jmm@bonnie.UUCP (Joe Mcghee) (10/13/84)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Francis Rowntree, age 11, was the son of Francis and Teresa Rowntree of Lower Clonard Street, Belfast. On April 20, 1972 he was struck in the head by what appeared to be a rubber bullet which was fired at him outside of his home by the Royal Anglican Regiment of the British Army. This was the same regiment which 3 years later killed Stephen Geddis, age 10, at the same location. However it was later determined that soldiers of this regiment had "doctored" or modified the rubber bullets they were using to make them more lethal. The local Member of Parliament, Mr. Paddy Devlin, stated on April 24th: "I have investigated the case and have accounts of two eyewitnesses who were with him when he was shot from a rubber bullet gun by a torch battery." (flashlight battery) "The rubber bullet is hacked in half and the torch battery replaced the missing half." Mr. Devlin said he had an additional statement from a resident of Leeson Street who had claimed he was hit by a number of rubber bullets doctored in the same way with flashlight batteries and was knocked unconscious while passing thru the same area. He received severe injuries which were consistent with being hit with very hard objects. Francis died on April 23, 1972 at the Royal Victoria Hospital. An open verdict was returned at the inquest. A young friend who was with Francis Rowntree described what happened: STATEMENT: (Name and address withheld) aged 14. Pupil at St. Peter's Secondary School.: "Frank and I had just come out of the Divis Flats." (housing complex) "We approached the corner of Whitehall Pall. As we rounded the corner we could see the back end of a Sarasen (armored car) sitting jutting out from the corner. Frank walked straight out down the wee path to reach the Falls Road. The next thing I heard a bang. Frank fell backward, his feet sticking out at the corner. As the bang came I noticed splinters; this object, whatever it was, disintegrated. I think it was a battery because the stuff looked like the black carbon that is inside a battery. There was no rubber bullet around that we could have seen. I was slightly behind and as the bang rang out I stepped backwards. I thought he was shot. Someone shouted 'That wee lad is hit'. Another lad came over to me and I lifted him under the shoulders and he lifted his feet and we carried him back along the path and into Mrs. Kennedy's house. Signed: Witnessed: Daniel Finnegan Date: 25th April, 1972 Statement taken by the Association for Legal Justice. The account of Mrs. Mary Kennedy, Divis Flats, Belfast: On Thursday, April 20th, about 3:45 pm two of my children came in and said there had been a wee boy injured down at the front of the flats. I went down the stairs and asked two older boys to bring him up to the flat. They carried him up and put him on the settee. He was unconscious all the time. He was bleeding from the mouth. There was a great big dent across his forehead as if the bone was broken at the side of his temple; it appeared to me as if his forehead had collapsed. There was a deep dent at the side of his eye leading down to his ear. His ear was enlarged and very discoloured, almost black. His hair was scalped from his hair line at the back of his ear right round to the back of his head. There was not much blood from the wounds on his head, he was not cut very much - more crushed there. All the blood was coming from his mouth, bright red and gushing and gurgling in his throat. He seemed to have difficulty in breathing because of the gurgling and I set up with my body and commenced to massage hie lungs at the back to get some of the blood out of his throat. We tried to find his pulse and rubbed his chest. He seemed to become a little easier then but did not regain consciousness. I asked the wee boys that brought him up what had happened to him; they said that he had been standing at the shop (Jones) just at the corner of Divis Towers and the soldiers were passing by in a Saracen with a rubber bullet gun pointing out of the window but when they fired it was a battery that hit the child. I sent these boys straight down again to look for this battery, but the shooting was still going on and it was impossible for them to get back there to recover it. But they did pick up the half of the rubber bullet and gave it to me. It had clearly been cut in two. I had heard of a person being injured with a battery last week but I took no notice of this, until I saw the injuries that this child had received. Up to the present time I had seen a good number of children who had been struck with rubber bullets but none of them had injuries like this boy. I inquired of the wee boys how the soldiers managed to fire batteries from the rubber bullet guns and they explained that the bullet is cut in half, a battery is inserted in the cartridge first, the pointed half of the rubber bullet is then put in. When the gun is fired the impression is given of a rubber bullet being shot out but in fact two missiles are ejected and the battery is more lethal being heavier and would travel at a faster speed. In my opinion this explanation is consistent with the boy's head. Father McCabe from St. Peter's came into the flat while we were attempting first aid on the boy; he looked at him, then shook his head and administered the last rites." Statement made by John Colin Griffin, Oldpark Avenue, Belfast. Age 33 years. Occupation: Youth Leader at Divis Flats. "On the afternoon of Thursday 20th April, 1972, I was called to Mrs. Kennedy's house in Divis Flats. There was news that someone had been hurt and that I could, perhaps, get an ambulance in. I reached the flat. Inside was a boy lying unconscious on the settee. He appeared to be in very bad shape. There was blood coming from his ears and nose and even appeared to be seeping either from or into his eyes. At first his head appeared to have caved in, his front left side temple and side of his head. He appeared to have been scalped along the left side of his head and skin seemed to be missing. As I watched his head started to swell. I wanted to take him in my car right away to the hospital but one of the ladies present said it would be too dangerous to move him. The swelling of the head was a dreadful thing. It did not appear to be swelling evenly, almost unevenly in bumps. This all happened in front of our eyes. I ran out to get Dr. Lenfesty in Divis Street. When I got there the girl who works in the office said there was nothing he do, it would be pointless for him to go round. I insisted that he be asked to come as it was so obvious we could not help and he was dying. The best she could do was phone an ambulance. By the time I got back to Divis Flats the shooting was still going on. An ambulance arrived shortly as I arrived back to Mrs. Kennedy's. I brought the crew to Mrs. Kennedy's house. When we got there Fr. McCabe was already inside and had administered the Last Rites. The ambulance crew took the child down to put him into it. A Saracen came just before the boy was put into the ambulance and stopped about 20 yards from the ambulance. I screamed at them to stop as the child was being carried to the ambulance. When the ambulance went away I went looking for witnesses. There was one boy who was close to the boy Rowntree and when I heard his name as having been beside the child I went to look for him. He told me he was standing very close to Rowntree when he was hit. He said the rubber bullet was fired at a distance of between 3 to 6 feet. I know this boy personally and see no reason why he should lie about this especially as this was just immediately after the whole thing happened. As a youth leader in Divis Flats I have seen innumerable people hit with rubber bullets but never did I see anyone as badly injured as young Rowntree." Signed: J. Colin Griffin Witnessed: Elizabeth F. Murray Dated: 11th May, 1972 Statement taken by the Association for Legal Justice.