Kings Arms, Woolwich

The Kings Arms is a public house in Woolwich, London that was bombed in 1974 and is now a landmark on the route of the London Marathon.

Standing at 1 Frances Street by Woolwich Dockyard, it was built in the nineteenth century. In the 1881 census it is listed as the Kings Arms Hotel.

A bomb made of 6 lb of gelignite with the addition of shrapnel was thrown through the window into the bar on 7 November 1974. Two people were killed in the explosion; Gunner Richard Dunne (aged 42), of the Royal Artillery and Alan Horsley (aged 20), a sales clerk. 28 people, including the landlady, Margaret Nash, were injured.

Responsibility for this bombing was subsequently claimed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and specifically by part of the Active Service Unit apprehended at the Balcombe Street Siege. Some of the Guildford Four were wrongfully charged with involvement in this bombing.^[1] In 1981 it became one of the pubs on the route of the London Marathon.

References

Coordinates: 51°29′15″N 0°03′22″E / 51.4874°N 0.0561°E / 51.4874; 0.0561