Infamous Assassinations TV - The Day Mountbatten Died TV - Lord Mountbatten: Hero or Villain? TV - Crimes that Shook Britain TV -
August 27th 1979 Mullaghmore, Eire: a small fishing boat chugs out of harbour. A few minutes later as it stops to pick up lobster pots a massive explosion shatters the boat. Infamous Assassinations: Lord Mountbatten
Who would want to assassinate a seventy-nine year old? ibid.
The British army is soon seen as siding with the Unionists. ibid.
40 years ago Lord Mountbatten, the great uncle of Prince Charles, was blown up at sea by the IRA at Mullaghmore, off Northern Island. 3 others were killed on the boat including 2 teenage boys. The Day Mountbatten Died, BBC 2019
As viceroy he was the last colonial ruler of India; he was also Admiral of the Fleet, second cousin of the Queen, and mentor to the Prince of Wales. ibid.
Each summer the Mountbattens would take up residence at Classiebawn Castle. ibid.
County Sligo had deep roots in the Republican movement. ibid.
By 1979 the British army had been in Northern Ireland for ten years. Around 30,000 troops were lined up against an estimated 500 IRA volunteers. Yet 324 soldiers had already been killed. ibid.
The IRA planted a remote-controlled fifty-pound bomb on Lord Mountbatten’s boat Shadow V, sitting unguarded in the harbour. ibid.
His [Mike Jackson] fellow Paras had been ambushed at Warrenpoint … ‘18 soldiers had lost their lives.’ ibid.
Lord Louis Mountbatten: the respected war hero. Brutally murdered by the IRA in 1979. But does his public image reflect the man he really was? Known for his military might in World War II, he made some disastrous mistakes that cost the lives of his men. As Viceroy of India he was in charge of independence, but was he to blame for the resulting bloodshed? As self-appointed adviser to Prince Philip, Prince Charles and the Queen, he penetrated the heart of the Royal Family. But his carefully created public image hid a scandalous marriage and sexual exploits. Lord Mountbatten: Hero or Villain? Channel 5 2020
‘He was very impressive and he was a bully. He was very good at getting his own way.’ ibid. historian
‘I’m the most controversial man you can possibly imagine.’ ibid. Mountbatten
‘The shattered and splintered woodwork is mute testament to the severity of the bomb blast.’ ibid. news report
Mountbatten was born in 1900 at the beginning of a century when Britain underwent massive change … A great-grandson of Queen Victoria, they lived in Britain as members of the extended Royal Family. One of four children, Mountbatten, known as Dickie, was the youngest by eight years. ibid.
Cosying up to senior royal would only help in his quest to bring honour back to his family name and avenge his father’s departure as head of the Navy. But his aspirations were very nearly derailed by his marriage and the dysfunctional and scandalous private lives led by him and his wife. ibid.
In October 1939, while in command of HMS Kelly, Mountbatten was given orders to engage with a German battleship and rescue several hundred British seaman: ‘He decided to do things a different way. He always liked going shortcuts. He was impatient. And the result was he that missed the battleship and he also failed to rescue 600 seaman. As a result, they spent the war in a prisoner of war camp. Mountbatten was arrogant. He thought he knew best. ibid.
‘During his command of the Kelly he lost more than 150 men.’ ibid. historian
‘He was shameless really in his ambition and his ruthlessness. And he was very effective.’ ibid.
Far from covering himself in glory, Mountbatten’s actions in extracting Britain from India were to leave a devastating legacy. ibid.
Partition: two days later when the borders were revealed, panic set in. And the full horror of partition was unleashed. In the ensuing weeks, one million people lost their lives, and fifteen million were displaced as people fled across the borders. ibid.
Mountbatten had been engaged in an audacious plot to overthrow the prime minister [Harold Wilson] he was now glad-handling. ibid.
At 11.45 a.m. on the 27th August 1979 a bomb explodes on a small fishing boat in Donegal Bay, County Sligo. Lord Louis Mountbatten is killed. It sends ripples of shock, anger and grief across the globe. Crimes that Shook Britain: The Murder of Lord Mountbatten, Channel 5 2021
The small boat now has fifty pounds of gelignite on board, seventeen inches long, three inches wide and wrapped in plastic. ibid.