Aldwych bus bombing


The Aldwych bus bombing occurred on 18 February 1996 when an improvised explosive device being carried by Irish republican Edward O'Brien detonated prematurely on a number 171 bus in Aldwych, in the West End of London. The 2 kg semtex bomb detonated as he sat near the door of the bus.
The bomb killed O'Brien instantly and injured people both inside and outside the bus, including the driver, Bob Newitt, who became permanently deaf. The victims were brought to St Thomas's Hospital and University College Hospital. Three of them were in two cars in front of the bus at the time. The blast could be heard from 5 miles away. Police said they received no warning about the bomb. The incident also forced the closure of Charing Cross railway station.

Background

The bus bombing came just nine days after the Docklands bombing in east London, which marked the end of the IRA's ceasefire and the resumption of its armed campaign in England. On 16 February, an IRA bomb planted in a telephone box on Charing Cross Road, near Leicester Square tube station, was destroyed by a police remote controlled robot after a telephone warning.

Investigation

It was initially reported by some media that three people were killed, but it then became clear that only one, the perpetrator, had died.
A subsequent police search of the London address of Edward O'Brien, a Provisional IRA member, discovered 15 kg of semtex, 20 timers, 4 detonators and ammunition for a 9 mm Walther revolver, along with an incendiary device. The Walther pistol was discovered on him after his death. The police said they were also almost certain that O'Brien was the person who planted the telephone box bomb three days before the bus bombing.
Another Irishman, Brendan Woolhead, who was in the area at the time of the explosion and suffered a fractured skull, was briefly suspected and accused of involvement. His name was cleared and he subsequently won around £200,000 in damages for libel. Woolhead died in October 1996 due to drug detoxification treatment for addiction to heroin.

Bus

The destroyed bus was a Leyland Titan double-decker bus - fleet number T990, registration WLT 990, originally registered as A990 SYE in 1984 - operated by London Central and travelling its route from Catford to Holborn. The bus had travelled across Waterloo Bridge and just passed Somerset House and the Strand intersection when the explosion happened.