Name/Title
Framed exhibit of a Grand Hotel registration card for room 629, 1984Entry/Object ID
2400Description
Large glass fronted picture frame 70.5cm x 58cm, containing a mounted police exhibit bag inside of which is a registration card from the Grand Hotel Brighton. Also inside are descriptions of the registration card and its significance in the investigation into the Grand Hotel bombing of October 1984.Use
A framed display of the key piece of evidence that convicted the Grand Hotel bomber and part of larger group of items relating to the Grand Hotel Bombing investigation.Context
On 12th October 1984 a bomb exploded at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, whilst it was hosting guests staying for the Conservative party Conference being held in Brighton, killing 5 people and injuring 31. The bomb was planted by the I.R.A. (Irish Republican Army) in an attempt to kill the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and members of her government.
Early enquiries into the bombing by explosive's experts established that the bomb had been planted in room 629, most likely under the bath. The focus of the investigation then became all of the previous occupants of that room and a thorough examination of the relevant hotel registration cards. All of the registration cards for room 629 were recovered and placed in sealed exhibit bags. Checks were carried out on the previous occupants of room 629 and one "Roy Walsh", was found to have given a false address. His registration card having already been given the exhibit number "AS/6" and placed in a sealed evidence bag, was then sent for fingerprint examination to Scotland Yard, which involved special treatment to shown any fingerprints, turning it a blue/grey colour. It was received by David Tadd, Head of the New Scotland Yard Fingerprint Anti-Terrorist Team on 19th October 1984. Some prints were identified as belonging a hotel receptionist, but others including a palm print were unidentified and compared against those held on record of known IRA terrorists/activists. Eventually on 18th January 1985 a fragmentary palm print identified on the card as "C", was identified as belonging to Patrick Joesph Magee. This became the key piece of evidence in Magee's subsequent murder trial.
In September 1986 Patrick Magee was convicted of planting the bomb and five counts of murder.
This framed display of the original registration card with fingerprints, forms part of a collection of Grand Hotel bomb enquiry items that came from Sussex Police and are thought to have been part of display that at one time was located at Police HQ in Lewes. The exhibit bag contains the signatures of anyone who handled to card, including the officer who secured it and David Tadd the fingerprint expert at Scotland Yard.