SAD PRIVILEGE FOR COP WHO TOOK COMMAND
Sad privilege' for cop who took command
By LARA BRADLEY
THE RUC man who took command after the heart of Omagh was ripped out by a terrorist bomb described the MBE he received in the New Year's Honours List as a "sad privilege".
Sgt Philip Marshall directed emergency services to the sickening scene and calmly coordinated rescue efforts. He stayed there for five hours and only left the carnage with the last of the dead.
"The horror will never leave me nor will it leave my colleagues. We have to live with that, but there are people living with a lot worse and they have not received any awards. I just hope more people will be recognised for what they did in the next honours list," he said.
It took time for the magnitude of the horror to hit home with Sgt Marshall but he returned to work after just a short break.
He said: "I was the one with the stripes on my arm so I had to just get on with it. There were about a dozen police officers there at the time but a huge number of people did great work away from the scene and afterwards with the bereaved families. I see this award as a pat on the back for all the emergency services who did sterling work in the town."
Sgt Marshall joined the RUC at the age of 19 and has always served in Tyrone and Fermanagh. He has been a sergeant in Omagh since 1996 and made the town his home when he married a local girl. The couple have three children.
He said: "I was shocked to get the MBE. It is a great honour for myself and for my family but my wife and I knew a lot of the people who were killed and a lot who were injured so we are very sensitive to the pain that so many in the town are still suffering."
A statement from the RUC said: "It was his calm and confident leadership skills which were tested to the extreme and had undoubtedly saved further loss of life.
It added: "Sergeant Marshall displayed an exemplary degree of professionalism and compassion when faced with a harrowing scene of carnage."
A doctor and a council administrator who played key roles in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity were also honoured.
Dr Clive Russell was one of the medics in charge at the town's Tyrone County Hospital where a majority of the 370 victims were treated in the aftermath of the August 15 outrage which claimed the lives of 29 men, women and children.
Mr John McKinney, clerk and chief executive of Omagh District Council, took administrative control to deal with the crisis which shocked the world.
Both were awarded the OBE.
By LARA BRADLEY
THE RUC man who took command after the heart of Omagh was ripped out by a terrorist bomb described the MBE he received in the New Year's Honours List as a "sad privilege".
Sgt Philip Marshall directed emergency services to the sickening scene and calmly coordinated rescue efforts. He stayed there for five hours and only left the carnage with the last of the dead.
"The horror will never leave me nor will it leave my colleagues. We have to live with that, but there are people living with a lot worse and they have not received any awards. I just hope more people will be recognised for what they did in the next honours list," he said.
It took time for the magnitude of the horror to hit home with Sgt Marshall but he returned to work after just a short break.
He said: "I was the one with the stripes on my arm so I had to just get on with it. There were about a dozen police officers there at the time but a huge number of people did great work away from the scene and afterwards with the bereaved families. I see this award as a pat on the back for all the emergency services who did sterling work in the town."
Sgt Marshall joined the RUC at the age of 19 and has always served in Tyrone and Fermanagh. He has been a sergeant in Omagh since 1996 and made the town his home when he married a local girl. The couple have three children.
He said: "I was shocked to get the MBE. It is a great honour for myself and for my family but my wife and I knew a lot of the people who were killed and a lot who were injured so we are very sensitive to the pain that so many in the town are still suffering."
A statement from the RUC said: "It was his calm and confident leadership skills which were tested to the extreme and had undoubtedly saved further loss of life.
It added: "Sergeant Marshall displayed an exemplary degree of professionalism and compassion when faced with a harrowing scene of carnage."
A doctor and a council administrator who played key roles in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity were also honoured.
Dr Clive Russell was one of the medics in charge at the town's Tyrone County Hospital where a majority of the 370 victims were treated in the aftermath of the August 15 outrage which claimed the lives of 29 men, women and children.
Mr John McKinney, clerk and chief executive of Omagh District Council, took administrative control to deal with the crisis which shocked the world.
Both were awarded the OBE.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/161
Published Date: 31-Dec-98
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