My Dad had an even closer brush with death from the IRA. During the 1970's, as editor of an engineering magazine he went to Glasgow for an exhibition and hired a car for a couple of days while he was up there. He thought it was a bit sluggish and the handling was a bit soggy but it didn't hit a threshold of realisation that something was wrong. About 9 months later he was interviewed by the police. It transpired that what had happened was that someone from the IRA had hired the car in Glasgow and then filled the door and body panel linings with detonators and hand grenades, and then driven down to London. The driver had been picked up by the police for some other reason, and the car was returned to the hire company. For the next six months it was driven round by innocent people who hired the car, not realising it was full of explosives, one of whom was my Dad. Eventually the hire company sold it on to someone who decided it should be steam-cleaned. A guy at the firm who was going to steam clean it took off a door panel and out fell a load of hand grenades. The police fairly quickly worked out what had happened, but they had to interview everyone who'd hired it for completeness. The key point though was that there were loads of detonators in the car too, so a relatively minor prang while driving could have caused a monumental explosion. I'm grateful my Dad is still alive.
After/during the fall of GDR here in Germany in 1989, some strange things happened. An East-German police unit found a whole bunch of anti-tank mines (like 20 or so) somewhere on the countryside. So they thought about what to do - and decided to load them into their small East-German Police car - go back to the station and call EOD. The EOD guys arrived - and went outside to that Police car. After a minute or so - they came back in - pale white. "Are you guys crazy?!?" - "Why?" - "They're all armed!!!"😱😱😱 Just imagine 20 anti-tank mines with ~10kg high-explosive each =200kg total going off in that car. Probably like that cement truck on Mythbusters....
@@stanislavczebinski994 Not quite as bad as it sounds, because anti-tank mines are designed to go off when heavy vehicles roll over them, so were relatively unlikely to go off just because they were loaded into a car and driven someplace. Still, the fact that they thought it was a good idea to move them in the first place, even if they thought they weren't armed, boggles the mind.
God obviously loved your father sir, packed full of grenades possibly Libyan c3 and detonators ,I can't imagine one spark,or one hard bump....Jesus Christ I had a mini anxiety attack reading until read your daddy swapped cars. Another note lmfao one of the most British things I have ever read.
Be open to the fact that you will meet History professors that will make Marc look like a youtuber by comoarisson if you major in history ( Marc if you do not like this comment, you are a charlatan).
"...on Saturdays" Well worded. Mark is a professional and published historian and worth viewing. On the other six days you may consider the other historians up there with Mark: History Guy, Tik History, The Time Ghost Army and its many many well detailed historical sub groups.
Strange fact, I was travelling down layer road in my parents car and drove past that car which was still smoking after the attack, so strangely Mark and myself had probably passed eachother that day
Amazing story. Traveled throughout Europe in 1979 and when I had to go home to the U.S. from Heathrow, they made us open our luggage and they searched it thoroughly. There was a huge line waiting to be checked. It was all because of the IRA. I said to myself, "Someday, they will be searching our luggage in the same way in the U.S." It took about 22 years, but is now our reality.
It's a sad reminder that no one is immune to the threat of terrorism, from any source. The atrocity of 9/11 really brought that home to so many, especially anyone who thought they were basically safe.
@@TheCatBilbo 9/11 perhaps got the US to wake up, but between RIA, RAF, ISIS, and the Libyans, we've had our fair share of terrorist attacks in Europe and especially for those of us who grew up with it, know that it can happen again anytime. Sad part is that the damage of the 9/11 attacks could've been far less, if the US airforce didn't have to call up the president to get permission to defend the country
People forget that all through the 70s we had terrorist bombings all over the place, including inside the US capitol building, from left-wing terrorist groups such as the Weather Underground and the Symbionese Liberation Army. Dustin Hoffman's house was blown up by his next door neighbors who were building pipe bombs in their basement and accidentally killed themselves. Terrorism was not new to the US, but in the 1980s we all just decided to pretend it never really happened.
@@thesteelrodent1796 I think one of the hijackers jumped bail or had a warrant for his arrest for non attendance at court. Had the authorities arrested him all this would never have happened.
@@TheCatBilbo "From any source" lol. I hope you're not suggesting what it sounds like you might be. You're not apprehensive about Jainism, presumably.
In 1974, I narrowly missed the pillar box bomb outside Houseman's Bookshop in Caledonian Road, London. I had been distracted for about 30 seconds by a shop window in Pentonville Road, which saved my life. Fortunately, no one was even injured in that explosion.
I lived on the Cally and Camden Town for decades, and there has always been Irish tensions there. There was a stash of IRA weapons found at 257 Cally, long ago. Also, Bemerton estate, the non Barnsbury side, was known as Little Belfast with control over crime in the area being contested by the London Irish of the (victorious, until brought down by police) Adams families vs the O'Reillys.
@@yesyesyesyall I lived on the York Way Estate. Always festooned with Union Jacks and England flags for Jubelee parties / World Cups etc. Must have irked the paddies
@@MarkFeltonProductions: Indeed, it was a paltry sum for what he suffered. Many local soldiers and police officers had to go back and forth from their homes to their duties and were targeted in similar fashion. Even when driving their kids to school. Irish Republicans even tried to murder the MP Nigel Dodds when he was visiting his special needs son in hospital. To think that some people were passing on information about his movements to and from hospital and which room his son was in to facilitate Dodds murder brings a whole new meaning to the word evil.
I'm sure it's been said before, but referring to a violent nationalist revolution as simply 'The Troubles' is the most English thing in the entire world
Actually, France, my homeland, had a similar episode regarding Algerian Independence. The same expression was used in French. "Les troubles en Algerie". (The Troubles in Algeria). We're talking here about open civil war, terrorism on a large scale, an a far right military coup, followed by the assassination of French backing populations as France pulled out. And also a close call with an atomic warhead. That the renegade generals almost got their hands on... A lot of insanity. We are still seeing the results today.
An interesting story, Dr Mark. My dad and brother worked for the Baltic Exchange in 1992, when the IRA bombed it, killing their colleague and friend, Tom Casey. I later walked through the shattered remains of the building. It is now the site of the "Gherkin".
@davidrenton It was on a Friday evening, my dad was supposed to go to do overtime the next day, but was turned back. We were sitting in the lovely sunshine in the garden, when we heard Tom was missing. I still remember it clearly. I was 16 at the time.
Like the poor soldier here, so many are affected by terrorism - the victims themselves, friends, family, colleagues. It's like a ripple effect & it's easy to forget how many are caught up in it. Even being disrupted, having your business or work affected, plans cancelled - small in comparison, of course. The Forces & Emergency services, too: dealing with the horror of an attack & the threat of more. Terrorism is an evil but effective weapon.
@@paulyp9163 yep would have been as i worked Friday , Saturday (lol i was 16 as well) We where towards Stamford Hill and the Supermarket was right next to a Petrol station, the staff room right next to the station when it went off , some one said did the petrol station next door just blow up, at that point my faith in humanity went down a notch But it just shows how massive it must have been, as i said about 4 miles away and it was loud
I was at Otterburn with the cadets when the Deal Barracks bomb went off. The camp was put on alert and that night there was a flurry of activity, after somebody reported suspicious activity on the car park. Our intruder turned out to be a sheep.
@@Jeffybonbon I never heard about that, when did it happen? I was in the cadets in Belfast from the mid 80’s, it was something you didn’t tell people, we never travelled in uniform etc.
The troubles were a horrific chapter between our countries. Thank God you were lucky to escape that explosion Dr Felton. You came dangerously close and the world would have never witnessed your tremendous works. Love from Ireland 🇮🇪
I’m sorry but as far as I remember there was no war between Ireland and the UK. The troubles were created by a terrorist organization called IRA. A war is fought between armies - terror is created by coward extremists. IRA members were no soldiers just cold blooded terrorists.
Great vid thanks. I was in the 1996 Bomb in Manchester. We were moved out of the corn exchange 20 minutes before it went off due to them phoning a warning. The whole city centre had every window blown out over us.
It's a horrible 'game' - warn the authorities with a coded message, but leave them with so little time to act. I remember when the game went wrong: the coded message wasn't passed on & a bomb detonated, killing & injuring.
@@paulthomas2178 yeah we were working just 300 metres from it. Incredible how the special police squad came and cleared the whole area within minutes. We were allowed to collect our stuff a few weeks later but the whole building was condemned and we all lost our jobs.
Good fortune to you sir. I spent a year in Vietnam 68/69, and while there I developed a mental "radar" that to this day is working ANYTIME I am in a public environment. In retirement I enjoy traveling overseas a lot, so this acquired "asset" has not proved debilitating in any way. I live by the creed which I have also taught to my wife, "Anything can happen anywhere at anytime". I don't think this condition rises to the level of PTSD, but maybe I have it and perhaps you do too. I'm sure the events of that day are imprinted in your brain in detailed technicolor and they shall never go away. Keep up the good work and thanks for contributing to my ongoing lifelong education.
Thanks for your service. I'm the same way in public but I think of it as street smarts/common sense. A healthy dose of suspicion towards the actions of others. I've never served but I grew up in the city which exposes you to things most people dont ever think about.
I have a friend who served 20+ years that included the 90-91 Gulf War and tours of Afghanistan and Iraq. He said, "Always respect your enemy and your surroundings." He made it through to retirement with no major injuries.
My brother-in-law was the manager of the "Safeway" store in the Manchester Arndale Centre on 15th June 1996. On his rounds he noticed a sudden rush of people outside the front of the store all in the same direction, and wondered what was happening, he ran out to ask a passer by who said she'd heard there had been a bomb alert in the centre. He'd received no police advice or contact, and so tried to liaise with any police nearby but couldn't find any and so then made the decision to evacuate the store immediately, which on a Saturday afternoon would have cost the store fifty plus thousand pounds in takings, and If nothing had happened would also have cost him his job as well. 10 minutes after the store was declared empty a 1½ ton IRA bomb detonated 200 yards from the store and ripped the entire front off the building. Fortunately no one was killed but over 200 were injured. It's almost certain that his decisive actions saved MANY fatalities in the store that day.
@@andrzejdziadul6022 He received a business award 6 months later in recognition of his actions... awarded to him by none other than "The Krypton Factor's" Gordon Burns, Woohoo!!! Yes, Safeway eventually was bought up in the UK by Morrisons and disappeared from our streets completely.
The irony is that Andy Mudd had been instrumental in saving the life of Gerry Adams when he'd been shot in the neck outside a Belfast Court in 1984...😮
I didn't know that. Another piece of trivia is that he was originally offered far less compensation for his wounds. To win enough money to sustain an independent life he had to wait until he left the army, sue as a civilian, and pay his own legal costs.
As a long time viewer and subscriber, it's cool to hear you open up about something so personal. Much appreciated to listen to this life event. Love tour content!
Thanks for this video. My parents moved us to the UK from Australia in 1978 and then the troubles seemed to get a lot worse not long after, I think it was the IRA stepping up against Thatcher in particular. Then, many years later, I happened to be in Manchester one June day and there was a massive evacuation. Some time later, the loudest bang I have ever heard.
I was living near Halstead, Essex at this time. I was 17, so very aware of The Troubles & we used to live near a Catholic family who'd fled Northern Ireland because of that. I'd also been in a hotel when the Harrods bomb happened not far away. Parents & younger brother & sister were shopping, but I stayed in the room. I remember watching the news & being terrified that my family might have been affected. A horrible feeling with no mobiles for reassurance! We went to the theatre a day later. I remember sitting there feeling so worried as there were warnings about possible, further attacks. Terrorism is well named: just the threat is a very powerful message.
I'm a Northern Ireland resident, I was born at the end of the Troubles in 1997 but my family had lived through the conflict in the years prior. Both of my parents were born in the 1960s when the conflict was starting to take off. My mother has a couple of stories of her experiences during the years. One time when she was very young and staying at her grandparents house near the southern border, a group of IRA members in balaclavas forced their way into the house and took them hostage. They locked my mum and the other children in the bathroom and held her grandparents at gunpoint downstairs. They were after her grandfather who was an active British soldier at the time but he wasn't in the house, he had left a while earlier to go hunting and had taken his gun with him, which the IRA were also looking to steal. After two hours he didn't return so the IRA left the house and left my mum and the rest of the occupants unharmed. Another time many years later my mum was in a relationship with a British soldier who was a sentry outside Belfast city but he was sadly the victim of an IRA bombing plot when a bomb planted at the checkpoint he was stationed at exploded killing him. Even though the Troubles are long over, I found this video very interesting. The Troubles need more recognition and understanding as it was a difficult time for the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Although I live in the US, I have read a lot about the Troubles and they are some of the scariest military stories I've heard about. I've also read books about how the IRA operate and they are the most dangerous terrorists I have ever known anything about. Their ability to strike in an urban environment is what made them dangerous. I did read a book by a British soldier stationed in Belfast and one chapter still left me shocked to this day. He and his army mate were in a hilly area outside the main center of Belfast, looking for suspected members of the Orangemen (a Protestant faction, sometimes also called the Orange Order) when they came across a concrete tunnel used to drain water from the city centre. I think he hadn't gone in yet but the other soldier, for reasons still unknown, simply walked into the drain. A huge explosion knocked him down. He ran to the drain and found: nothing. His mate had been literally destroyed by the IED. It frustrates me that the dumb media tossers still think the IED is a new idea. It has been around for AGES and the IRA used them heavily throughout the entire time of the Troubles.
Wow! I had a very similar experience in December '88 in Leicester when I was 22. I was working as a xmas temp in a shop in town an hour's bus ride from my village. I walked past the Army Recruitment Centre in a hurry to catch my bus.There was a van parked outside. When I arrived home my mum was a nervous wreck and told me they'd heard on the news that the van (that I had walked past) had been blown up by an IRA bomb minutes after my bus had passed by, taking me home. I'd passed it twice! My parents had no idea where I was on that route until I got home.
Wow, that was close Mark. I cannot believe that we came that close to not having your videos. All those hours we've all spent watching or falling asleep at night to your videos would be lost forever. Made me think of how I've enjoyed your videos over the years and am grateful.
My Goodness - one of your photos shows the Harrods bombing in Dec 1983. My wife and I were in that store in April 1983 and then returned to our home in California. I was a "news neophyte" at the time and did not learn of the incident until I watched your video. Thank you for offering some retro-persective of our trip.
In 1981 I lived with a military family in Alton that had just moved there from Northern Ireland. They were so used to getting letter bombs that they would dispose of them in their back garden. Hearing what life life was like in Northern Ireland for them was rather bizarre.
My missus grew up through it all in Belfast. The local areas were like ghettos, people didn't venture far from their home, everyone was known to each other. Strangers stood out like a sore thumb. When I first met her, it took her neighbours six months to even talk to me when I was over visiting from Liverpool.
I was on my way to school in 1991 and just before I got to Victoria Station an IRA bomb went off. It's an eerie feeling to hear the huge explosion and feel the ground shake. Luckily for me I was about 200 yards down the road at the time. Some people weren't so lucky.
I was an auxiliary prison officer in the early 1990’s at HMP Long Lartin. We had to check vehicles coming into the Jail and our own at the end of a shift.
@@MarkFeltonProductions totally agree, even if you don't suffer it directly; and even if it is not a so tragic event but if it is significant enough. Something similar happened to me during the ill-fated (and fortunately bloodless) attempted coup d'état in Spain in 1981. I was just 10 years old and I remember almost everything that happened to me that afternoon. My parents picked me up after school, we went for a large shopping (my Mom was one month away to give birth to my brother) and then they left me in my English class while they went home. At the class, another boy told me "there has been a ballyhoo in the parlament, the Civil Guard has entered there", but for both of us seemed anecdotal, just one weird news. After the class my parents were waiting for me and then it was when I realized that something serious was going on, as the English academy was just three blocks away from home and I was allowed to come and go alone.
@MarkFeltonProductions Traumatic events do have a way of cementing themselves into memory. I was seven years old in second grade when Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. I remember vividly our teacher telling us what happened, leading us in a prayer (catholic school), and then sending us home for the day.
Yeah.......makes me wonder why there are single military age men from Africa and the Middle East in sealed off buildings across the Republic, with 24 hrs private security, and were bussed in by the guards......nearest one to me is 10 mins drive. They've been doing absolutely nothing the last 16 months. It doesn't add up
In 1974 an IRA bomb went off on Park Street, Bristol, just after I had driven past on my way home from visiting the central library for study. When I got home the TV was full of news of what I'd just driven past.
The term "The Troubles" really does diminish what was a very bloody and nasty war perpetrated by all side in the conflict. Thank God that is all now mostly in the past.
Yank spotted. Literally everyone here in ireland calls it 'The Troubles' as a catch-all term for the conflict. Mark did a good job of stating the facts as they are without getting into the weeds on the broader context.
That was exactly why it was called The Troubles, an attempt to downplay what was very obviously a war. Both the British State and the Irish state had an interest in downplaying the scale of the conflict.
Mark narrates his own life just as beautifully as he does with his documentaries. Brilliant stuff. Love his voice. It’s one of the only narrators who can get me to focus
Thank you for your extraordinary content, Dr. Felton. I look forward to your works, and appreciate the effort and time you put into them so that I may learn history.
You are so right about the bomb threat being 'background clutter'. I worked for Post Office Telephones, later British Telecom in the 1970's and 80's in the City of London. Bomb warnings, bombs and stop and search by the Police were so regular as to be normal. I remember being unable to get home from my girlfriends home in Bow due to the IRA's attempt to blow up a gasometer at Bromley by Bow, just blowing a hole in it. In 1987 I joined Essex Police serving at Southend. The Deal bombing was a big event and must have overshadowed the Colchester bomb as I cannot recall it at all.
Mark, you're a gentleman and a scholar and I love your work. Im glad no harm came to you, and hate that unfortunately , many were harmed and killed. They didnt represent me. Huge respect, from Ireland ☘️
In 1983, when I was 13 years old, I traveled to Britain for the first time. My mother and I took a coach (bus) tour through Ireland as part of our trip. When the bus briefly crossed the border into Northern Ireland, British soldiers, with their long guns, boarded our bus and walked up and down the aisle checking us all out before letting the bus proceed.
My town is a military town as well, the military is very much integrated in daily life, with soldiers in uniform regularly marching or cycling in group through the town. My favorite café is very close the the military acadamy. It has been in the back of the head that if someone where to take action against my country's military a lot of civilian people would be in the crosshairs too. Makes me appreciate that we have peace in my country, although some people don't seem to understand that or desire less peace it seems. Glad you came out okay and thanks for sharing the story. Warm greetings from the Netherlands🇳🇱.
Living in Warrington where we suffered our own tragic act of violence that sadly took the lives of 2 innocent boys the day before Mother’s Day, I fully understand the feeling to this day that memories of this time can emote when we look back on them. Your piece was beautifully done and extremely informative. Thank you.
Hearing of your background as a boy and a young man, I am assuming this would propel you into learning and teaching history? Your World War II videos are always informative and I have consumed many of them. Thank you Mark for all your expertise in the history that surrounds us all. I’ve never really paid attention to the IRA stuff because it was so far away from me. In the 80s, I was young enough to just live my life with joy…….. nothing of aware of worldly conflicts. Thanks to you, I’ve learned more about World War II than I was ever interested in learning before. Thank you.
I live several miles away from Layer Road and remember this all very well, the Drury Arms pub is now a Sainsbury’s and weirdly, back then, we seemed to take these atrocities for granted as it was going on everywhere up and down the country. Very interesting video and thank goodness it’s no longer happening.
Thank you Dr Mark Felton for another wonderful video full of information. You never cease to amaze me with the amount of detail information you’re able to provide us. Stay safe. Cheers from Tampa, Fl 🇺🇸
Remind me of ‘In the name of the father’ movie. May God bless you for sharing your history knowledge. I am always grateful to listen to your videos. Starting from the intro classical.
You have been absent on my feed for a long while, Mark, and I missed your uploads. Thank you for returning, and what a way you did! Kindly continue. Regards. Mark. London.
When I joined the US Air Force in 1979 it took me several months to get my Top Secret security clearance, it seems the air force OSI found out that in the 1960s my grandmother who is from county Sligo in Ireland was donating money to the IRA. It almost cost me my air force career.
Fascinating video. As a life long Colcestrian this brought back vivid memories of that time and those familiar locations. Thank you for the section on Andy Mudd who, despite his terrible injuries, went on to achieve so much. Thank you.
Why SS Mudd had to fight for compensation is staggering. As he was serving his country when injured he should have been taken care of for life. £800,000 is a pittance for what he has had to endure since the bombing.
I grew up in rural Ireland. This video reminds me of the time that I would be listening to the radio or watching the tv and hearing the news of a kidnapping, a shooting or a bombing and the silence in the room. I no longer live in Ireland but returned last year to visit County Louth and across the border to County Armagh with my family. It would have been inconceivable to me if you had told me in the 1980s I would be able to do this.
I think this is a major, major point that people do not realise … crossing the border there or even over in Donegal for instance was not to be taken lightly.
Sorry to hear you experienced that. I wonder how it influenced your path in life. Honestly you could throw some WW2 facts in here and I’d believe it. Your channel is my fav! I get “Return to Castle Wolfenstein” 2001) game menu vibes when I hear your channel theme. Keep up the wonderful work Mark! 🫡
Long ago, a coworker of mine, in San Diego CA, went to buy a car. He said that he dealt with a very interesting salesguy, and about a year later, the same coworker said that he'd just seen that salesman on the news - a member of the IRA who had been hiding in plain sight for some years before being caught.
@@condors1972 From the LA Times, 1992: Two Irish Republican Army members who broke out of Belfast’s storied Maze Prison in a 1983 mass escape have been captured, one in San Diego and the other in San Francisco, authorities said Thursday. Kevin Barry John Artt, 33, who had been fired a few days ago from his job as a salesman at a Pacific Beach Ford dealership, was arrested Wednesday as he climbed off his houseboat at a Mission Bay marina, authorities said. He had been serving a life term for killing a prison warden. James Joseph Smyth, 38, who was serving a 20-year prison term for attempted murder, was arrested Wednesday in San Francisco. Both men were charged with passport fraud, and U.S. authorities said they intend to prosecute them on that charge before turning to the possibility of extradition proceedings.
This was so helpful. I was a teen in 1989 as well. The terrorism there was confusing to me. You’ve helped explain the details like what Sentex looks like and what it was like to experience first hand. Great work always. This is my Mark Felton favourite that I’ll rewatch and share. 🌻
As a life long colchester resident and fan of colchester united this is a story that I've heard of but once again thanks to Mark Felton my knowledge has been widely enhanced due to this video
Their reasons for fighting didn't excuse killing women and children and even unborn babies . If they were such brave freedom fighters they should have worn uniforms
In college in the late 1970’s, I became engaged to a classmate. Her mother was from Sligo and my fiancé had visited it as well. She told me that the citizens of Sligo were extremely saddened by the assassination of Mountbatten as the family was well liked there. There was a lot of the Irish people that didn’t follow the IRA according to them.
Yup. The IRA were responsible for killing more Irish people than Britons throughout the Troubles. It’s one of the reasons I really don’t like to refer to that period as a “War”. War legitimizes the IRA’s terroristic actions as it puts them on the same level as a state actor. They’re not that, just a bunch of shameless & cruel thugs.
I think by the 1970s, the IRA had just enough support to continue killing lots of people, while still being dislike to utterly despised by everyone else in Ireland. Sadly, it doesn't take that many people per capita to make a bloody mess.
It wasn't background noise to us living in the North of Ireland Mark. Plenty of kids killed by plastic bullets from British soldiers, British state collusion with Unionist paramilitaries and outright massacres of innocent civilians on both sides. Glad you weren't hurt Mark, avid watcher of your content but would love to see more content giving context to the oppression and lack of civil liberties which led to the IRA's existence and growth since the 1960s.
@user-zu6qn9ux9n they weren't as they weren't a national army representing a country. They didn't have a need for crowd dispersal devices, LP2A's or baton rounds.
@user-zu6qn9ux9n Some were shot nowhere near riots. 12 year old Carol Ann Kelly was on her way back from the local shop, for example. Emma Groves was a 51 year old woman shot while sitting in her home. Look at the evolutions of use of the flash-ball in France and the United States. You can see how the same device is easily used to kill even peaceful protesters.
I vividly remember the 1980s. I was a teenager during those years and every Summer like many non British students I used to go to England to study the English language (born and raised in Italy). I can’t exactly remember what year (1987-1989), I was in a field trip in London and while riding the tube all the trains stopped and we were forced to evacuate due to a bomb alert (IRA). Although the “Irish cause” had many sympathizers in Italy amongst the left-winger folks and Catholic population, I stand today as I did during those years on the side of those who wore a uniform in the UK armed forces. The definition: Irish Republican Army is a contradiction in terms. If someone doesn’t wear a uniform and targets civilians and soft targets cannot be called soldier (Army) but a cold blooded terrorist. Greetings from an Italian man who lives in West Texas. 🇬🇧 🇮🇹 🇺🇸 ❤️
Im Irish i love your channel the world war 2 stuff and now this Irish story definitely my go to favourite channel on utube for the last few years, well done love the smaller things as well like Hitlers capes ect that you post as well. 🇮🇪
Wow! Dr Felton you are more than welcome to narrate my experience as I stood in Farraghut Park at exactly 9:35 am the hijacked plane flew at very low altitude directly over me as I stood in complete catharsis
Hi Mark. I grew up at 39 Boadocea Way, just around the corner from you, but left home in 1984 and was living in Brightlingsea at the time. My friend, Brian Rolf, was one of, of not the first person on the scene. My brother, Keith lived in a house opposite the Drury hotel thst appears in the opening sequence of your video.
I remember the IRA bombing in Roemond in Holland, two Aussies civilians , killed as they had short hair, we used the car park regularly where they bombed their car, as we shopped in the town weekly. The other was the BP garage in Wildenrath, a young corporal and his young child killed as they left the garage, machine gunned by the IRA. I was stationed at RAF Bruggen, we heard a tannoy, opened the front door and a police land rover was driving around quarters warning people to stay on camp. We rang our friends at RAF Wildenrath as soon as we closed the door, they had still not been told. We were issued a telescopic minor and torch to search under the car before you set off. I still have the little white torch, it still works over thirty- four years later.
As an Australian, I remember that two Aussies were killed by the IRA. As a child and being in Australia, I didn’t really know what it was all about but that incident is what sticks in my mind in regards to the IRA bombings.
@@tomnewham1269 Roemond was just over the border in Holland from RAF Bruggen in Germany. At the time British forces private cars still had UK style number plates. Your two countrymen were parked in a cobbled square which depending on the day of the week was either a market or car park. I guess the two IRA murderers mistook them for British forces. There were a lot of British forces bases in the area, and Roemond was a popular town for shopping.
Thank God you had passed that area earlier, by just sheer luck, paths of life can be a strange bedfellow. Always informative, well documented, documentaries. Thank You.
I'm sorry back during The Troubles, there was a group claiming that they were raising money for families hurt by the Violence. I gave them a donation. Literally a few days later the FBI announced that the money went to The IRA
Would that be NORAID? they would collect money saying that it was for victims of the troubles but actually went to the IRA who sent it to Libya in exchange for semtex and AK47s
Mark, What a chilling story to learn about an IRA bombing in Colchester and your close connections. As a USAF brat living in Felsted and Sible Hedingham from 1955 to 1958, my Dad took us to visit Colchester Castle. He was a crew chief to the squadron (77th FB Sq.) commander's F-100 Super Sabre based at RAF Wethersfield. Today's youth (especially here in the US) have no clue as to the evil that the IRA brought to the UK much less the sacrifices that many endured to fight the cold war... including our (your & mine) families. Especially chilling was to see a flightline of F-100s with a nuclear bomb nestled beneath each one and an armed AP with guard dog posted at each plane. Sadly, even I had no clue about the IRA bombing in Brighton, another seaside place we visited. Thanks so.much for your incredible videos.
Thank you, Dr. Felton. So thankful the timing of your walk home spared you. I cannot wonder if something like the "Troubles" await the very divided USA. Hatred begats hatred.
Funny you mention USA "troubles." I'm close on to 80 years and I've never seen the hatred and savagery of some Americans today--assaulting and abusing Family, Friends, even dogs. Shameful really. How did it happen?
I sincerely Hope Not. However I have never believed the official story concerning the destruction of the Alfred P Murrah Building In Oklahoma City on 19th April 1995. As I have always douted that Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols acted alone. So in reality have "Blue vs Red Troubles" already commenced.
My Dad had an even closer brush with death from the IRA. During the 1970's, as editor of an engineering magazine he went to Glasgow for an exhibition and hired a car for a couple of days while he was up there. He thought it was a bit sluggish and the handling was a bit soggy but it didn't hit a threshold of realisation that something was wrong. About 9 months later he was interviewed by the police. It transpired that what had happened was that someone from the IRA had hired the car in Glasgow and then filled the door and body panel linings with detonators and hand grenades, and then driven down to London. The driver had been picked up by the police for some other reason, and the car was returned to the hire company. For the next six months it was driven round by innocent people who hired the car, not realising it was full of explosives, one of whom was my Dad. Eventually the hire company sold it on to someone who decided it should be steam-cleaned. A guy at the firm who was going to steam clean it took off a door panel and out fell a load of hand grenades. The police fairly quickly worked out what had happened, but they had to interview everyone who'd hired it for completeness. The key point though was that there were loads of detonators in the car too, so a relatively minor prang while driving could have caused a monumental explosion. I'm grateful my Dad is still alive.
After/during the fall of GDR here in Germany in 1989, some strange things happened.
An East-German police unit found a whole bunch of anti-tank mines (like 20 or so) somewhere on the countryside. So they thought about what to do - and decided to load them into their small East-German Police car - go back to the station and call EOD.
The EOD guys arrived - and went outside to that Police car. After a minute or so - they came back in - pale white. "Are you guys crazy?!?" - "Why?" - "They're all armed!!!"😱😱😱
Just imagine 20 anti-tank mines with ~10kg high-explosive each =200kg total going off in that car. Probably like that cement truck on Mythbusters....
@@stanislavczebinski994 Not quite as bad as it sounds, because anti-tank mines are designed to go off when heavy vehicles roll over them, so were relatively unlikely to go off just because they were loaded into a car and driven someplace. Still, the fact that they thought it was a good idea to move them in the first place, even if they thought they weren't armed, boggles the mind.
1970s *
You may be thinking of the apostrophe in '70s
@@BodywiseMustard lol! Thanks for the correction
God obviously loved your father sir, packed full of grenades possibly Libyan c3 and detonators ,I can't imagine one spark,or one hard bump....Jesus Christ I had a mini anxiety attack reading until read your daddy swapped cars.
Another note lmfao one of the most British things I have ever read.
Mark is the only history teacher I will ever listen to on Saturdays!
@nzmaster5000 chruch mate
Hey, don't sleep on The History Guy. He covers such a wide variety of things.
Be open to the fact that you will meet History professors that will make Marc look like a youtuber by comoarisson if you major in history ( Marc if you do not like this comment, you are a charlatan).
@colinmcdonald2499 dude he has a PhD in history at the University of Essex UK,.....do you??
"...on Saturdays" Well worded. Mark is a professional and published historian and worth viewing. On the other six days you may consider the other historians up there with Mark: History Guy, Tik History, The Time Ghost Army and its many many well detailed historical sub groups.
I had a nasty brush with the IRS.
Havn't we all !
We have all had those. IRS or IRD , they are the worst terrorist organisation in any country.
Yep and you lived - almost.
@@nledaig NO Surrender. 1690.
Not funny.
Strange fact, I was travelling down layer road in my parents car and drove past that car which was still smoking after the attack, so strangely Mark and myself had probably passed eachother that day
Your nose has grown 20mm.
@@goldieandblackie not really the kind of thing that I would lie about really
@@TheBish187 We only have your word for that which means nothing!
@@goldieandblackie not really worried if you believe me or not to be honest
@@TheBish187 Not really ? So you would lie about it sometimes
Amazing story. Traveled throughout Europe in 1979 and when I had to go home to the U.S. from Heathrow, they made us open our luggage and they searched it thoroughly. There was a huge line waiting to be checked. It was all because of the IRA. I said to myself, "Someday, they will be searching our luggage in the same way in the U.S." It took about 22 years, but is now our reality.
It's a sad reminder that no one is immune to the threat of terrorism, from any source. The atrocity of 9/11 really brought that home to so many, especially anyone who thought they were basically safe.
@@TheCatBilbo 9/11 perhaps got the US to wake up, but between RIA, RAF, ISIS, and the Libyans, we've had our fair share of terrorist attacks in Europe and especially for those of us who grew up with it, know that it can happen again anytime. Sad part is that the damage of the 9/11 attacks could've been far less, if the US airforce didn't have to call up the president to get permission to defend the country
People forget that all through the 70s we had terrorist bombings all over the place, including inside the US capitol building, from left-wing terrorist groups such as the Weather Underground and the Symbionese Liberation Army. Dustin Hoffman's house was blown up by his next door neighbors who were building pipe bombs in their basement and accidentally killed themselves. Terrorism was not new to the US, but in the 1980s we all just decided to pretend it never really happened.
@@thesteelrodent1796 I think one of the hijackers jumped bail or had a warrant for his arrest for non attendance at court. Had the authorities arrested him all this would never have happened.
@@TheCatBilbo "From any source" lol. I hope you're not suggesting what it sounds like you might be. You're not apprehensive about Jainism, presumably.
In 1974, I narrowly missed the pillar box bomb outside Houseman's Bookshop in Caledonian Road, London. I had been distracted for about 30 seconds by a shop window in Pentonville Road, which saved my life. Fortunately, no one was even injured in that explosion.
@@keithwesley2471 such things make you appreciate life a lot more i immagine.
Ironic that Housemans has longed stocked Irish Republican literature
I lived on the Cally and Camden Town for decades, and there has always been Irish tensions there. There was a stash of IRA weapons found at 257 Cally, long ago. Also, Bemerton estate, the non Barnsbury side, was known as Little Belfast with control over crime in the area being contested by the London Irish of the (victorious, until brought down by police) Adams families vs the O'Reillys.
@@yesyesyesyall I lived on the York Way Estate. Always festooned with Union Jacks and England flags for Jubelee parties / World Cups etc. Must have irked the paddies
I remember the Irish planted a bmb in a pillar box in London’s Oxford st WI. My mum a nurse was starting her shift.
What is amazing is that it took 9 years for Andy to collect compensation for his injuries. Shameful.
I agree - it was a long fight. And he never got as much as he wanted.
Why did he have to fight at all?
@@MarkFeltonProductions: Indeed, it was a paltry sum for what he suffered.
Many local soldiers and police officers had to go back and forth from their homes to their duties and were targeted in similar fashion.
Even when driving their kids to school.
Irish Republicans even tried to murder the MP Nigel Dodds when he was visiting his special needs son in hospital.
To think that some people were passing on information about his movements to and from hospital and which room his son was in to facilitate Dodds murder brings a whole new meaning to the word evil.
the british empire brings a whole new meaning to the word evil
Both the US and UK have a long sordid tradition of ignoring the needs of their military personnel.
I'm sure it's been said before, but referring to a violent nationalist revolution as simply 'The Troubles' is the most English thing in the entire world
That's what everyone called it
It’s more of an Irish thing. Ireland called WW2 “the emergency”
Actually, France, my homeland, had a similar episode regarding Algerian Independence. The same expression was used in French. "Les troubles en Algerie". (The Troubles in Algeria).
We're talking here about open civil war, terrorism on a large scale, an a far right military coup, followed by the assassination of French backing populations as France pulled out. And also a close call with an atomic warhead. That the renegade generals almost got their hands on...
A lot of insanity. We are still seeing the results today.
*anti-colonial struggle
Wasn’t an English thing. You claiming that is actually the most english thing f ever.
An interesting story, Dr Mark. My dad and brother worked for the Baltic Exchange in 1992, when the IRA bombed it, killing their colleague and friend, Tom Casey. I later walked through the shattered remains of the building. It is now the site of the "Gherkin".
i was working in safeways at the time, around 4 miles away, we where all in the staff room, and we heard it like it was next to us
@davidrenton It was on a Friday evening, my dad was supposed to go to do overtime the next day, but was turned back. We were sitting in the lovely sunshine in the garden, when we heard Tom was missing. I still remember it clearly. I was 16 at the time.
@@paulyp9163I was working in the City at that time. Very scary, but we somehow managed. I was working at 135 Bishopsgate.
Like the poor soldier here, so many are affected by terrorism - the victims themselves, friends, family, colleagues. It's like a ripple effect & it's easy to forget how many are caught up in it. Even being disrupted, having your business or work affected, plans cancelled - small in comparison, of course.
The Forces & Emergency services, too: dealing with the horror of an attack & the threat of more. Terrorism is an evil but effective weapon.
@@paulyp9163 yep would have been as i worked Friday , Saturday (lol i was 16 as well)
We where towards Stamford Hill and the Supermarket was right next to a Petrol station, the staff room right next to the station
when it went off , some one said did the petrol station next door just blow up, at that point my faith in humanity went down a notch
But it just shows how massive it must have been, as i said about 4 miles away and it was loud
I was at Otterburn with the cadets when the Deal Barracks bomb went off. The camp was put on alert and that night there was a flurry of activity, after somebody reported suspicious activity on the car park. Our intruder turned out to be a sheep.
I remember Otterburn well from when I was a Marine Cadet in the same period. Any chance you were there for the SRMO’s field assessment?
In my experience, sheep have always behaved suspiciously. Outwardly, they look peaceful, but something about their eyes portends evil.
@@callsigncthulhu8579 The IRA did kill in Otterburn did you know that
@@callsigncthulhu8579 There was a Cadet blinded by the IRA at a TA center
@@Jeffybonbon I never heard about that, when did it happen? I was in the cadets in Belfast from the mid 80’s, it was something you didn’t tell people, we never travelled in uniform etc.
The troubles were a horrific chapter between our countries. Thank God you were lucky to escape that explosion Dr Felton. You came dangerously close and the world would have never witnessed your tremendous works.
Love from Ireland 🇮🇪
I’m sorry but as far as I remember there was no war between Ireland and the UK. The troubles were created by a terrorist organization called IRA.
A war is fought between armies - terror is created by coward extremists.
IRA members were no soldiers just cold blooded terrorists.
@@glucausa625he didn’t say there was a war between our countries. He said it was a horrible chapter.
@@noodlyappendage6729 you are right. My apologies.
❤
Great vid thanks. I was in the 1996 Bomb in Manchester. We were moved out of the corn exchange 20 minutes before it went off due to them phoning a warning. The whole city centre had every window blown out over us.
It's a horrible 'game' - warn the authorities with a coded message, but leave them with so little time to act. I remember when the game went wrong: the coded message wasn't passed on & a bomb detonated, killing & injuring.
My friend was a little girl when Manchester happened. She was there with her mum. I interviewed her for a psychology class on terrorism about it.
There is a video on UA-cam captured from CCTV. It shows the moment the truck bomb detonated, it was a huge explosion!
@@paulthomas2178 yeah we were working just 300 metres from it. Incredible how the special police squad came and cleared the whole area within minutes.
We were allowed to collect our stuff a few weeks later but the whole building was condemned and we all lost our jobs.
Was that on a Saturday? My friend, Ian. Was an office .manager in Manchester. He refused his staff overtime. That may have saved many lives!
Good fortune to you sir. I spent a year in Vietnam 68/69, and while there I developed a mental "radar" that to this day is working ANYTIME I am in a public environment. In retirement I enjoy traveling overseas a lot, so this acquired "asset" has not proved debilitating in any way. I live by the creed which I have also taught to my wife, "Anything can happen anywhere at anytime". I don't think this condition rises to the level of PTSD, but maybe I have it and perhaps you do too. I'm sure the events of that day are imprinted in your brain in detailed technicolor and they shall never go away. Keep up the good work and thanks for contributing to my ongoing lifelong education.
Thanks for your service. I'm the same way in public but I think of it as street smarts/common sense. A healthy dose of suspicion towards the actions of others. I've never served but I grew up in the city which exposes you to things most people dont ever think about.
@@pauliewalnuts240 thank you and I completely understand your comment
Situational awareness?
@@colonelkurtz2269 Extreme
I have a friend who served 20+ years that included the 90-91 Gulf War and tours of Afghanistan and Iraq. He said, "Always respect your enemy and your surroundings." He made it through to retirement with no major injuries.
My brother-in-law was the manager of the "Safeway" store in the Manchester Arndale Centre on 15th June 1996. On his rounds he noticed a sudden rush of people outside the front of the store all in the same direction, and wondered what was happening, he ran out to ask a passer by who said she'd heard there had been a bomb alert in the centre. He'd received no police advice or contact, and so tried to liaise with any police nearby but couldn't find any and so then made the decision to evacuate the store immediately, which on a Saturday afternoon would have cost the store fifty plus thousand pounds in takings, and If nothing had happened would also have cost him his job as well.
10 minutes after the store was declared empty a 1½ ton IRA bomb detonated 200 yards from the store and ripped the entire front off the building. Fortunately no one was killed but over 200 were injured. It's almost certain that his decisive actions saved MANY fatalities in the store that day.
Shambles Square was rebuilt with Sinclairs and the Old Wellington relocated brick by brick. I don't think Safeways ever came back after the explosion.
@@andrzejdziadul6022 He received a business award 6 months later in recognition of his actions... awarded to him by none other than "The Krypton Factor's" Gordon Burns, Woohoo!!!
Yes, Safeway eventually was bought up in the UK by Morrisons and disappeared from our streets completely.
The irony is that Andy Mudd had been instrumental in saving the life of Gerry Adams when he'd been shot in the neck outside a Belfast Court in 1984...😮
I didn't know that. Another piece of trivia is that he was originally offered far less compensation for his wounds. To win enough money to sustain an independent life he had to wait until he left the army, sue as a civilian, and pay his own legal costs.
@@ECPBigD the Norn Irony even...
@@eamoc😂 You must be from the same neck of the woods as me originally !
You got there before me..... Andy along with an off duty member of the UDR who was passing by. How dreadfully ironic.
Also the guy who tried to kill Gerry Adams John Gregg was killed in a uda feud in 2003
As a long time viewer and subscriber, it's cool to hear you open up about something so personal. Much appreciated to listen to this life event. Love tour content!
Thanks for this video. My parents moved us to the UK from Australia in 1978 and then the troubles seemed to get a lot worse not long after, I think it was the IRA stepping up against Thatcher in particular. Then, many years later, I happened to be in Manchester one June day and there was a massive evacuation. Some time later, the loudest bang I have ever heard.
Outstanding video. Dr Felton's personal involvement made the story more compelling.
I was living near Halstead, Essex at this time. I was 17, so very aware of The Troubles & we used to live near a Catholic family who'd fled Northern Ireland because of that.
I'd also been in a hotel when the Harrods bomb happened not far away. Parents & younger brother & sister were shopping, but I stayed in the room. I remember watching the news & being terrified that my family might have been affected. A horrible feeling with no mobiles for reassurance!
We went to the theatre a day later. I remember sitting there feeling so worried as there were warnings about possible, further attacks. Terrorism is well named: just the threat is a very powerful message.
My mum used to take us to Harrods and London at Christmas not that year!
Not used to a first-person perspective story from Mark Felton, but appreciated greatly. Thanks for sharing this story with us
I'm a Northern Ireland resident, I was born at the end of the Troubles in 1997 but my family had lived through the conflict in the years prior. Both of my parents were born in the 1960s when the conflict was starting to take off. My mother has a couple of stories of her experiences during the years. One time when she was very young and staying at her grandparents house near the southern border, a group of IRA members in balaclavas forced their way into the house and took them hostage. They locked my mum and the other children in the bathroom and held her grandparents at gunpoint downstairs. They were after her grandfather who was an active British soldier at the time but he wasn't in the house, he had left a while earlier to go hunting and had taken his gun with him, which the IRA were also looking to steal. After two hours he didn't return so the IRA left the house and left my mum and the rest of the occupants unharmed. Another time many years later my mum was in a relationship with a British soldier who was a sentry outside Belfast city but he was sadly the victim of an IRA bombing plot when a bomb planted at the checkpoint he was stationed at exploded killing him.
Even though the Troubles are long over, I found this video very interesting. The Troubles need more recognition and understanding as it was a difficult time for the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Although I live in the US, I have read a lot about the Troubles and they are some of the scariest military stories I've heard about. I've also read books about how the IRA operate and they are the most dangerous terrorists I have ever known anything about. Their ability to strike in an urban environment is what made them dangerous. I did read a book by a British soldier stationed in Belfast and one chapter still left me shocked to this day. He and his army mate were in a hilly area outside the main center of Belfast, looking for suspected members of the Orangemen (a Protestant faction, sometimes also called the Orange Order) when they came across a concrete tunnel used to drain water from the city centre. I think he hadn't gone in yet but the other soldier, for reasons still unknown, simply walked into the drain. A huge explosion knocked him down. He ran to the drain and found: nothing. His mate had been literally destroyed by the IED. It frustrates me that the dumb media tossers still think the IED is a new idea. It has been around for AGES and the IRA used them heavily throughout the entire time of the Troubles.
Wow! I had a very similar experience in December '88 in Leicester when I was 22. I was working as a xmas temp in a shop in town an hour's bus ride from my village. I walked past the Army Recruitment Centre in a hurry to catch my bus.There was a van parked outside. When I arrived home my mum was a nervous wreck and told me they'd heard on the news that the van (that I had walked past) had been blown up by an IRA bomb minutes after my bus had passed by, taking me home. I'd passed it twice! My parents had no idea where I was on that route until I got home.
Finger of God...
Now it’s Mark Felton getting tangled up in history. Who would’ve guessed.
Wow, that was close Mark. I cannot believe that we came that close to not having your videos. All those hours we've all spent watching or falling asleep at night to your videos would be lost forever. Made me think of how I've enjoyed your videos over the years and am grateful.
My Goodness - one of your photos shows the Harrods bombing in Dec 1983. My wife and I were in that store in April 1983 and then returned to our home in California. I was a "news neophyte" at the time and did not learn of the incident until I watched your video. Thank you for offering some retro-persective of our trip.
Wow you had a close call there. Imagine you’d been stuck in the shop for another 8 months!?
In 1981 I lived with a military family in Alton that had just moved there from Northern Ireland. They were so used to getting letter bombs that they would dispose of them in their back garden. Hearing what life life was like in Northern Ireland for them was rather bizarre.
My missus grew up through it all in Belfast. The local areas were like ghettos, people didn't venture far from their home, everyone was known to each other. Strangers stood out like a sore thumb. When I first met her, it took her neighbours six months to even talk to me when I was over visiting from Liverpool.
@@stephensmith4480They needed to find out whether you were Protestant Scouse or Catholic Scouse first.
. I use. Go work. Somtimes. In NI from dublin. I always. Eat. Club sandwiches in my. Royal victory room.
They did not like oursiders.
I was struck by you being 15 in 1989 as I now suddenly feel very, very old. You had a very fortunate escape young man.
I was 23 now I feel old😂
Heh heh, I was 18.
24 here
As for myself, I was 29 in 89. I feel like there's a song there somewhere.
@STR82DVD same here was 29, I was born in Ireland and we moved to the states ( NYC ) in 1971 .
I know this is unrelated, but it's strange how time flies. I don't really remember the last 4 years.
The Pandemic. We're all missing 4 years from our lives and the consequences of it are still playing themselves out.
2020, the year we skipped
All by design, the brainwashing and being locked up has that effect. Like prison inmates. All days blurr into an unrecallable memory
To think how close we came from not having any of your awesome content.
I think they were watching for passerbys and waitied for the right moment to press the button
@@666mrdoctor The bomb was triggered by a position switch, so moving the car is what set it off.
From across the pond, only one word can describe this video. Tragic. Thank you for educating me on true history.
@@DwightGallaway You didn’t get much history in this video. Or context.
8:40 wild story Mark. You were 14 in 89’ and I was 10. Us children in the states were blissfully unaware of what was going on in Britain at that time.
I was on my way to school in 1991 and just before I got to Victoria Station an IRA bomb went off. It's an eerie feeling to hear the huge explosion and feel the ground shake. Luckily for me I was about 200 yards down the road at the time. Some people weren't so lucky.
I was an auxiliary prison officer in the early 1990’s at HMP Long Lartin. We had to check vehicles coming into the Jail and our own at the end of a shift.
Your memory and attention to detail is beyond amazing. I think this technically makes you a 15 year old Veteran Dr. Felton.
I think if you see something like that, it does burn itself on your memory. As with anything horrible.
@@MarkFeltonProductions totally agree, even if you don't suffer it directly; and even if it is not a so tragic event but if it is significant enough.
Something similar happened to me during the ill-fated (and fortunately bloodless) attempted coup d'état in Spain in 1981. I was just 10 years old and I remember almost everything that happened to me that afternoon.
My parents picked me up after school, we went for a large shopping (my Mom was one month away to give birth to my brother) and then they left me in my English class while they went home. At the class, another boy told me "there has been a ballyhoo in the parlament, the Civil Guard has entered there", but for both of us seemed anecdotal, just one weird news. After the class my parents were waiting for me and then it was when I realized that something serious was going on, as the English academy was just three blocks away from home and I was allowed to come and go alone.
@MarkFeltonProductions Traumatic events do have a way of cementing themselves into memory. I was seven years old in second grade when Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. I remember vividly our teacher telling us what happened, leading us in a prayer (catholic school), and then sending us home for the day.
@@MarkFeltonProductionsWell put.
I am a proud nationalist irishman.
I am very glad all this is in the past. No true Nationalist today would support return to conflict.
For as long as Ireland is free
Yeah.......makes me wonder why there are single military age men from Africa and the Middle East in sealed off buildings across the Republic, with 24 hrs private security, and were bussed in by the guards......nearest one to me is 10 mins drive. They've been doing absolutely nothing the last 16 months. It doesn't add up
In 1974 an IRA bomb went off on Park Street, Bristol, just after I had driven past on my way home from visiting the central library for study. When I got home the TV was full of news of what I'd just driven past.
The term "The Troubles" really does diminish what was a very bloody and nasty war perpetrated by all side in the conflict. Thank God that is all now mostly in the past.
Yank spotted.
Literally everyone here in ireland calls it 'The Troubles' as a catch-all term for the conflict. Mark did a good job of stating the facts as they are without getting into the weeds on the broader context.
@@scran7346 I was born in the Bons. I'm from Cork, like. Calling it the troubles diminishes it. Don't you see?
@@dbaider9467 It's literally what everyone called the conflict
That was exactly why it was called The Troubles, an attempt to downplay what was very obviously a war. Both the British State and the Irish state had an interest in downplaying the scale of the conflict.
@@scran7346baaah 🐑 because the media did baaaahhaha 🐑
Mark narrates his own life just as beautifully as he does with his documentaries. Brilliant stuff. Love his voice. It’s one of the only narrators who can get me to focus
I remember this from the news, i was in my first year of highschool. Fascinating history, as always. Thanks Doc.
Thank you for your extraordinary content, Dr. Felton. I look forward to your works, and appreciate the effort and time you put into them so that I may learn history.
You are so right about the bomb threat being 'background clutter'. I worked for Post Office Telephones, later British Telecom in the 1970's and 80's in the City of London. Bomb warnings, bombs and stop and search by the Police were so regular as to be normal. I remember being unable to get home from my girlfriends home in Bow due to the IRA's attempt to blow up a gasometer at Bromley by Bow, just blowing a hole in it. In 1987 I joined Essex Police serving at Southend. The Deal bombing was a big event and must have overshadowed the Colchester bomb as I cannot recall it at all.
Mark, you're a gentleman and a scholar and I love your work. Im glad no harm came to you, and hate that unfortunately , many were harmed and killed. They didnt represent me. Huge respect, from Ireland ☘️
My dad was arrested in Northern Ireland for suspectedly being and IRA spy but to their surprise it was just an Australian tourist
In 1983, when I was 13 years old, I traveled to Britain for the first time. My mother and I took a coach (bus) tour through Ireland as part of our trip. When the bus briefly crossed the border into Northern Ireland, British soldiers, with their long guns, boarded our bus and walked up and down the aisle checking us all out before letting the bus proceed.
My town is a military town as well, the military is very much integrated in daily life, with soldiers in uniform regularly marching or cycling in group through the town. My favorite café is very close the the military acadamy.
It has been in the back of the head that if someone where to take action against my country's military a lot of civilian people would be in the crosshairs too. Makes me appreciate that we have peace in my country, although some people don't seem to understand that or desire less peace it seems.
Glad you came out okay and thanks for sharing the story.
Warm greetings from the Netherlands🇳🇱.
My Granda got knocked over by the blast of a UVF bomb coming home from work in his home estate, he was so close to not being here today.
Thank you as always. Have a nice day Dr.
Living in Warrington where we suffered our own tragic act of violence that sadly took the lives of 2 innocent boys the day before Mother’s Day, I fully understand the feeling to this day that memories of this time can emote when we look back on them. Your piece was beautifully done and extremely informative. Thank you.
I used to live at no. 12 Aisne Road when I was a Paratrooper. You can still see the tarmac is different in one of the parking spaces to this day .
Retired now?
Mark uploads a non WW2 video? Thought I would never see the day 🤣🤣
You mean apart from the several non-WWII videos I've uploaded in the last 2 weeks!
@@MarkFeltonProductions Well of course 😉😉
@@MarkFeltonProductions It's true, sir! What is going on? Ill? Dying? We're worried out here! :D
@@MarkFeltonProductions The Buckingham Palace visit video is a classic...
@@tywinlannister8015 Maybe he's running out of material for WWII videos.
I am of course saying this in the hopes that he will prove me wrong.
Hearing of your background as a boy and a young man, I am assuming this would propel you into learning and teaching history? Your World War II videos are always informative and I have consumed many of them. Thank you Mark for all your expertise in the history that surrounds us all. I’ve never really paid attention to the IRA stuff because it was so far away from me. In the 80s, I was young enough to just live my life with joy…….. nothing of aware of worldly conflicts. Thanks to you, I’ve learned more about World War II than I was ever interested in learning before. Thank you.
Timing IS everything. So glad yours was fortunate and fortunate for all your viewers and fans.
Anyone else think before reading the thumbnail that Mark was gonna tell us about his time in the RA? 😂
I live several miles away from Layer Road and remember this all very well, the Drury Arms pub is now a Sainsbury’s and weirdly, back then, we seemed to take these atrocities for granted as it was going on everywhere up and down the country. Very interesting video and thank goodness it’s no longer happening.
Nice to see, that you have your own story to tell. History forgets nobody. ;)
Thank you Dr Mark Felton for another wonderful video full of information. You never cease to amaze me with the amount of detail information you’re able to provide us. Stay safe. Cheers from Tampa, Fl 🇺🇸
Remind me of ‘In the name of the father’ movie. May God bless you for sharing your history knowledge. I am always grateful to listen to your videos. Starting from the intro classical.
I vaguely remember this, I used to live on Ilex Close, which is just around the corner from Layer road.
You have been absent on my feed for a long while, Mark, and I missed your uploads. Thank you for returning, and what a way you did! Kindly continue. Regards. Mark. London.
When I joined the US Air Force in 1979 it took me several months to get my Top Secret security clearance, it seems the air force OSI found out that in the 1960s my grandmother who is from county Sligo in Ireland was donating money to the IRA. It almost cost me my air force career.
Well, yeah...
Fascinating video. As a life long Colcestrian this brought back vivid memories of that time and those familiar locations. Thank you for the section on Andy Mudd who, despite his terrible injuries, went on to achieve so much. Thank you.
Why SS Mudd had to fight for compensation is staggering. As he was serving his country when injured he should have been taken care of for life. £800,000 is a pittance for what he has had to endure since the bombing.
🙏🏼 THANK YOU dear Mark for always being so objective in your coverage. We need more historians like u 💗
Mark Felton is also making history
Hey, I’m in Berechurch Road and had no idea this happened.
Thanks for the video and education!
I grew up in rural Ireland. This video reminds me of the time that I would be listening to the radio or watching the tv and hearing the news of a kidnapping, a shooting or a bombing and the silence in the room.
I no longer live in Ireland but returned last year to visit County Louth and across the border to County Armagh with my family. It would have been inconceivable to me if you had told me in the 1980s I would be able to do this.
I think this is a major, major point that people do not realise … crossing the border there or even over in Donegal for instance was not to be taken lightly.
The risk of getting shot by a British Para was real ...............
@@bloke755only if the paras were on a tour of duty fs.
7:17 slight errata, 120oz is ~3400g
Very glad to have Dr. Felton and his content here to this day
The thumbnail gives the impression that Mark Felton is the guy in the ski mask with the assault rifle! 😂
Hes ex IRA
Sorry to hear you experienced that. I wonder how it influenced your path in life. Honestly you could throw some WW2 facts in here and I’d believe it. Your channel is my fav! I get “Return to Castle Wolfenstein” 2001) game menu vibes when I hear your channel theme.
Keep up the wonderful work Mark!
🫡
Long ago, a coworker of mine, in San Diego CA, went to buy a car. He said that he dealt with a very interesting salesguy, and about a year later, the same coworker said that he'd just seen that salesman on the news - a member of the IRA who had been hiding in plain sight for some years before being caught.
What was his name?
@@condors1972 From the LA Times, 1992:
Two Irish Republican Army members who broke out of Belfast’s storied Maze Prison in a 1983 mass escape have been captured, one in San Diego and the other in San Francisco, authorities said Thursday.
Kevin Barry John Artt, 33, who had been fired a few days ago from his job as a salesman at a Pacific Beach Ford dealership, was arrested Wednesday as he climbed off his houseboat at a Mission Bay marina, authorities said. He had been serving a life term for killing a prison warden.
James Joseph Smyth, 38, who was serving a 20-year prison term for attempted murder, was arrested Wednesday in San Francisco. Both men were charged with passport fraud, and U.S. authorities said they intend to prosecute them on that charge before turning to the possibility of extradition proceedings.
@@kurtbilinski1723 cheers 👍
Hey Mark! I love your videos. I’m a bit too young to remember this since I was born in 1989
This was so helpful. I was a teen in 1989 as well. The terrorism there was confusing to me. You’ve helped explain the details like what Sentex looks like and what it was like to experience first hand.
Great work always. This is my Mark Felton favourite that I’ll rewatch and share. 🌻
As a life long colchester resident and fan of colchester united this is a story that I've heard of but once again thanks to Mark Felton my knowledge has been widely enhanced due to this video
I wanted to hate the Ira for what they were doing until I read a book by a British journalist who spelled out their reasons for fighting.
I understand their reasons, but hate their methods
Terrorism is NEVER ok. No matter what you are fighting for.
Can you summarize for a young American?
Their reasons for fighting didn't excuse killing women and children and even unborn babies . If they were such brave freedom fighters they should have worn uniforms
Just because you have a “good”reason to fight doesn’t mean you can do such horrible things.
Your intro song became so iconic. I love it, please never chance it.
In college in the late 1970’s, I became engaged to a classmate. Her mother was from Sligo and my fiancé had visited it as well. She told me that the citizens of Sligo were extremely saddened by the assassination of Mountbatten as the family was well liked there. There was a lot of the Irish people that didn’t follow the IRA according to them.
Did they know he liked little boys?
Yup. The IRA were responsible for killing more Irish people than Britons throughout the Troubles. It’s one of the reasons I really don’t like to refer to that period as a “War”. War legitimizes the IRA’s terroristic actions as it puts them on the same level as a state actor. They’re not that, just a bunch of shameless & cruel thugs.
The majority of Irish people don't follow them. Myself included.
@@elflakeador09instead your kind follow the quiet, peaceful English soldiers, who never hurt anyone and only ever wanted the best for Ireland
I think by the 1970s, the IRA had just enough support to continue killing lots of people, while still being dislike to utterly despised by everyone else in Ireland. Sadly, it doesn't take that many people per capita to make a bloody mess.
That’s so scary. I appreciate you sharing your experience.
It wasn't background noise to us living in the North of Ireland Mark. Plenty of kids killed by plastic bullets from British soldiers, British state collusion with Unionist paramilitaries and outright massacres of innocent civilians on both sides.
Glad you weren't hurt Mark, avid watcher of your content but would love to see more content giving context to the oppression and lack of civil liberties which led to the IRA's existence and growth since the 1960s.
“Plastic bullets”? Just tell me, what sort of bullets did the IRA use?
Why were kids in the middle of a riot??? Great parents I guess.
@user-zu6qn9ux9n they weren't as they weren't a national army representing a country. They didn't have a need for crowd dispersal devices, LP2A's or baton rounds.
@user-zu6qn9ux9n Some were shot nowhere near riots. 12 year old Carol Ann Kelly was on her way back from the local shop, for example. Emma Groves was a 51 year old woman shot while sitting in her home.
Look at the evolutions of use of the flash-ball in France and the United States. You can see how the same device is easily used to kill even peaceful protesters.
I'm from Sudbury and used to park/ walk to watch Col U in that area. Do remember the time.
I had a brush with them too ; fella in a mask called me by name , told me to get home or he'd tell m' ma ..... i ran like f@#k
I’m born and bred in colchester, still live here now, love your videos Mark!! Found this very interesting, thank you.
I'm a simple man. I see a Mark Felton video, I watch it. Thank you for making history entertaining for me and others.
Wow. I just read about this one in Michael Palin's diaries. Fascinating to hear your account.
I vividly remember the 1980s. I was a teenager during those years and every Summer like many non British students I used to go to England to study the English language (born and raised in Italy).
I can’t exactly remember what year (1987-1989), I was in a field trip in London and while riding the tube all the trains stopped and we were forced to evacuate due to a bomb alert (IRA).
Although the “Irish cause” had many sympathizers in Italy amongst the left-winger folks and Catholic population, I stand today as I did during those years on the side of those who wore a uniform in the UK armed forces.
The definition: Irish Republican Army is a contradiction in terms. If someone doesn’t wear a uniform and targets civilians and soft targets cannot be called soldier (Army) but a cold blooded terrorist.
Greetings from an Italian man who lives in West Texas.
🇬🇧 🇮🇹 🇺🇸 ❤️
Im Irish i love your channel the world war 2 stuff and now this Irish story definitely my go to favourite channel on utube for the last few years, well done love the smaller things as well like Hitlers capes ect that you post as well. 🇮🇪
Wow! Dr Felton you are more than welcome to narrate my experience as I stood in Farraghut Park at exactly 9:35 am the hijacked plane flew at very low altitude directly over me as I stood in complete catharsis
Hi Mark. I grew up at 39 Boadocea Way, just around the corner from you, but left home in 1984 and was living in Brightlingsea at the time. My friend, Brian Rolf, was one of, of not the first person on the scene. My brother, Keith lived in a house opposite the Drury hotel thst appears in the opening sequence of your video.
I remember the IRA bombing in Roemond in Holland, two Aussies civilians , killed as they had short hair, we used the car park regularly where they bombed their car, as we shopped in the town weekly. The other was the BP garage in Wildenrath, a young corporal and his young child killed as they left the garage, machine gunned by the IRA. I was stationed at RAF Bruggen, we heard a tannoy, opened the front door and a police land rover was driving around quarters warning people to stay on camp. We rang our friends at RAF Wildenrath as soon as we closed the door, they had still not been told. We were issued a telescopic minor and torch to search under the car before you set off. I still have the little white torch, it still works over thirty- four years later.
As an Australian, I remember that two Aussies were killed by the IRA. As a child and being in Australia, I didn’t really know what it was all about but that incident is what sticks in my mind in regards to the IRA bombings.
@@tomnewham1269 Roemond was just over the border in Holland from RAF Bruggen in Germany. At the time British forces private cars still had UK style number plates. Your two countrymen were parked in a cobbled square which depending on the day of the week was either a market or car park. I guess the two IRA murderers mistook them for British forces. There were a lot of British forces bases in the area, and Roemond was a popular town for shopping.
Thank God you had passed that area earlier, by just sheer luck, paths of life can be a strange bedfellow. Always informative, well documented, documentaries. Thank You.
Typical British authorities making a Serviceman fight for compo
I was 19/20 that year. I was in Colchester that day and had just headed back to Clayton where I was at college. Sad day 😢
I'm sorry back during The Troubles, there was a group claiming that they were raising money for families hurt by the Violence. I gave them a donation. Literally a few days later the FBI announced that the money went to The IRA
‘ Irish northern aid’. ( noraid)…. American dollars helped fund the murder campaign in Ulster.
Never apologise, we all get taken in by one way or the other. Stay safe.
@@tankthelord1178 Thank, you
Would that be NORAID? they would collect money saying that it was for victims of the troubles but actually went to the IRA who sent it to Libya in exchange for semtex and AK47s
Outstanding as always, Dr. Felton!!!
But...,
When can we (your loyal fans) expect a deep-dive video exploring Rick's Disco Solutions???
tell me about the belfast bombings carried out by mi6
Read a book?
@@MarkFeltonProductionsWhat about the Americans funding the IRA? Special relationship?
The theme music must be the fatest music I've ever heard. My head keeps moving on its own. It's like heavy metal music. Interesting video.
Today, I learned that Mark is 5 years older than myself.
He has said his age in other videos as well.
So it was not today that I learned that I am 5 years older than Mark.
But not old enough to understand how to convert between imperial and metric units of mass.
Same here, I was 19 that September.
How chilling. I don't think I can say I've come that close to death in my 55 years on this Earth. Dr. Felton, your channel is one of my favorites!
Mark,
What a chilling story to learn about an IRA bombing in Colchester and your close connections.
As a USAF brat living in Felsted and Sible Hedingham from 1955 to 1958, my Dad took us to visit Colchester Castle. He was a crew chief to the squadron (77th FB Sq.) commander's F-100 Super Sabre based at RAF Wethersfield. Today's youth (especially here in the US) have no clue as to the evil that the IRA brought to the UK much less the sacrifices that many endured to fight the cold war... including our (your & mine) families. Especially chilling was to see a flightline of F-100s with a nuclear bomb nestled beneath each one and an armed AP with guard dog posted at each plane.
Sadly, even I had no clue about the IRA bombing in Brighton, another seaside place we visited.
Thanks so.much for your incredible videos.
It was only a tiny fraction of the evil Britain had brought to Ireland.
I just couldn't continue watching the whole video. I have the biggest respect for the channel. I will have to get back to it.❤️
Thank you, Dr. Felton. So thankful the timing of your walk home spared you. I cannot wonder if something like the "Troubles" await the very divided USA. Hatred begats hatred.
Funny you mention USA "troubles." I'm close on to 80 years and I've never seen the hatred and savagery of some Americans today--assaulting and abusing Family, Friends, even dogs. Shameful really. How did it happen?
I sincerely Hope Not.
However I have never believed the official story concerning the destruction of the Alfred P Murrah Building In Oklahoma City on 19th April 1995.
As I have always douted that Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols acted alone.
So in reality have "Blue vs Red Troubles" already commenced.
The Americans are a more peaceable and less difficult race than the irish, difficult as that may be to believe 😉
@@willc1294 Odd that because most Americans are Irish lol
@@Joemamma-c1f 'most'? Maybe in some of the rougher neighborhoods of Boston and NY 😉