Bloody Sunday (1972) withdrawn from the Shankill.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 these lyrics, some listeners still considered it to be a rebel song—even one which glorifies the events of the two Bloody Sundays to which the lyrics refer. Commercially, the single had its biggest impact in the Netherlands, where it reached number 3 on the national charts. In the US, the song gained significant album-oriented rock radio airplay, and together with the earlier "New Year's Day" helped expose U2 to a mainstream American rock audience. Critical reception to the song was positive. In the Irish magazine "Hot Press", Liam Mackey wrote that "Sunday Bloody Sunday" "takes the widescreen view...a powerful riff