Derek Wilford
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant Colonel
Derek Wilford, OBE
, was the British Army
officer commanding the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in Derry
, Northern Ireland
on Bloody Sunday
in 1972.
Col Wilford was exonerated by the Widgery tribunal. On 3 October 1972 he was appointed OBE
. However, the Saville Inquiry, many years later, determined that Wilford had expressly disobeyed an order from a superior officer, Brigadier Pat MacLellan, who prohibited Wilford from sending troops into the Bogside. The Saville inquiry found that MacLellan was not to blame for the shootings.
Lieutenant Colonel Wilford left the Army a decade later. In 2000, he was living outside the United Kingdom. According to the Derry Journal
, as of 2010, Wilford has been living in Belgium
for a number of years with his wife.
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Derek Wilford, OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, was the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer commanding the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
on Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday
-Events :* Bloody Sunday , a demonstration in London, England against British repression in Ireland* Bloody Sunday , a day of high casualties in the Second Boer War, South Africa...
in 1972.
Col Wilford was exonerated by the Widgery tribunal. On 3 October 1972 he was appointed OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. However, the Saville Inquiry, many years later, determined that Wilford had expressly disobeyed an order from a superior officer, Brigadier Pat MacLellan, who prohibited Wilford from sending troops into the Bogside. The Saville inquiry found that MacLellan was not to blame for the shootings.
Lieutenant Colonel Wilford left the Army a decade later. In 2000, he was living outside the United Kingdom. According to the Derry Journal
Derry Journal
The Derry Journal is a newspaper based in Derry, Northern Ireland, serving County Londonderry as well as County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. It is operated by a Johnston Press holding company entitled Derry Journal Newspapers. The paper is published on Tuesday and Friday and is a sister...
, as of 2010, Wilford has been living in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
for a number of years with his wife.