British Army officer and first posthumous recipient of the Military Cross
Captain Herbert Richard Westmacott MC (11 January 1952 – 2 May 1980) was a British Army officer who became the first person to be awarded a posthumous Military Cross. As an officer of the Grenadier Guards (2nd Battalion)[1] on extra regimental employment to the Special Air Service (SAS), he died in an encounter with the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
He was in command of an eight-man plainclothes SAS patrol that had been alerted by the Royal Ulster Constabulary that IRA gunmen had taken over a house on Antrim Road, Belfast.[2] A car carrying three SAS men went to the rear of the house, and another car carrying five SAS men went to the front of the house.[3] As the SAS arrived at the front of the house the IRA unit, nicknamed the "M60 gang", opened fire from a window with an M60 machine gun, hitting Westmacott in the head and shoulder and killing him instantly.[3] The remaining SAS men at the front returned fire but were forced to withdraw.[2][3] One member of the IRA team was apprehended by the SAS at the rear of the house while preparing the unit's escape in a transit van. The other three IRA members remained inside the house.[4] More members of the security forces were deployed to the scene, and after a brief siege the remaining members of the IRA unit surrendered.[2][5]
After his death Westmacott was posthumously awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in Northern Ireland during the period 1 February to 30 April 1980.[6] He is buried in the churchyard of St Michael's, Up Marden, West Sussex.[citation needed]
His cousin is Sir Peter Westmacott, a British ambassador who facilitated the first meeting between Gerry Adams and Sir Patrick Mayhew.[7]
Several men, including Angelo Fusco, Paul Magee and Joe Doherty, were convicted in absentia of murder in June 1981 by the Northern Ireland authorities after they escaped from custody.[5][8][9]
References
