Mum – Hot. All at school – P went just to have photo taken. P went YH in N Wales (starting Colwyn Bay) with Helen Jones, Eliz Cowell & Laura Holman. Felt rather low all day. Took car in to garage & they checked the noise – think it is a wheel trim.
Roger – A fairly interesting day at school today. During PE we decided what PE we would do. I hope to be able to go sailing. Both Simon and Michael are having parties this weekend I think. This evening watched tele while Alan went to Boys’ Brigade. Tricia went on holiday today. The Queen has asked for clemency for the mercenaries. Israel freed the hostages held in Uganda in a dramatic raid.
Notes
A Note on the Weather
Mum noted that it was hot. She had noted that it was hot or very hot for most of June and July. This is not surprising as 1976, is well-known for having had a very hot and dry summer, see Chapter 129.
School
Mum noted that we were all at school, see Chapter 118. This was relatively unusual at that time as my older sister Tricia (P for Patricia) and I had been taking external exams so had only been going into school when we had exams. Mum noted that Tricia only went in to have her photograph taken.
I thought we had had a fairly interesting day at school. I was doing an induction course for sixth form. Presumably, we had to do PE as part of general studies but we were given some say in what we did. I hoped to do sailing but I suspect this was probably unrealistic. As far as I can recall, this never happened at least not through school.
Youth Hostelling in North Wales
Mum noted that my older sister Tricia (P for Patricia) started a youth hostelling (YH) holiday in North Wales with three school friends, Helen Jones, Elizabeth Cowell and Laura Holman, see Chapter 122. I noted that Tricia went on holiday.
Like me, Tricia, had been on youth hostelling holidays in the Peak District with my dad in the late sixties, see Chapter 92, and in Cornwall with both parents in 1972, see Chapter 106. In the late seventies, she went on a number of youth hostelling holidays with friends including in 1975, 1976 and 1977. In 1975, she went to the Peak District with Laura, Helen and Margaret East. The following year, in 1977, she went youth hostelling in Europe with friends from university including future husband, Angus Carrick.
Hostel in Colwyn Bay
The Colwyn Bay youth hostel was known as Foxhill. It opened in 1954 and closed in 1996, replaced by a hostel in Conwy which still operates. A detailed profile of the hostels in Colwyn Bay and Conwy was compiled by John Martin in 2020. At the time Tricia went there, the wardens were Derrick and Margaret Brown who were wardens there for 20 years from 1973 to 1992. Apparently, when the youth hostel closed, buildings were repurposed for residential use with the name Foxhill retained.
Feeling Low
Mum struggled with her mental health, particularly depression and anxiety, during this period, see Chapter 116. On this occasion, mum noted feeling rather low all day.
Car Noise
Mum took the car to the garage. She was concerned about a noise it was making but they thought it was just a wheel trim, see Chapter 127. At this time, mum had a Simca that she and dad had bought in February 1972 before they split up, see Chapter 110. There had been quite a number of problems with the car over previous months.
Parties
I noted that I thought two of my friends, Michael and Simon, were having parties the coming weekend, see Chapter 122. I am not sure if Michael referred to Michael Grey as I usually referred to him by his nickname. Also, he was probably my closer friend so I would probably have gone to his party but I did not. Instead, I went to Simon Hook’s party.
TV
In the evening, I watched TV but did not specify what I watched, see Chapter 122.
Boys’ Brigade
Alan refers to my brother. He went out to Boys’ Brigade, see Chapter 124.
Clemency
I noted that Queen Elizabeth II had asked for clemency for the mercenaries who had been captured in Angola, see Chapter 129.
I had previously noted their trial earlier in June. This is now referred to as the Luanda trial involving 14 Western mercenaries, of whom nine were British, four American and one Irish. They had been fighting for the US-backed National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). They were captured by forces of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and were charged with acting as mercenaries, war crimes and crimes against peace.
The trial lasted from 11 to 16 June. All were found guilty with sentences delivered on 28 June 1976. I had noted in my diary that four were given death sentences while the remainder received prison sentences of between 16 and 30 years. There had been other pleas for clemency including from Prime Minister James Callaghan, the International Committee of Jurists and a number of British MPs.
However, the four who were given death sentences, Britons Costas Georgiou (Tony Callan), Andrew Gordon McKenzie and John Derek Baker, and American Daniel Francis Gearhart, were executed on 10 July 1976. Following negotiations by the respective governments, the remaining prisoners were released between 1982 and 1984.
Entebbe Hijacking
I also noted that Israel had freed hostages being held in Uganda in what I described as a dramatic raid. A few days earlier, an Air France flight between Tel Aviv and Paris was hijacked during a stopover in Athens by two members of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine – External Operations (PFLP-EO) and two members of the German group Revolutionäre Zellen (RZ). They diverted the flight to Libya and then to Entebbe in Uganda where they were joined by three other hijackers and where they received support from the then Ugandan leader Idi Amin.
I had previously noted that the hijackers were demanding the release of 53 “Arab” prisoners. Most were held in Israel but I noted there were some in other countries including Kenya and Switzerland. News reports confirm that other prisoners whose release was demanded were in Germany and France. Over the last few days, most of the non-Israeli hostages had been released. This left the hijackers holding 94, mostly Israeli, passengers and 12 air crew.
On 3 July 1976, Israel launched a mission to rescue the hostages. Almost all the hostages (102) were rescued although three were killed. Jean-Jacques Maimoni was killed by Israeli forces when they mistakenly identified him as a hijacker. Others killed include Pasco Cohen and Ida Borochovitch. One, Dora Blotch, was left in Uganda as she had been taken to hospital. She was later murdered by Ugandan forces. One Israeli commando, Yonatan Netanyahu, was killed and a further five were wounded. All the hijackers were killed as were 45 Ugandan soldiers, see Chapter 129.