Claudy bombing 50 years on: ‘My father – he could not take the strain of raising a son to age 16 only to see him die’

William Watson Temple was aged just 16 when he died following the blast at the Beaufort Hotel on July 31, 1972.

His brother, David Temple, has vowed to continue seeking justice for what happened until the day he dies.

“There are people who know about who is responsible for Claudy,” he said.

“The politicians – they always talk about it but they never seem to admit what they know.

“To me, justice means that at least when I go to heaven I will know that I tried my best for wee Billy, for all the people of Claudy, for all the victims in the Troubles. I want to keep fighting for them.”

He also reflected on the pain endured by the family following the bombing.

“It was hard to take,” he said. “We didn’t know why this had come upon us, because we liked both sides of the community and we were a well-respected family in and around Donemana.

“As time went on, we had a lot of grieving and a big funeral with many people calling at our home. Our own friends called, Roman Catholic people called, clergymen called, politicians called – everybody called. But they couldn’t bring William back.

“The next thing then was my father couldn’t take the strain of rearing a son ‘til he was 16-years-of-age, and at 16-years-of-age he was taken away from him.

“He couldn’t take it any more and he died after a short illness.”