Judith Ward

Judith Theresa Ward (née Judith Minna Ward, 10 January 1949) is a British woman known for being a victim of a miscarriage of justices in 1974 for the bombing of Euston Station in 1973, and of the National Defence College and M62 coach bombings in 1974. Her conviction was quashed and she was released from prison on 11 May 1992. She had confessed due to a mental illness that led her to attention seeking behaviour and the making of false confessions. She spent 18 years in prison and eventually wrote a book about her conviction.
Background
Ward was born in Stockport. After leaving school she worked as a horse-riding instructor, including working in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. She briefly enlisted in the Women's Royal Army Corps in 1971 but went absent without leave and returned to Dundalk. After a few months she returned to Aldershot and gave herself up, claiming to have been the subject of an Irish Republican Army recruitment attempt; she was discharged from the WRAC. After this, she moved again to the riding school in Dundalk where she worked for another year.
During this time she managed to get into the Thiepval Barracks, headquarters of the British Army in Northern Ireland. She was detained by the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary and told them she was looking over the details of security measures, but she was not prosecuted. In August 1973, Ward left Dundalk and moved to London where she worked as a chambermaid in a hotel. By the end of the year she was living again in Stockport, and early in 1974 she worked for Chipperfield's Circus.
Events
On 10 September 1973, the Provisional IRA bombed Euston Station, causing "xtensive but superficial damage" and some injuries. On 4 February 1974, a bomb destroyed a bus on the M62 motorway, killing nine soldiers and three civilians. The National Defence College in Latimer, Buckinghamshire was bombed on 12 February 1974, but caused no serious damage. Detective Chief Superintendent George Oldfield led the investigation into the M62 bomb. Ward was arrested on 14 February 1974 by police investigating the M62 coach bomb and made a statement admitting responsibility. Although she retracted her confession, on 4 November she was convicted of all three bombings.
This was one of a series of miscarriages of justice during the latter half of the 20th century.

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