‘Who would want to kill an old man, after all?’ When Lord Mountbatten said these things, he probably had no idea that someone was plotting to kill him. Mountbatten was repeatedly receiving death threats, but despite this he did not take security. The result was that he was assassinated on 27 August 1979. His boat was blown up in the middle of the sea. Then an eyewitness told the New York Times, ‘One minute ago there was a boat there and the next minute it seemed as if a lot of matchsticks were floating on the water.’
Andrew Looney, author of ‘Mountbatten: Their Lives and Loves’, told the BBC that fifty pounds of gelignite exploded. It blew wood, metal, cushions, lifejackets, shoes and everything into the air. Within seconds, there was silence.
He was murdered by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). The Republican Army was formed to drive out the British Army from Northern Ireland.
From Navy Officer to the Last Viceroy of India
When Mountbatten was assassinated, he was 79 years old and had no role in the British army in Northern Ireland. But Mountbatten was an influential person. He was the last Viceroy of India. It was under his supervision that India and Pakistan were divided.
Mountbatten’s identity was not just limited to this. Mountbatten was the great-grandson of Queen Victoria. He was the cousin of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain. During the First World War, his father changed the family name from Battenberg to Mountbatten. This is how he became known as Lord Louis Mountbatten.
Mountbatten played an important role in the First and Second World Wars. He was entrusted with many important responsibilities. It is said that in September 1945, Mountbatten persuaded Japan to surrender. In 1947, when Clement Attlee was the Prime Minister of Britain, he sent Mountbatten to India as the last Viceroy. He was made the last Viceroy of India in March 1947. Mountbatten was responsible for the independence and partition of India. After independence, he was appointed the interim Governor General of India.
After leaving India, Mountbatten returned to the British Navy. Mountbatten retired in 1965. Mountbatten started his career with Britain’s Royal Navy in 1916. After retirement, Mountbatten often used to go to Ireland for holidays with his family.
… that ill-fated morning
It was a Monday, 27 August 1979. Mountbatten was on a ship at Mullaghmore port in north-west Ireland that day. The boat Mountbatten was on was named ‘Shadow V’.
Mountbatten was aboard the Shadow ship and was accompanied by his daughter Patricia, her husband Lord John Brabourne, their 14-year-old twin sons – Timothy and Nicholas, and Lord Brabourne’s mother Doreen Brabourne. Also among them was 15-year-old Paul Maxwell, who worked on the same ship. Mountbatten, Nicholas and Maxwell died instantly. Doreen Brabourne also died the next day. The rest survived the blast.
Mountbatten was an easy target for the Irish Republican Army. Mountbatten was one of the respected members of the royal family. The Republican Army hoped that by killing him, it would persuade Britain to withdraw its army. It would also include Northern Ireland in the Irish Republic. With this hope, a bomb was placed in his boat on the night before 27 August.
The plane blew up after 15 minutes
Mountbatten’s plane left from there at exactly 11:30 am on 27 August. Two fighters of the Republican Army were also keeping an eye on his ship through binoculars.
At exactly 11:45, as their boat approached the Lobster Pots, the Republican Army fighters pressed the button, which activated the bomb. As soon as the button was pressed, fifty pounds of gelignite exploded. Mountbatten, Nicholas and Paul Maxwell died instantly in the blast. Mountbatten’s legs were almost cut off, his clothes were torn and he died a short time later.
Mountbatten’s funeral was held at Westminster Abbey on 5 September. More than 1400 people, including Queen Elizabeth II, were present during this time.
The murder mystery still unsolved?
Mountbatten was on the target of the IRA since the beginning of the 1960s. He was also being repeatedly threatened with death. There was also a failed attempt on his life in 1978. Then a sniper shot at him, but Mountbatten survived.
In March 1979, the Irish National Liberation Army assassinated Northern Ireland’s Shadow Secretary, Airey Neave. Even then, a warning was given that a plot was being hatched to assassinate a member of the royal family. After this, Mountbatten was advised not to visit Northern Ireland that year, which he ignored.
Mountbatten’s ship ‘Shadow V’ was often subjected to security checks and surveillance. However, security was removed a few days before his death. According to a BBC report, in 1979 itself, a former soldier Graham Yuill had claimed that he had seen some IRA fighters near the Shadow V ship. But this claim of Graham Yuill was also ignored and he was sent to Hong Kong.
Questions still arise as to why Mountbatten’s security was not increased despite the alert and intelligence?
According to an article published on BBC History, an Irish prisoner named Patrick Holland claimed that a prisoner named McMahon had told him in jail that Mountbatten was murdered by British Intelligence. Holland was preparing to write a book on the Mountbatten assassination, but one day he was found dead. Not only this, it is also believed that the American agency CIA was behind Mountbatten’s murder.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)