Light Infantry Reunited - Northern Ireland History

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"Tommy Stoker" by Ken Wharton

	On July 29, a young soldier, Tommy Stoker, who lived in East Ardsley, the author’s home village was manning an OP in Berwick Road in the Ardoyne area of Belfast. He was a Private in the Light Infantry and had only been with the company in Belfast for 2 days, although he had quickly made some friends there. A comrade in an adjoining room, whilst making some adjustments to his SLR - he was fitting an IWS - accidentally fired one round which hit Tommy in the back. His obituary in the ‘Bugle Sounds’ (Light Infantry) kindly supplied to the author by the Regimental Association reads:

‘Pte. Tommy Stoker died of his wounds in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast on 19^th September, after a courageous struggle of more than a month and a half following his injury on 29^th July, shortly after his arrival in Belfast. He will be deeply missed by the many friends he made in his company during his few months in the battalion. We send our sincere condolences to his parents, Mr and Mrs. Stoker of East Ardsley, Yorkshire.’ Tommy was one of three soldiers killed by the phenomenon known as ‘friendly fire’ in the space of approximately 8 weeks.

The other two were Private Ronald Rowe, 21, from Tommy Stoker’s battalion, killed on the Ardoyne, on August 28 and the first Royal Marine fatality in

Northern Ireland

, Robert Cutting, 18 of 45 Commando. He was shot and killed in a mix up between two Royal Marine patrols on September 3^rd in the New Lodge area. In the same month as Tommy Stoker was wounded, a series of fierce firefights occurred during the day and night of the 14^th, in the Belfast area. Over 6,000 rounds were expended at the end of which, 4 soldiers, 2 innocent civilians and 3 IRA gunmen had been killed. Scores were injured during the exchanges which were widespread over the city.

The range of Army regiments involved is aptly demonstrated by the units to which the dead soldiers belonged to. The four dead soldiers were: Robert Williams-Wynn (14/20 Hussars), Kenneth Cranham (Royal Fusiliers), Peter Heppenstall (RCT) and John Williams (Royal Regiment of

Wales

) The Light Infantry continued to take casualties and 11 days after Tommy Stoker died of his wounds in the RVH, 20 year old Thomas Rudman of the 1^st Battalion was shot and killed by the IRA in the Ardoyne area. Some 12 months or so before this tragedy, his brother John had also been killed by the IRA in the Dungannon area.

The author, by now no longer a serving soldier, had watched, tragically bemused at the mounting toll of dead British soldiers. Although this year’s grim tally would be halved 12 months later and decrease thereafter as the Army’s tactics and eradication of the naivety which typified the first years on the streets, deaths had occurred at a rate of over 2 per week! The IRA – and any other sociopath with a rifle - were shooting soldiers with a seeming impunity; the tragic bemusement became a resigned frustration.