The Story Of Capturing A Six-Day Siege In London In 1975

Balcombe Street, London, England (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - The London Metropolitan Police have surrounded a terrorist gang for six days after months of spreading terror in London, England. During the siege, the terrorists took two middle-aged couples on Balcombe Street hostage.

In 1974 and 1975, London was the target of 14 months of gun and bomb attacks by IRA soldiers. During that period about 40 bombs exploded in London, killing at least 35 people and injuring many.

The four terrorists known as the Balcombe gang include Joe O'Connell, Edward Butler, Harry Duggan, and Hugh Doherty. They are part of a six-member temporary Irish Republican Army (IRA) Active Service Unit (ASU).

Siege

To quote the BBC, nine days before the Balcombe siege, the criminal gang shot Ross McWhirter dead outside his home in Enfield, north London. McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records, was murdered for offering a £ 50,000 reward for catching the terrorist after they carried out a series of attacks in London.

The Balcombe gang raid also killed Captain Roger Goad, an explosives expert and Professor Gordon Hamilton-Fairley, a cancer expert who was killed by a car bomb. Terror was also spread in London's bustling restaurants by throwing bolt-grade bombs, thus maximizing the explosion.

Until the time of the siege that occurred today December 6 to December 12 45 years ago or in 1975. The siege began with the Metropolitan Police's pursuit of the Balcombe gang for opening fire through the window of Scott's restaurant on Mount Street, Mayfair.

The atmosphere on Balcombe Street became tense when the siege broke out. The criminal gang then took a middle-aged postal worker and his wife hostage at a house in Marylebone.

The six-day siege ended in surrender when they heard over the radio that British SAS special forces were deployed. The Balcombe gang was arrested that day.

At Old Bailey's trial, gang members faced 25 charges, including seven murders. They are also accused of being the group that caused the explosions throughout 1975, and took two people hostage during the siege.

They were later found guilty, and in February 1977, O'Connell, Butler, and Duggan were sentenced to 12 life sentences. Doherty, meanwhile, received 11 life sentences. The court judge, Mr. Justice Cantley, recommended that the men serve sentences of not less than 30 years.