The victims of the M62 coach bombing by the IRA which took place 49 years ago this week have been commemorated in a ceremony attended by Mark Eastwood MP.
A moving service held at Hartshead Moor services - close to where the atrocity took place - was attended by veterans, local cadets and service personnel, family members of the victims and local people wishing to pay their respects to the
The coach was targeted during a railway strike in February 1974 when coaches were specially commissioned to transport Army and Royal Air Force personnel and their families to and from bases in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire. Shortly after midnight, as most of those aboard were sleeping and when the bus was travelling between junctions 26 and 27 of the M62, the bomb—concealed within a suitcase or similar parcel inside the coach's luggage compartment—exploded.
12 people were killed and 38 were injured in the tragedy, comprising both service personnel and dependent family members.
Further commemorations are planned for 2024, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the bombing.
