Kingsmills survivor dedicates honour to families of men killed in the massacre

Q Radio News/PA

The sole survivor of the Kingsmills massacre has dedicated his New Year honour to the families of the 10 men killed in the 1976 attack.

Alan Black was made an MBE for services to the community in south Armagh in the latest Queen’s honours list.

Reacting to the recognition, Mr Black said, when initially informed, he was dumbfounded and assumed it was a prank.

But he said, after verifying it and reflecting, he decided he wanted to accept for all those who supported him over the years.

“I did my bit for community relations but so many people helped me along the way and the people who supported me down through the years, some very tough years, and I’m going to dedicate to them and the Kingsmills families, I am going to accept it on their behalf,” he said.

Alan Black speaking to Q Radio

“There were some great people around me … religion never came into it with me, I don’t care where they go on a Sunday or if they go anywhere. 

“I accept it on their behalf.” 

Kingsmills survivor Alan Black has received an MBE in the New Year Honours, for services to the community in south Armagh.

He's dedicating the award to families of the 10 men who lost their lives in the 1976 massacre.

We hear from Alan and other NI recipients on air tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/fdlemhKmQu

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) December 30, 2020

Mr Black was shot 18 times in the hail of bullets that killed 10 of his work colleagues on the outskirts of the south Armagh village of Kingsmills.

The IRA was widely blamed for what has become known as the Kingsmills massacre.

The factory workers were ambushed as they travelled along the Whitecross to Bessbrook road in rural south Armagh on January 5, 1976 in an attack seen as a reprisal for a series of loyalist killings in the same area in the days beforehand.

The men’s minibus was stopped by a man waving a red light and those on board were asked their religion by a camouflaged gunman with an English accent. 

The workers had initially mistaken the man for a soldier.

The only Catholic workman was ordered to run away.

The scene of the gun attack in County Armagh.

The killers, who had been hidden in the hedges, ordered the remaining 11 Protestant men to line up outside the van and then opened fire.

Mr Black was the only survivor.

Three years later, he went on to set up a cross community football youth club is home village of Bessbrook in 1979.

“It wasn’t to get the communities together, it was to keep them together because Bessbrook was always integrated and had good community relations,” he said.

“Well, we started off with one team and we ended up with nine, there are nine at the moment.”