Caterham Arms pub bombing

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Caterham Arms pub bombing
Part of the Troubles
The Caterham Arms in 2009
Location	Caterham, Surrey, England
Date	27 August 1975 21:20 (GMT)
Attack type	Time bomb
Deaths	0
Injured	33
Perpetrator	Provisional Irish Republican Army

On 27 August 1975 a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb exploded without warning at the Caterham Arms public house in Caterham, Surrey, England. No-one was killed but 33 people were injured, some severely, including three off-duty soldiers who lost limbs.

Background[]

In February 1975, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) agreed to a ceasefire with the British government. The last IRA attack in England was in January 1975 when they planted seven time bombs in London.^[1]

The bombing[]

The IRA planted a time bomb in the Caterham Arms public house in Caterham, Surrey, leaving a 7lb bomb in a duffel bag under a seat. There was no warning and the bomb exploded at 9:20pm, injuring 23 civilians and 10 off-duty soldiers. The pub was used by members of the Welsh Guards who were based at the barracks nearby. Some of the injuries were very serious, with at least three soldiers losing limbs, including a male soldier, who lost both legs and one arm, as well as two other soldiers who lost a leg each.^[2][3] The blast blew the roof off the pub. This attack marked the start of a renewed bombing campaign in England and the end of the truce with the British government.^[4] The next day, the IRA detonated a bomb in Oxford Street, Central London, injuring several people.^[5]

See also[]

• Chronology of Provisional Irish Republican Army actions (1970–1979)

References[]