Balcombe Street Gang
The Balcombe Street Gang was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) active service unit (ASU) (also known as the Balcombe Street Four or the Balcombe Street Unit) who carried out a bombing campaign in southern England in the mid-1970s. The majority of their attacks and attempted attacks took place in London and the rest in Surrey, Hampshire and Wiltshire. Between October 1974 and December 1975 they carried out approximately 40 bomb and gun attacks in and around London, sometimes attacking the same targets twice. The unit would sometimes carry out two or more attacks in one day; on 27 January 1975 they placed seven time bombs in London. On 25 November 1974, they carried out three bomb attacks in the centre of London injuring 20 people. They were eventually caught during the Balcombe Street siege in December 1975, thus ending their 15-month bombing campaign in England. They have been described as "the most violent, ruthless and highly-trained unit ever sent to Britain by the Provisional IRA". Active members The members of the Balcombe Street Gang's ASU were Hugh Doherty, Joseph O'Connell, Eddie Butler and Harry Duggan (these four were captured at the Balcombe Street Siege). Liam Quinn (a US-born member) and Brendan Dowd were also active within the unit. O'Connell and fellow ASU member Dowd flew from Shannon Airport, County Clare, to Heathrow in early August 1974, under the pretence of looking for work in London. O'Connell, as the bomb-maker of the group, was responsible for making the first devices the ASU detonated in their campaign, during the Guildford pub bombings on 5 October 1974. This was the beginning of a wide range of attacks O'Connell was involved in. They varied from the bombing of the Kings Arms, Woolwich, to throwing hand bombs in Sir Edward Heath's club and the murder of an insurance broker. Background The Balcombe Street Unit was possibly the most effective IRA unit ever to carry out a bombing campaign in England. They had a focus on London (in particular the West End of London) where they targeted pubs, clubs and restaurants with bombings and shootings. They attacked several of their targets twice. Within the space of nineteen days they had planted their first six explosive devices, two in Guildford on 5 October, another two in Seymour Street and St. James's Square on the 11th, another at St James's Square on the 22nd and one in Harrow on the 24th. In spring 1973, the IRA extended its bombing campaign to England, attacking military and symbolically important targets. The aim was to both increase pressure on the British government by swaying popular British opinion, with the goal of British withdrawal from Northern Ireland. It began on 8 March 1973 when an 11-person ASU (which included Irish republicans such as the Price Sisters and Gerry Kelly) bombed the Old Bailey. Despite warnings, one person died of a heart attack and about 200 were injured, some seriously. The IRA always believed that one bomb in England was worth about