Service to remember M62 coach bomb victims

Unveiling of the M62 Coach Bombing memorial at Hartshead Moor Services..Maureen Norton the sister of Terence Griffin, who was killed in the bombing pictured by the memorial..1st September 2013....Picture By Simon Hulme

A memorial service to mark the 42nd anniversary of the M62 coach bomb that killed 12 people will be held at Hartshead Moor service station.

On Monday February 4, 1974, a 50lb IRA bomb ripped through the coach carrying service personnel, their wives and families along the M62 between Birstall and Birkenshaw, reducing the vehicle to a twisted heap of metal.

Twelve people - nine soldiers and three civillians - were killed by the bomb, which consisted of 25 pounds (11 kg) of high explosive hidden in a luggage locker on the coach.

Hartshead Moor was used as a first aid station for those wounded in the blast and has since become the focal point for those wishing to honour those killed and injured.

In 2009 a permanent memorial was created outside the service station and each year it hosts a service to mark the anniversary.

The Mayor of Calderdale Councillor Lisa Lambert will be attending the event on Sunday at 10.15am at the motorway services.