A MILITARY association attended a remembrance service in honour of the victims of an IRA bombing in which a Bolton artilleryman lost his life.

Members of the Royal Artillery Association’s Bolton branch travelled to Hartshead Services, in Yorkshire, to pay their respects to those who died/

A coach carrying soldiers and family members was blow up on the M62, near Halifax on February 4, 1974.

A memorial to the victims stands at Hartshead Moor Services, about a mile from where the bomb exploded.

Among those who lost their lives in the bombing was Bolton artilleryman Bombardier Terence Griffin, who served with the 4th Light Regiment of the Royal Artillery from the age of 17. The 24-year-old was on his way to his base at Catterick after spending leave at his parents’ home in Cartmell CrescentTonge Moor.

The 12 victims also included Corporal Clifford Haughton, his wife Linda and their two sons five-year-old Lee and Robert, aged two.

John Edwards, president of the Royal Artillery Association’s Bolton branch, said: “One of the lads who gave a speech who was actually on the coach was crying. You could feel the sense of horror, you can understand it, you could feel the tension in his voice.” And Steve Lythgoe, also a member of the association, added: “It is emotional but it’s the fact it’s keeping it alive.”