Provisional Irish Republican Army, British Army, William Crothers, Ulster Defence Association, Ulsterbus

Bloody Friday is the name given to the bombings by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Belfast on 21 July 1972. Twenty-two bombs exploded in the space of eighty minutes, killing nine people (including two British soldiers) and injuring 130.At 2:48 pm Oxford Street Bus Depot, Oxford Street, a car-bomb exploded outside the Ulsterbus depot on Oxford Street, the busiest bus station in Northern Ireland. The consequent explosion resulted in the greatest loss of life and the greatest number of casualties. Some of the victims' bodies were torn into pieces by the blast, which led authorities to give an initial estimate of 11 deaths.[10] The area was being cleared but was still crowded when the bomb exploded. Two British Army soldiers, Stephen Cooper (19) and Philip Price (27), were close to the car bomb at the moment of detonation and died instantly. Three Protestant civilians who worked for Ulsterbus were killed: William Crothers (15), Thomas Killops (39) and Jackie Gibson (45). One other Protestant Ulsterbus employee, who was a member of the Ulster Defence Association, was also killed in the blast: William Irvine (18).[11] Close to 40 people were injured.