Operation Mulberry Deaths - Manchester, UK - Specific Veteran Memorials on Waymarking.com

Philips park which opened in 1846, was one of the first public parks in Manchester. It was named after one of Manchester's first Members of Parliament who campaigned for the creation of the park.

The stone lies flat on the ground at the rear of the park's visitor centre at the south western park entrance.

Operation Burberry - 1 R IRISH firefighting in Manchester.

"On 14 November 1977, the Fire Brigade’s Union in the UK began a national strike, demanding a 30% increase in pay and a 40-hour week. Initially there was widespread public support for the firemen. Under Operation BURBERRY, troops were deployed to provide emergency cover using 1950s vintage Bedford RLHZ Self Propelled Pumping tenders, colloquially known as Green Goddesses. The 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Rangers deployed to Manchester on 1 December 1977 and provided emergency fire cover until the end of the month. On 6 December 1977, Rangers Charles George McLaughlin and Hugh Thompson were killed while responding to an emergency call when their Green Goddess overturned and crashed into a garage forecourt on the Oldham Road, Newton Heath. The emergency was later recorded as a false alarm. The deaths of Rangers McLaughlin and Thompson were instrumental in turning public opinion against the firemen. The Sun newspaper warned that the deaths ‘should serve notice on the striking firemen that public sympathy for them is fast running out’. The accident also focused attention on the safety of the vehicles and The Daily Mail newspaper quoted a senior fire officer who, comparing a Goddess with a modern appliance, stated that a Green Goddess had worse road holding, inferior brakes and steering, and that there was a greater likelihood of it rolling over. There was also a review of the strike debated in the House of Lords on 8 February 1978 and to read comments by Colonel Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, please click here

On 13 August 2006, after a long campaign and fundraising by former Royal Irish Ranger Gerry McNeilly, a memorial to Rangers McLaughlin and Thompson was erected at the entrance to Manchester's Philips Park. The Deputy Lord Mayor told more than 200 people attending the ceremony: 'They went beyond the call of duty and lost their lives, not in a far away country but here, defending the people of Manchester. Manchester has not forgotten. On behalf of the city we recognise the sacrifice they made and offer our heartfelt thanks'." here

Sadly the carved inscription has suffered from the weather and is now hard to read.

IN PROUD REMEMBRANCE OF
RANGER HUGH THOMPSON
AND
RANGER CHARLES McLAUGHLIN
LOST THEIR LIVES ON FIRE FIGHTING DUTIES
OPERATION BURBERRY
MANCHESTER
6th DECEMBER 1977
REMEMBERED BY THE OFFICERS AND MEN
OF
THE ROYAL IRISH RANGERS
27th (INISKILLING) 83rd & 87th
FAUGH A BALLACH

Website pertaining to the memorial: [Web Link] List if there are any visiting hours: dawn to dusk Entrance fees (if it applies): None Type of memorial: Plaque

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