On November 21, 1974, two pubs in central Birmingham, the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town were bombed just before 8:30pm in the evening. Ten people were killed at the Mulberry Bush and another eleven at the Tavern in the Town. A total of 162 people were injured across both sites – and a third device at another location failed to detonate, or else the number of casualties would have been higher still.
Within days, six men were arrested on suspicion of the bombings, which were widely blamed on the IRA. The men – Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker – were charged with the bombings, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. All the convictions were later over-turned, amid charges being laid against police officers and prison guards for their conduct regarding the men. The Birmingham Six were innocent.
