Case Studies in Murder II - But will the children growing up learn at their mothers' knees / The story of the soldier who bought their liberty?

The nature of the PIRA campaign was such that often times those they murdered didn’t have a chance to display what would be described as heroism. Shooting an unarmed teacher in the back in a school, a farmer on his tractor or a man making his way to work repeatedly in the back of the head are probably best described as dirty.

I am aware that the act of serving in the security forces during the years of terror took tremendous courage. That said, when you make your way through the catalog of PIRA murders every so often you encounter someone whose bravery stands out. People like RUC man James Hazlett whose story I may return to in a later post. 

On my twitter account and on the blog I try to focus on the many forgotten cases rather than those which many have heard about before. I’m aware that there will be lots of readers who know something of this story but I’m also conscious that it is probably better misremembered than remembered due to the song referenced in the title.

I am also mindful that the account tends to have more detail on the RUC, UDR and civilian murderers rather than those of soldiers from Great Britain. This is because I usually find it much easier to find information about people from Northern Ireland who were murdered.

I hope this blog post will go someway to redressing that imbalance.

Sergeant Michael Willetts GC

Michael Willetts joined the Parachute Regiment in March 1962 at the age of 20. He married Sandra in October 1965 and the couple had two children, aged 3 and 5 when their father was murdered. He proved to be a talented radio operator who was particularly good at Morse Code. After serving in Malta Sergeant Willetts was sent to Northern Ireland in 1971.

On 25th May he called his wife at lunchtime and they talked about their little girl who had started school that day.

Just before 8:30pm an IRA man entered the reception hall of Springfield Road RUC station. He was carrying a briefcase out of which a smoking fuse could be seen. He dumped it on the floor before running out to a waiting car (incidentally such crude bombs where characteristic of the PIRA campaign in the early day with explosive devices not that different from those used by the Fenians in the late 19th century).

In the reception area of the station were Patrick Gray and his daughter Colette, 4, and Elizabeth Cummings and her son Carl, also 4. There were also a number of RUC officers, one of whom spotted the smoking fuse and raised the alarm.

Sergeant Willetts was on duty in the inner hall when he heard the commotion and sent a fellow soldier up to the first floor to warn those working there while he himself headed to reception. He found the police officers ushering the members of the public to safety. 

Patrick Gray describes what Willetts did:

“We all rushed as fast as we could through the enquiry office towards the door at the end of the room. I remember this young Sergeant standing in the door and holding it open for us all. He was very calm and stood there until we had all moved through."

Willetts effectively shielded the civilians and police officers with his own body until they were safely past him and outside and then stood in the doorway, shielding those taking cover when the bomb exploded.

It was a full week and after the funeral until his wife could bring herself to sit down and be told the whole story. In the 2012 book The Paras she is recorded as saying:

“I wasn’t surprised at all because there was no way he would have gone out that door leaving anyone in there. He loved people. His friends and colleagues all spoke highly of him. The presence of the children and their mother made him do what he had to do, which was get them out of there as soon as possible. My own grief eventually moulded with a sense of pride, but also anger that the bombings continued. He was a good example of a good British soldier. The regiment was very proud of his courage.”

One of those serving in the station, Constable Phoenix,  made his way back to where the bomb went off after the explosion. Phoenix became a prominent anti-terrorism detective superintendent and was killed in the Chinook helicopter crash on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994.

Lost Lives quotes from Phoenix, Policing the Shadows:

“Phoenix made his way to the entrance area where he saw Sergeant Willets lying with the back of his head gaping open. A metal chunk from a locker hurled across the room by the force of the explosion had struck him. Local people had gathered outside and began to help clear the debris, offering what assistance they could.

“Ambulances began ferrying the injured to the nearby Royal Victoria Hospital. Lieutenant Colonel Chiswell was with Sergeant Willets, who was taken out on a door to the ambulance. A crowd of youths were waiting to greet them. They started to jeer and scream obscenities at the badly wounded soldiers. Chiswell recalled, “My reaction was one of total disbelief that anyone could be so inhumane”.

"Dying to protect little children was just the sort of thing I would have expected him to do", Sgt Willetts's brother-in-law quoted in a contemporary report which also details the actions of a Republican crowd on the day of the murder

Willets, who was due to leave Northern Ireland in a few days, died after two hours on the operating table.

Three year old Dean Willetts

In June 1971 Michael Willetts’s 3 year old son collected the George Cross posthumously awarded to his father. A news report from the time records that his mother Sandra Willetts said “I have no bitterness towards the Irish. But it hurts to hear them complain about the troops. The Army is just trying to stop innocent people being murdered”.

Michael Willetts was also posthumously awarded Man of the Year in 1971 by RADAR, the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation.

And 1972 folk musician Harvey Andrews recorded “Soldier”. 

The song was never intended to be an account of what happened Willetts. It was inspired by the story rather than being a musical record of what happened. For one thing there is no suggestion that the people saved by Willetts were anything other than enormously grateful for his actions.

Harvey Andrews pictured in 1973

Whatever may be said about the artist’s poetic licence there’s no doubting the power of the song's lyrics and although Andrews was an established and well respected artist the song was banned from the airwaves by the BBC for fear that it would upset Nationalists in Northern Ireland - an odd situation indeed given that Andrews regularly featured on the BBC at the time. 

Andrews recalls:

“When I wrote it, based on the Sgt Willetts incident, the protest song movement was well established. I had no idea the song would become so big. 

“It was banned from broadcasting in Britain and I was not allowed to sing it on “Folk on Two” on BBC radio. Soldiers were not allowed to play it. One has emailed me that he was charged and locked up for a few days. It was sold in the streets in Belfast and was basically number one over there but was never printed as such, I think. It has been bootlegged as well as re-recorded by Protestant bands in Scotland and sold illegally in pubs.

“If I learned anything from all this it is that words and music have an extraordinary power and care must be taken in their use. The CD containing the song, “Writer of Songs”, is still the biggest seller on my website.”

Andrews continues to insist that the song was intended to transcend sectarianism - something which seems reasonable when one actually thinks about the lyrics. 

Not only that but they are words which reflect the general attitude of soldiers from Great Britain quite well. They provided a title for not one but two of Ken Wharton's excellent books about  Operation Banner.

There may even be those who feel that Andrews’s question sounds more pertinent today than it did 46 years ago:

But will the children growing up learn at their mothers' knees

The story of the soldier who bought their liberty

Who used his youthful body as a means towards an end

Who gave his life to those who called him murderer not friend?

Postscript

Michael Willetts has been remembered by his family, friends and local branches of the Parachute Regimental Association in a number of recent services at St Mary's Church, Blidworth, where he is buried.