Claudy bomb survivor: How could you ever forget the graphic sights?

Mrs Hamilton, who along with her late husband owned the Beaufort Hotel in the village where one of the three bombs was planted, later went on to pursue a career in politics with the Ulster Unionist Party.

The former Deputy Mayor of Derry City Council described her memories of what happened when the first bomb exploded on Main Street: “Suddenly, we heard a loud explosion and everyone rushed out and up the street to see what had happened. Very soon, people became aware that it was a bomb. The sight we saw was an atrocity. People had blood streaming down their faces.

“A lady who had been filling petrol at the pump was on fire. People were still on the pavement. Children were calling for help, calling for their mothers. Someone noticed a van outside the post office with wires attached, and we realised it was another bomb so we were ordered down the street – not aware that we were walking into the path of another bomb outside the Beaufort.”

It was the blast outside her hotel that resulted in serious injury for Mrs Hamilton.

She said: “How can anyone ever forget the graphic sights? One minute you are talking to someone and the next they are gone forever.

“Ernie and I had the feeling of our bodies being sucked in, and feeling as if you were going to burst. Our legs were cut and bodies were embedded with shrapnel. I had three operations for the lacerations on my leg and to remove shrapnel. I still suffer to this day because the shrapnel is too deeply embedded.

“We both suffered all our lives.”

She added: “These memories and feelings never leave you. It is so hard to talk about it. We had lost our business and our home, and worst of all, some very good, lifelong friends. But we want the world to know what life in the Troubles was like.”

Mrs Hamilton has vowed to continue to seek justice, saying: “Others can get justice but it seems that Claudy does not matter. No-one would stand up and tell the truth. I will keep on fighting for I owe it to all the innocent people to get justice. We deserve the same as others.”