Talk:Robert Ford (British Army officer)

Murderer?
Indeed a murderer having ordered the shooting of unarmed civil rights protesters on Jan. 20 1972. His orders were in direct violation of the yellow card rules in place at that time71.83.109.253 (talk) 14:12, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Noted but this statement is unsourced and non-compliant with WP:NPOV. Dormskirk (talk) 20:37, 2 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Also 'Bloody Sunday' was 30 January, not 20 January, and Ford gave no such order. The order for which he is to blame was bringing 1 Para to Derry in the first place despite their abysmal reputation. ('Hooligans in uniform' as the CO 2nd Green Jackets called them after the Magilligan incident. Some sources say 'Thugs in uniform.') The earlier 'Ford memo' about shooting ringleaders -- a hangover from colonial policing which wasn't remotely appropriate -- in fact suggested issuing picked marksmen with .22 rifles and shooting the supposed ringleaders of riots in the legs, to wound rather than kill. This was quite batty and was not taken up. It doesn't really have anything to do with Bloody Sunday except in relation to the insensitive mentality which led Ford to call for the services of Lt-Col Wilford's already notorious battalion. Khamba Tendal (talk) 18:12, 3 November 2019 (UTC)