Middleton remembers RUC men Peter Gilgunn and David Montgomery on 53rd anniversary of murders - video Dailymotion

Middleton remembers RUC men Peter Gilgunn and David Montgomery on 53rd anniversary of murders

Transcript

00:00Today I rise to mark 53 years since the senseless and brutal murders of Sergeant Peter Gilgun and

00:08Constable David Montgomery. Two men much loved by their families, their friends and the wider

00:13community. Two men serving the community in the most fearful of times. Two men outdoing their job,

00:21their lives stolen forever, never to return home. Constable David Montgomery, aged just 20,

00:28and Sergeant Peter Gilgun, a husband and a father of an eight-month-old baby son,

00:33were killed in the line of duty at 8.30am on this very day, the 27th of January, 1972.

00:41These were the first two police officers to be murdered in Londonderry during the Troubles.

00:48Peter and David were driving along the Craigen Road in Londonderry when they were shot and

00:53murdered by vile criminals, who showed no care or concern for human life. The murders of these

01:02two RUC officers by IRA terrorists marked a first in Londonderry, but sadly many more murders

01:09and life-altering physical and mental injuries would be inflicted in the remaining years of

01:15the Troubles. Towards those who put on the uniform, we went out to protect our communities

01:21from those who sought to destroy it. Their car came under fire by a number of gunmen

01:27as they travelled along the road. One gunman fired from an alleyway and two other gunmen opened fire

01:3440 yards away. During the attack, another police officer was wounded and two other colleagues

01:40escaped injury, no doubt carrying the trauma of this terrible atrocity with them for all of their

01:46days. According to an RUC spokesperson at the time, the two officers did not have a chance

01:53to return fire. The driver of the car managed to accelerate to the RUC station despite his car

02:00being hit 17 times. Today, my thoughts and prayers are with all those innocent people

02:07impacted and all those who continue to mourn their passing today and every day. We must not

02:13forget their names or their stories, who they were to their families and the fact that they

02:20were innocent. Their stories may not receive the coverage of others, but we must remember them.

02:26They will not be forgotten.