Doctor 'saw no nail bombs on Bloody Sunday victim'
An army doctor who twice examined a Bloody Sunday victim allegedly found with nail bombs in his clothing told the Saville Inquiry he did not see any devices on the body.
Captain 138, a former medical officer in the Royal Anglian Regiment, who pronounced 17-year-old Gerald Donaghy dead, said it would have been extraordinary if he had not seen the nail bombs during his examination.
Mr Donaghy, a member of the IRA’s youth wing, was photographed later with four nail bombs poking out of his jacket and trouser pockets.
His family have always maintained his innocence, claiming they were planted by members of the security forces.
The inquiry is investigating the events of January 30, 1972, when 13 civilians were shot dead in the Bogside area of Derry during a civil rights march.
The medical officer said he was sent to the regimental aid post on Craigavon Bridge to attend to the teenager, shot in the stomach in the Abbey Park area of the Bogside.
Last week the soldier who drove the car containing Mr Donaghy to the aid post said he would not have driven the vehicle if there had been nail bombs on the body.
In a statement given in 1972, Captain 138 said he had never seen a nail bomb but added that he did not see any bulky objects in his coat pockets or trousers.
He told the inquiry: “What I meant by this is that on the second examination I would have noticed something bulky sticking out of the trouser pocket had there been anything there but I do not recall seeing anything.
“I would have noticed something in his trousers but I can be less certain regarding the jacket as that area was not the focus of my examination.
“It, however, would have been extraordinary if I had not seen nail bombs.”
The medical officer said he has been shown photographs of Mr Donaghy’s body, which appear to show a device sticking out of his trousers.
“I have seen the object in the pocket which appears to be white or light grey and has a sticking out bit coming out of the end. I did not notice such an object/explosive device on the body.”
He added: “I think it highly unlikely that the object shown in the photographs was on the body I examined, as if it was there, I would have probably noticed it.”
