Bloody Sunday (1972) withdrawn from the Shankill. At the end of 1972, Lt Col Wilford, who was directly in charge of the soldiers involved in Bloody Sunday, was awarded the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1992, John Major, writing to John Hume stated: "The Government made clear in 1974 that those who were killed on 'Bloody Sunday' should be regarded as innocent of any allegation that they were shot whilst handling firearms or explosives". In 2007, General (then Captain) Sir Mike Jackson, adjutant of 1 Para on Bloody Sunday, said: "I have no doubt that innocent people were
Sunday Bloody Sunday as one of the Top 20 Political Songs, and similarly, "Time" named it one of the Top 10 Protest Songs. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" has been performed more than 600 times by U2. It was first heard by a live audience in December 1982 in Glasgow, Scotland, on a twenty-one show "Pre-War Tour." The band were particularly nervous about playing the song in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Introducing the song there at the Maysfield Leisure Centre, Bono stated "It's not a rebel song.", attempted to further clarify this point by reciting the entire second verse ("Broken bottles under children's feet ..."), and