05/01/2026
𝐖𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭/𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞:
1972 — Keith Bryan (18), Soldier, Gloucester Regiment, West Belfast
Private Keith Bryan, from Bristol, was serving with the 1st Battalion, Gloucesters, when his patrol came under IRA gun attack in the lower Falls district. Covering his colleagues along Ardmoulin Street, he was 15 yards from a wrecked car when a sniper near St Peter’s Pro-Cathedral fired two shots; one struck him in the chest. Comrades moved into defensive positions and one stayed with him, comforting him on the ground until a civilian ambulance arrived, but he died an hour later in hospital. A regimental spokesman said an NCO had seen local women laughing after the shooting. The inquest heard the fatal round may have been a dum-dum bullet. His sister later told the BBC she wanted the sniper to know that “everyone in England does not have an easy life”, and had to be sedated from the shock. Keith had joined the army as a boy soldier; his brother was serving in the same regiment, then one of the heaviest-hit in casualty terms. A plaque in his local pub, the Bristol Bulldog, was later presented by members of his platoon.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
1973 — Trevor Rankin (18), Civilian, North Belfast
Trevor Rankin, an 18-year-old Protestant who belonged to no political organisation, was shot by republican gunmen at the Ben Madigan filling station on the Shore Road while putting air in his car tyres. The gunman ran off into nearby Mount Street, which leads to the Bawnmore Catholic district. Trevor died a short time later in the Royal Victoria Hospital. At the inquest his father said he did not know why his son had been killed. A police inspector told the court that detectives could find no motive for the shooting, and believed the teenager was either mistaken for someone connected with the security forces or simply the victim of a sectarian attack. The Rankin family were from Dublin Street off the Ravenhill Road.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
1976 — Clifford Evans (30), Reserve Constable, RUCR, Antrim
Reserve Constable Clifford Evans, a married Protestant from Ballyscullion Road, Bellaghy, was killed when his RUC patrol was ambushed near Toomebridge. He was travelling in a car with two regular officers when, as they stopped at a junction on the Castledawson–Toomebridge road, IRA gunmen opened fire. All three policemen were hit and Constable Evans was pronounced dead on arrival at Mid-Ulster Hospital; the other officers were not seriously injured. The weapon used in the ambush was later recovered from a graveyard where an earlier SAS operation had taken place.
Three years before his murder, Constable Evans had narrowly escaped death when a gunman burst into his home and opened fire, missing him. He was reported to have been among the first recruits to the newly formed RUC Reserve. His funeral service was held in Bellaghy Presbyterian Church, where the minister urged against any retaliation, warning that further violence would only prolong the misery. A man was subsequently jailed for eight years for withholding information about the killing.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
𝟓𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞, 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐑𝐀, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.
1976 — Robert Walker (46), Civilian, Factory worker, Armagh
Robert Walker, a Protestant factory worker from Half Acre, Lisdrumchor, Glenanne, was one of ten Protestant workmen murdered in the Kingsmills massacre in south Armagh. The men were travelling home in their usual minibus from a textile factory when it was stopped shortly after Whitecross village by a group calling itself the Republican Action Force, believed to be acting on behalf of the IRA. The gunmen asked each man his religion, ordered a lone Catholic worker to step aside, and lined the others up on the roadside before opening fire with at least four weapons, including automatic rifles. One man survived despite being hit 18 times and later described the “indescribable scene of carnage” as he lay among the bodies waiting for an ambulance. The attack, claimed as retaliation for the murders of members of the Reavey and O’Dowd families, provoked widespread political outrage and a government announcement that the SAS would be deployed openly in south Armagh. A memorial later unveiled in 1986 carried Robert Walker’s name among several local Orangemen killed by republican violence.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
1976 — Joseph Lemmon (46), Civilian, Carpenter, Armagh
Joseph Lemmon from Bessbrook, a married Protestant with three children, worked as a carpenter and was among the Kingsmills textile workers murdered on their way home from the factory. A Grand Master in the Royal Black Preceptory and chaplain of his Orange lodge, he lived as caretaker in the local Orange hall and was a Lambeg drumming enthusiast. In July 1992 members of Bessbrook Purple Star LOL 959 dedicated a banner showing him and fellow victim James McWhirter, bearing the words “Innocent victims – we will remember them.” In a later interview his widow Jean recalled preparing dinner at their flat when a neighbour told her of an accident on the road and ambulances racing past toward Whitecross; within a month of Joseph’s death, their two daughters, aged 18 and 20, went prematurely grey from the shock. She later lived near the village monument listing the dead and said she passed it several times each day, feeling an emptiness “that can never be filled”. Joseph and his close friend McWhirter had worked, socialised and worshipped together; they are buried side by side in the Presbyterian graveyard.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
1976 — Reginald Chapman (25), Civilian, Protestant, Married, 2 Children, Armagh
Reginald Chapman, from Thomas Street, Bessbrook, was a well-known local footballer who had once played for Newry Town. A Sunday school teacher and born-again Christian, he was returning from work at the Glenanne textile factory when gunmen stopped the minibus at Kingsmills / Whitecross and separated the men by religion. Reginald was one of the nine Protestants shot dead at the roadside. His younger brother Walter was also murdered in the same attack. Reginald’s death robbed his young family and church of a respected Christian worker and sportsman.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
1976 — Walter Chapman (23), Civilian, Protestant, Single, Armagh
Walter Chapman, also from Thomas Street, Bessbrook, died alongside his brother Reginald in the Kingsmills / Whitecross massacre. Both brothers were among the group of Protestant workmen ordered from their minibus and gunned down after being identified by their religion. Walter, the younger of the two, had shared work, church and social life with Reginald; their murders left a double blow for their family and the close-knit Bessbrook community.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
1976 — Kenneth Worton (24), Civilian, Protestant, Married, 2 Children, Armagh
Kenneth Worton came from The Gardens, Bessbrook, and was a former member of the UDR. He was among the textile workers on the Glenanne minibus ambushed at Kingsmills / Whitecross on 5 January 1976. After being asked his religion, Kenneth was lined up with his workmates and shot dead by the gunmen. A young husband and father of two, his murder was one of a series of targeted killings that devastated the small Protestant community around Bessbrook.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
1976 — James McWhirter (58), Civilian, Protestant, Married, 3 Children, Armagh
James McWhirter of Ulster Cottages, Bessbrook, was one of the victims of the Kingsmills / Whitecross shootings. An active member of the local Orange Lodge and the Royal Black Preceptory, he was travelling home from the Glenanne factory when the minibus was stopped by armed men. Identified as Protestant, he was ordered onto the road and shot dead along with his friends and neighbours. James died together with his particular friend Joseph Lemmon, with whom he had worked, attended lodge, socialised on Saturday nights and worshipped on Sundays. They are buried side by side in the Presbyterian graveyard.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
1976 — Robert Chambers (19), Civilian, Protestant, Single, Armagh
Teenager Robert Chambers lived with his parents at Charlemont Square West, Bessbrook. He was the youngest of the Protestant workmen murdered at Kingsmills / Whitecross. Returning home from the textile factory, he was forced from the minibus by the gunmen, who separated the men by religion and then opened fire. Robert’s murder cut short a young life rooted in family and village life in Bessbrook, and his name stands with the others as one of the ten victims of the massacre.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
1976 — John McConville (20), Civilian, Protestant, Single, Armagh
John McConville of Mennina Park, Bessbrook, was due shortly to travel to Scotland to train as a missionary. He never got the chance. On 5 January 1976 he was among the Protestant workmen on the Glenanne minibus ambushed at Kingsmills / Whitecross. After being asked his religion, John was taken from the vehicle and shot dead at the roadside. His death not only bereaved his family but also ended a hoped-for life of Christian service abroad.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
1976 — John Bryans (46), Civilian, Protestant, Widower, 2 Children, Mill Foreman, Armagh
John Bryans, from Cloughreagh Cottages, Bessbrook, was a widower with two children. His wife had died several years earlier. A respected mill foreman, he served his community as superintendent of a local Sunday school and president of the Glenanne Christian Workers Union. John was one of the Kingsmills / Whitecross victims, ordered from the work minibus and murdered after being identified as Protestant. His death removed a key Christian leader and father figure from the Bessbrook area, compounding the grief his family had already endured.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
1976 — Robert Freeburn (50), Civilian, Protestant, Married, 2 Children, Armagh
Robert Freeburn of Eshwary, Bessbrook, was a member of the local Orange Order and the Royal Black Preceptory. He was among the ten Protestant workmen lined up and shot at Kingsmills / Whitecross as they travelled home from the textile factory at Glenanne. A husband and father, he was remembered locally as one of a group of committed Orangemen murdered by republicans. His name later appeared on a memorial unveiled in Markethill in September 1986 to seven local Orangemen killed during the Troubles.
(Source: CAIN / Lost Lives)
We honour their lives and their families.
They gave their today for our tomorrow. 🌺🌺🌺
