William Fleming

William Fleming (1965 – 6 December 1984) was a Provisional IRA volunteer who was killed in action during the Troubles while attempting to assassinate an Ulster Defence Regiment member.

Events of 6 December 1984

In December 1984, the SAS received a tipoff that an IRA operation to kill an Ulster Defence Regiment member was to take place on 6 December at the Gransha Hospital in Derry. When an SAS unit was dispatched, the two IRA members sent to kill the target, one of whom was William Fleming, were spotted approaching the hospital on a motorbike, both of them armed. The SAS then opened fire, hitting Fleming 60 times, before ramming the motorbike and shooting the other man as he lay on the floor.

Trivia

• Just four days earlier, Fleming's cousin Kieran Fleming, also an IRA volunteer, had been killed escaping from the SAS after a failed attempt to bomb a Royal Ulster Constabulary vehicle.