Daughter of injured woman tells of fleeing from advancing troops

The inquiry heard evidence from Ms Helen Deery, whose late mother, Margaret ("Peggy") Deery, was the only woman shot (and severely…

The inquiry heard evidence from Ms Helen Deery, whose late mother, Margaret ("Peggy") Deery, was the only woman shot (and severely injured) on Bloody Sunday.

Mrs Peggy Deery was aged 38 on Bloody Sunday and was a widow with 14 children. Ms Helen Deery said she herself was aged 13 at the time, and was caught up, with her mother, in a crowd fleeing along a laneway away from the advancing soldiers. Her mother pushed her ahead and told her to run to her granny's house.

Her mother had talked a lot about Bloody Sunday afterwards and had said she would never forget the face of the red-haired soldier who had shot her in the leg at close range.

"After he had shot her he had cocked his gun (again) and she had said that she was a widow with 14 wee ones. He had then put his head down and walked away," Ms Deery said.

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Her mother had also told her that a youth who had helped to carry her to a house in Chamberlain Street was Michael Kelly, who was shot dead a little while later.

The witness Mr William Harley yesterday corrected what he said was an error in his written sworn statement, in which he had stated that his recollection was of a civilian gunman firing pistol shots before soldiers fired.

He said that the incident involving the civilian gunman was exactly as he had described it, but the timing was completely wrong. He was now satisfied that the body of Jackie Duddy, shot by the soldiers, was already on the ground before the gunman appeared.

He said the reason his thinking as to the time had been confused was because there had been no soldiers anywhere near the gunman when he fired.