He went on to serve in Northern Ireland as adjutant to 1st Battalion , The Parachute Regiment ( 1 PARA ) , and was present at the events of Bloody Sunday , 30 January 1972 , when 14 protesters were shot dead by soldiers from 1 PARA in Derry . He was in the tactical headquarters of the Army 's operation to contain the protests immediately before the shooting began and he accompanied the battalion commander , Derek Wilford , when Wilford decided to join the soldiers on the ground . The shooting was over by the time Jackson reached the soldiers ' position , but he recalls seeing several bodies in the back of an Army vehicle . In 1976 , he was promoted to major and attended the Staff College , Camberley , before being posted to Germany as chief of staff to the Berlin Infantry Brigade . After Berlin , Jackson served his second tour of duty in Northern Ireland , this time as a company commander . While there , he witnessed the aftermath of the 1979 Warrenpoint ambush , the British Army 's single largest loss of life during The Troubles . He acted as the incident commander , arriving on the scene shortly after the second explosion , and had to identify Major Peter Fursman , a close friend , from the remains of Fursman 's face , which had been blown clear of his skull . He later spoke of the effect the incident had on him , saying , " It greatly disturbed me . Still does " . He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( MBE ) in the 1979 Queen 's Birthday Honours and was mentioned in despatches in 1981 , in recognition of his service in Northern Ireland
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1972)
Mike Jackson (British Army officer)