THE families of British soldiers killed in the IRA's Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings have said their suffering is still acute, 40 years on.
Judith Young Jenkins's husband Jeffrey Young (19) and Mark Tipper's brother Simon Tipper (19) were among four members of the Household Cavalry who died when a car bomb exploded in Hyde Park in central London on July 20 1982.
Keith Powell Jnr's father Keith Powell (24) was one of seven military bandsmen killed when a bomb exploded underneath a bandstand in Regent's Park later that same day.
Mr Tipper, from Bolsover in England, and Ms Young Jenkins, from Gilfach Goch in Wales, will attend a Household Cavalry commemoration in Hyde Park on the 40th anniversary of the bombing tomorrow.
Ms Young Jenkins, who is mother to daughters Louise and Sarah Jane, said the anniversary "triggers a memory in your brain that never goes away".
"It changed our lives," she said.
"Jeff would have been coming up to 60. I have a lot of mixed feelings.
"I was so young. I never sat down with my girls and told them what happened because I never wanted any badness in their lives. In those days you had no one to help you through that bereavement. You just had to get on with your life."
In 2014, Co Donegal man John Downey, who was accused of killing four soldiers in the Hyde Park bombing, was told he would not be prosecuted because he was given a guarantee he would not face trial. The guarantee was part of an "on-the-runs" policy decided by the Labour government following the Good Friday Agreement. In 2019, a High Court judge ruled in a civil case that Downey was an "active participant" in the IRA bombing. The following year, the Young family was awarded £715,000 in damages.
Ms Young Jenkins is a carer for her daughter Sarah Jane who has suffered severe post-traumatic stress after, as a four-year-old, she heard the explosion which killed her father.
"There are mixed feelings for Louise because she has no memories of her dad," Ms Young Jenkins said.
"She was a year and a few months when he died."
She said victims were deeply concerned about the government's Legacy Bill, currently passing through Parliament, which offers a conditional amnesty to those accused of killings and other Troubles-related crimes.
"It's very unfair," she said.
"The law should be the law. I really believe in the justice system. If that happens (the legislation passes) it's making a mockery of our law."
Mr Tipper appealed to the next prime minister to talk directly to victims.
"These people in government, what do they know about the victims really?" he said.
"How much have they read about the Troubles? Why don't they ever approach the victims and ask us about the proposals. It hurts."
Mr Tipper said he was only able to access counselling several years ago, decades after the loss of his younger brother.
"There aren't many who really understand what it's like," he said.
"They don't know the pain and anguish and the fight for justice. It takes its toll."
He said his brother joined the army at a time of severe unemployment in the English midlands.
"He was a really good lad. He had only been married two or three weeks and it was his first duty back off honeymoon," he said.
"I still speak to his bride Louise. I'll see her on Wednesday. He was her first love and she was his first love."
Mr Tipper said families had felt "betrayed by all governments since 1982", including over the on-the-runs policy and the current government's Legacy Bill.
"They said they've apologised to us," he said.
"An apology for me is for the person in Number 10 to look me in the eye, take my hand and say sorry... is there any way we can make this up to you? And I would say 'yes, don't let this happen to any other family ever again."
Mr Powell Jnr's mother was pregnant with him at the time of the attack.
He said his older brother and mother have found it too difficult to articulate the impact of the bombing.
"As a family, our suffering never ends," he said.
He added: "I never knew my father as my mum was pregnant with me when he was taken from us. My brother was seven-years-old and as adults we have spoken of our envy of each other, my brother wanting to feel what I feel since I didn't know our dad and myself wishing I was in my brothers' shoes, because he spent some time with him," he said.
Mr Powell Jnr said his father, born in Rotherham in Yorkshire, was a "likeable, sociable character".
"By all accounts, he was a fantastic musician, incredibly talented and passionate about music," he said.
He said he only has a few photographs of his father, one of his guitars, and newspaper cuttings about the bombing.
"We have never had any real closure or justice," he said.
"We are suffering in many ways and to be frank we have been let down by past and present governments."
The families have all thanked victims' group SEFF for their support.
Kenny Donaldson, SEFF's Director of Services, said tomorrow's commemoration at Hyde Park "will be a challenging day for families of those murdered but also for those who survived but who suffer physical and psychological injuries and issues to this day, we will also be connecting in with others impacted by the coordinated attack on Regent's Park".
SEFF and several victims will meet MPs and peers later today to discuss the government's Legacy Bill, which is opposed by all of the north's main political parties.
"SEFF will continue to fight robustly for the Hyde Park and Regent's Park families, we will also seek to access sufficient resources in order to provide a good quality of service to GB-based victims/survivors," he said.
"Our thoughts are with the families of: Roy Bright; Dennis Daly; Simon Tipper and Jeffrey Young murdered in the Hyde Park attack - all attached to the Household Cavalry and seven soldiers via the Band Stand attack at Regents Park: Graham Barker; John Heritage; Robert Livingstone; George Measure; John McKnight; Keith John Powell and Laurence Smith - all were attached to The Royal Green Jackets Regiment.
"And we remember all others affected; the injured, and the emergency services who arrived to the scene."
