In 1974, a number of pubs in Guildford town centre were known to be "army pubs", frequented by military personnel stationed in the area. These included the Horse & Groom on North Street, The Seven Stars in Swan Lane, and the Three Pigeons on the High Street. The
Provisional IRA Army Council had authorised attacks in England at a meeting in 1973, and army pubs were viewed as
soft military targets. detonated at 8.30pm, killing a civilian (Paul Craig), two members of the
Scots Guards (William Forsyth and John Hunter) and two members of the
Women's Royal Army Corps (Privates Ann Hamilton and Caroline Slater). The Seven Stars was evacuated after the first blast, and a second bomb exploded at 9pm while the
pub landlord and his wife were searching the pub. The landlord sustained a fractured skull and his wife a broken leg, and five members of staff and one customer who had just stepped outside received less serious injuries. These attacks were the first in a year-long campaign by an IRA
active service unit who became known as the
Balcombe Street Gang – whom police arrested in December 1975 after the
Balcombe Street siege leading to their trial and conviction for other murders and offences. A similar bomb to those used in Guildford, with the addition of shrapnel, was thrown into the
Kings Arms pub in Woolwich on 7 November 1974. A soldier and a civilian died in that explosion. The Guildford bombings occurred only five days before the
October 1974 United Kingdom general election. As all parties felt obliged to respond to the events, they contributed to the speedy and unchallenged passing of the
Prevention of Terrorism Acts in November 1974. ==The Guildford Four==