Kingsmill massacre: Sole survivor tells inquest teenage victim 'cried for his mother'

A teenager injured during a sectarian IRA massacre cried for his mother as he lay waiting to die, the sole survivor has told an inquest into the 1976 Kingsmill massacre.

A new inquest was set up to look into the deaths of 10 Protestant workmen who were killed at a Co Armagh roadside by the IRA in 1976.

Alan Black told the inquest that a gunman then stood over teenager Robert Chambers and shot him in the face, blowing his head off.

Mr Black said: "Robert Chambers - my last memory was him lying on the ground calling for his mother.

The bullet riddled minibus near Whitecross in South Armagh where 10 Protestant workmen were shot dead by the IRA. Credit: PA Archive

  • What was the Kingsmill massacre?

The Kingsmill massacre refers to the fatal shootings of ten workmen in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles.

The textile factory workers were ambushed as they travelled along a road in the village of Kingsmill on 5 January 1976.

The minibus they were travelling in had been stopped and the men were asked what religion they were before being ordered to line-up by armed men.

The only Catholic was told to go.

The rest of the men were then shot.

The attack was allegedly in reprisal for earlier loyalist killings.

Father-of-three Mr Black was shot several times, but survived.

The 10 men who died were John Bryans, Robert Chambers, Reginald Chapman, Walter Chapman, Robert Freeburn, Joseph Lemmon, John McConville, James McWhirter, Robert Samuel Walker and Kenneth Worton.

Kingsmill survivor Alan Black has said the shootings should never be forgotten. Credit: PA Wire

Mr Black told the hearing at Belfast Coroner's Court that the water from the rain running down the road splashed in his face as he lay badly injured.

Mr Black told the inquest that people were "screaming in pain".

More than five weeks have been set inside for the coroner's inquiry into the shootings.