DEFIANT IRISHMEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 May 1939, Page 7

DEFIANT IRISHMEN

LONG TERM SENTENCES IN BRITAIN HAMMERSMITH EXPLOSION OUTRAGE. REFUSAL TO PLEAD. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyrighi (Received This Day, 9.5 a.m.) LONDON, May 3. Without retiring the jury returned a verdict of guilty in the Hammersmith Bridge explosion case. William Browne was sentenced to ten years’ and Edward Connel to twenty years’ penal Both accused described themselves as soldiers of the Irish Republican Army and refused to plead. Browne declared that he had no regrets. He came to England, he said, for the reason every Irishman came, namely to break the Anglo-Eire connection and added that he would endeavour to do the same thing again whatever was the length of his sentence. Connel said: “Whether it means prison or death I will stand by the 1.R.A.” William Browne, a barman, and Edward John Connel, a salesman, both of whom are 22 years old, were charged with maliciously causing an explosion on Hammersmith Bridge liable, to endanger life and seriously damaging property. The outrage occurred on March 29, when two time bombs exploded on the bridge, damaging the centre of the structure. A man walking on the bridge picked up a box from which he heard crackles. He threw it into the river, the box exploding before touching the water. As the man left the bridge a second explosion occurred on the othei’ footpath. Over a hundred windows were broken in the vicinity of the bridge.