HET Review Summary Report into the death of William Francis ...

een at least some conversation between the two of them, but he
could not remember what it would have been about. He said that
especially in Londonderry around that time, full concentration was
required when manning an observation post and many of his
colleagues did not like to engage in conversation unless it was
absolutely necessary.
• He said he does remember soldier ‘A’ saying something about a
group of men at the road junction and then suddenly shouting ‘man
with rifle’. Immediately after that he heard a single shot and
realised that his colleague had fired it. He added that soldier ‘A’
did not shout a warning before opening fire. Soldier ‘A’ then told
him he had fired at a man who had had a rifle. He has no
recollection at all of what soldier ‘A’ did or might have said straight
after the shooting. He looked in the direction of the traffic island
and could see someone on the ground, but could not see a weapon.
He then focussed his attention to the area of the housing estate
because it was not unusual to be attacked from two or more
locations simultaneously. At the same time he ‘radioed in’ and
reported that his colleague had discharged a shot. Very soon
after, additional soldiers arrived in the sanger and (he thinks) both
he and soldier ‘A’ were replaced.
• At no time did he shout, or hear anyone else shout anything such as
“Hurray, we’ve got one”. In fact he said he was not aware of anyone
shouting anything after the shooting.
• After the shooting he was spoken to by one of his superior officers
who had asked him what had happened. He recalls being
interviewed by the SIB but cannot remember whether it was on
the same day as the shooting or where the interview took place. He
does not know who his interviewer was or what questions he was
asked but does remember showing him his SLR to prove that he
had not discharged a shot. He thinks he and soldier ‘A’ were
interviewed separately. He said that the majority of the soldiers
did not particularly like the SIB, and that they were regarded as
bullies.
• He added that the only time he saw soldier ‘A’ was on the night of
the shooting. He never knew his name.
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