“They were great people. Sir Norman was a real gentleman, as was his son James. Many a time on the Twelfth of July we stood and talked about everything and anything. When I got a job as Group Secretary with the Ulster Farmers Union in the 70s, I called regularly at Tynan Abbey to meet Jim and his Father.
“I was in Tynan Abbey on the Friday evening before Sir Norman and Jim were murdered. I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was a dull grey Friday evening. Jim answered the door and he brought me in and we went into the kitchen. A couple of workmen were in the kitchen with Jim getting food. And he served me up a bowl of hot soup as well. We talked and chatted for a while and then I bid them farewell. Never in my worst nightmare could I have imagined the horror that the IRA were going to visit upon this lovely family.
“Then it happened on the Monday night and they were gone. It was such an awful evil thing to do. It was ethnic cleansing at its worst. They were sitting ducks and the softest of targets. There was absolute devastation in the community mixed with anger. People were absolutely numbed. We couldn`t believe it and everybody felt its impact. Everybody felt that they had lost a member of the family. There was such an affinity with the Stronge family.
“It was clear that the Provisional IRA were sending an extreme message to people who described themselves as Protestants or Unionists. It was ‘get out or you could be next’. There were many atrocities at that time, and you have to wonder what goes through the heads of the sadistic cowards who deliberately went out to shoot a man well into his eighties who had served his country in so many ways and also his son. They were totally innocent, defenceless people. The IRA cowards that carried this out were the most barbarous of the lot. It sticks in your mind.
“The funerals were held jointly in Tynan Parish Church. The church was packed with hundreds of people standing outside. The amount of people that turned out showed the immense respect which the community had for Sir Norman and Jim. I will always remember them both.
“The first time in my life I ever visited Stormont was at the invitation of Sir Norman Stronge who had been the Speaker. He was a lovely man and a war hero at that.
“He was also very into nature. He used to travel to various Commonwealth conferences and every time he was away, he`d try and bring a plant home with him and plant it in the garden. When you called at Tynan Abbey, he would take you round the garden and explain what all the plants were and where he got them from. He was a very interesting man and very down to earth. Jim Nicholson and I were in the Stronge household in the sixties when we were taking our first steps in politics and the Stronge family were very welcoming. That`s how I got to know Jim Stronge so well.
“You always felt at ease with them. Sir Norman and Jim had such personality and style. They were really decent, down to earth people and were very sorely missed. We`ll always remember them. Unfortunately they and so many other members of the Ulster Unionist Party were murdered because they dared to take a stand against the crimes and human rights abuses of the Provisional IRA.”