Bloody Sunday victims remembered

Linda Nash, who lost her brother William on Bloody Sunday, leads a protest parade in Derry to mark the 40th anniversary of the killings. Photograph: Paul Faith/PA

Events have been held today to mark the 40th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Derry.

Relatives of the victims attended a memorial service at a monument in Derry’s Bogside.

The majority of the families refused to take part in a subsequent march that retraced the route of the ill-fated demonstration where British paratroopers killed 14 civil rights marchers on January 30th, 1972.

A public inquiry by Lord Saville declared all the victims to be innocent, prompting an apology from British prime minister David Cameron in 2010.

And while many of the families are pressing for the prosecution of the soldiers involved, most of them decided to end the annual march they led for 39 years, arguing they had been vindicated by the Saville findings.

Relatives of those killed and wounded attended the memorial service, where both Protestant and Catholic clergy were involved.

Later, Kate and Linda Nash, whose teenage brother William was killed on Bloody Sunday, opted to continue the march.

Kate Nash said the march should remain an annual event to help lobby for other bereaved families seeking justice.

“I am delighted with the turnout,” she said.

“But even if it had just been myself and my sister, we would still have a right to march. That is democracy.

“We are going to continue to march for prosecutions, but beyond that, this is a unique march and it should continue for all those who are seeking justice.”

Estimates suggested the march attracted more than 1,000 people, but the organisers believed the figure was higher.