who were killed or injured on that fateful day." 

A memorial stone for the victims was unveiled at Hartshead Moor Services on 4 February 2019.

Judith Ward was convicted of the bombing in 1974 but was freed by the appeal court in 1992.