As the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Pub Bombings approaches, many will take a moment to reflect on how the events of that tragic night have shaped the city. I'm here in the city centre to ask people across Birmingham about their thoughts on the lasting legacy of the bombings.
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00:00I think it was a very shocking thing that happened, I mean I was probably only a teenager when it did occur.
00:08But I know that these sort of things do have a very lasting effect on people,
00:12and how important it is for the families to feel that they have got justice.
00:17I was in Birmingham at the time, and one of the pubs, it was downstairs wasn't it?
00:24I'd never been in there till a week before the pub bombings, it's the only time I ever went in it.
00:29And so when the bombings happened, I just thought Christ how awful it must have been,
00:36you know it's obvious to have been in there, because it was such a cramped kind of place, and anyway.
00:43It's not something that I know a lot about, when did you say it took place?
00:4750 years ago.
00:4850 years ago, so it's still fairly recent history really isn't it?
00:52So yeah, I would say on the basis that it's unsolved and it's probably irrelevant still to people who
00:57may be alive today, then yeah I would say it would be worth investigating.
01:02I wasn't here then, I was in Canada.
01:04I heard about it, and I believe they've been fighting for justice ever since.
01:09I don't know the ins and outs of it, but 50 years ago, there's still not any satisfactory answers,
01:16it's not good enough I think.
01:20The Birmingham pub bombings took place on November the 21st 1974,
01:24when two bombs exploded in city centre pubs,
01:27climbing the lives of 21 people and injuring over 180 others.
01:32The attack, one of the deadliest in British history, has left a deep and lasting scar on the city.
01:38Despite decades of legal battles, the full truth behind the bombings remains elusive,
01:43with calls for justice continuing to echo through the years.
01:47As Birmingham approaches the 50th anniversary, many are reflecting on the impact of that night,
01:52and how it has affected the families of the victims, survivors and the wider community.