A loss of discipline among members of the Parachute Regiment contributed to the killings on Bloody Sunday, a former sergeant major in the Paratroopers told the Saville Inquiry today.
Company Sgt Maj Lewis, who was responsible for discipline of soldiers in Support Company, said in his statement that the army had nothing to be proud of about the events of the day.
"I do feel (and did at the time feel) an element of personal responsibility for what happened on Bloody Sunday. It is up to the individual soldier and their commanders to decide when and if to fire," he said.
The inquiry which is sitting at Central Hall in Westminster, is investigating the events of January 30th, 1972, when 13 civilians were shot dead by members of the Parachute Regiment during a civil rights march in the Bogside area of Derry.
Sgt Maj Lewis, giving evidence on the 373rd day of the inquiry, said many soldiers were sympathetic to the aims of the civil rights people but there was a feeling of enthusiasm that they could come face to face with the IRA.
"The general briefing on the march was that when it ended the rougher elements might have a go at the security forces. There was an implication, a general feeling in the briefing that we should not be surprised if shots were fired at us."
He told the inquiry that before they moved into the Bogside, he saw a corporal from mortar platoon cocking his weapon.
"It was contrary to the yellow card [the standing instructions for soldiers in Northern Ireland as to when they can open fire] and I marked him - in other words I decided to have a word with him when we got back to barracks but ultimately I never did."
After getting out of his vehicle in Rossville Street, he said he heard two high velocity shots which he believed were being fired at troops. He then saw another soldier, a corporal, aiming his rifle at Rossville Flats.
"I went up to him and I asked him what he was aiming at. He told me that he could see a gunman on a balcony. I stood behind him, placed my hand on his shoulder and looked up the barrel of his rifle. On a balcony, there were people moving around but I could not identify a weapon or gunman," he said.
PA