Category: Archive Find
The Murder of Martha Campbell, Schoolgirl
Martha Campbell was 13 years old when she was murdered close to her home in West Belfast on 14th May 1972. The murder of Martha Campbell is one of a small number of child killings that lies unclaimed by any organisation. Her family and local witnesses have long believed that the British Army shot Martha, […]
Smoke and Mirrors: The Mysterious Case of Ranger Hammond
In a world of smoke and mirrors, the case of Ranger Hammond is still hazy to this day. The British state kept it deliberately so, although new documents we publish here will help to set the record straight – especially for Ranger Hammond. After the damaging loss of its Four Square Laundry intelligence-gathering operation (never […]
The McGurk’s Bar Bombing: Post-Script
The McGurk’s Bar Bombing: Post-Script is our latest publication. The McGurk’s Bar Bombing: Post-Script features new evidence discovered by Paper Trail manager Ciaran MacAirt whose grandparents were two of the many victims of the atrocity. It is FREE to download. Post-Script features new evidence either missed or buried by historical investigations of the Office of […]
Secret British MoD Files Record MRF’s Failure to Protect Freds
Archive Release: Secret British Ministry of Defence files records the failure of the Military Reaction Force to protect its Freds. Secret British Ministry of Defence (MoD) files discovered by the charity, Paper Trail, document the British state’s failure to protect its own soldiers and agents (or “Freds”) in its covert, extra-legal military unit, the Military […]
New Evidence: The Shooters and Freds of Britain’s Military Reaction Force
Join the discussion on the Shooters and Freds of Britain’s Military Reaction Force via Virtual Féile 2020. Tomorrow (Friday 31st July) at 1pm, Virtual Féile an Phobail 2020 is hosting author and Paper Trail project manager, Ciarán MacAirt, who will be releasing his latest British military archive discoveries relating to Britain’s Military Reaction Force, a […]
Battle of St. Matthew’s 50th Anniversary
The Battle of St. Matthew’s was a pivotal moment in our local history and we have much to learn from it still. The 27/28th June is the 50th anniversary of the battle around the parish church in Short Strand. 3 men were shot dead and over two dozen injured. The local area around Ballymacarrett and […]
Police Failure To Investigate MRF Shootings
Paper Trail published proof from secret British archives that the MRF was guilty of a catalogue of murders and attempted murders of civilians in Belfast 1972. The report followed the failure of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) Legacy Investigation Branch (LIB) to arrest or convict British Army soldiers in the killer gang, the […]
Paper-Trailers with Lyra McKee
Paper-Trailers was first published in 2017. It is particularly poignant today as Paper-Trailers opens with an article by the talented writer, Lyra McKee, who was shot dead by extremists on 18th April 2019. Lyra was a great supporter of Paper Trail and the charity’s work from its inception. She remains a guiding light. We are […]
Casual Collusion and a Tale of Two City Estates
Collusion between state forces and paramilitaries can take many forms. Rarely do we see such casual collusion evidenced in inky black and white, though; and, here, it went to the top. Two incidents. The same British Army Regiment. Just over 24 hours apart and a just a few of hundred yards away from each other. […]
Earliest Recorded MRF Shooting (Thus Far)
Paper Trail is releasing the earliest recorded shooting by Britain’s Military Reaction Force MRF. The MRF shooting is the earliest recorded that we have discovered – this, of course, does not mean that it was the first MRF shooting. It means that, at the moment, it is the earliest recorded shooting that researchers like ourselves […]