It was the persistent sniper activity that led to a detachment of troops being sent out to monitor the housing estate beyond the Main Stand. On the fateful morning, just after 9am, Major Storrey left the stadium to check on the patrol. He had only just returned to active service after being injured and hospitalised in rioting a week earlier. Accompanying him was a Royal Engineer by the name of Craftsman Brian Hope. As they were crossing a small stream that ran behind the houses a bomb exploded, killing Craftsman Hope. When other soldiers arrived they found Major Storrey lying next to the stream, still breathing. He died two hours later in hospital.
The homemade bomb was thought to contain around 35lbs of explosives and had nuts and bolts packed around it. The explosion shattered several windows in the surrounding houses. Some locals discreetly voiced annoyance that the bomb had been left in an area where their children often played.
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| Soldiers amid the rubble of rioting near Casement Park on 6 August 1972 |
36-year-old Major David Anthony Storrey served with the 19th Regiment Royal Artillery. He came from Ascot in Berkshire and was survived by his wife and three children. Craftsman Brian Hope, 20, was affectionately known as 'Bob'. He was a mechanic attached to Major Storrey's regiment.
