Billboard pleads people to take part in Birmingham pub bombings' minute silence

  • Julie Hambleton has been reaching out to people all across Birmingham to raise awareness of the bombings

Campaigners are urging to people to stand in silence in the memory of the 21 people who were killed in the Birmingham pub bombings 50 years ago.

Julie Hambleton and Maurice Malone have been putting billboards up across Birmingham promoting the silence at 2pm on Thursday 21 November.

Ms Hambleton told ITV News Central: "Out of 50 years, what is 60 seconds to remember an act of the worst kind of humanity whilst we celebrate the very best of humanity in its aftermath."

Called 5t0p for a minute, the billboard commemorates the 50th anniversary while providing a brief description of what happened.

For Ms Hambleton, the events of November 21 1974 will never leave her mind. It's the night she lost her sister Maxine.

21 people died in the two bombings in 1974

Families of the victims have long campaigned to bring those behind the bombings to justice, alongside calls for a public inquiry.

But this campaign isn’t about those calls, it’s about remembering those who lost their lives and thanking those who responded on the night.

The campaign has been organised by the Birmingham Irish Association as a way of ensuring the events of that night are never forgotten.

Julie Hambleton's sister was one of the 21 people who died

On the anniversary a remembrance service will take place at the tree memorial at New Street Station.

Those unable to go are encouraged to join commemorations by observing a silence wherever they are.

On November 21 1974 two bombs exploded in two city centre pubs, both in short succession of one another, subsequently injuring a further 182 people.

The twin blasts tore through the Tavern in the Town and Mulberry Bush pubs on November 21, 1974.

A third bomb failed to go off and was recovered, but later lost, by West Midlands Police.

Six Irishmen – Hugh Callaghan, Paddy Hill, Gerry Hunter, John Walker, Richard McIlkenny and Billy Power – were wrongly convicted over the attacks and jailed for life in 1975, but were freed in 1991 after the Court of Appeal ruled their convictions were unsafe.

Six Irishmen – Hugh Callaghan, Paddy Hill, Gerry Hunter, John Walker, Richard McIlkenny and Billy Power – were wrongly convicted. Credit: PA Images

West Midlands Police lost a court appeal in 2020 to force the journalist Chris Mullin to hand over source material from the 1980s which was said to contain a confession from the true perpetrator of the crimes.

The Guardian reported that in a letter to the victims’ families, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it did not have sufficient evidence to identify who made the confession to Mr Mullin and that it was unlikely that a new court order compelling him to reveal the source would be granted.

In 2023, a police re-investigation into the Birmingham pub bombings which killed 21 people will not lead to criminal charges, due to insufficient evidence.

The CPS said it could not bring charges despite a “thorough and careful” review of evidence related to the 1974 bombings.

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