Birmingham bomb survivor 'read last rites' and says sheepskin coat 'saved fiancé's life'

On November 21 1974, Maureen Mitchell and her fiancé, Ian, were busy planning for their wedding. Regulars at the Mulberry Bush pub, the pair said hello to their friend Stanley Bodman, who was stood at the bar, telling him they would join him in a moment.

Maureen and Ian took a seat under the stairs of the pub, Ian sporting a new sheepskin coat, bought with the savings he was meant to be putting aside for their wedding in June - much to Maureen's annoyance. They didn't know it at the time, but their decision to sit under the stairs, and Ian's choice to splash out on a new coat, would help save their lives.

At around 8:17pm, a bomb ripped through the Mulberry Bush, killing dozens instantly, including their friend Stanley Bodman, who they were soon to join for a drink. Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham pub bombings, Maureen spoke to the BBC about her recollections from that fateful night, and how - despite her injuries - she was one of the lucky ones.

READ MORE: Minute's silence to remember Birmingham pub bombings victims - 50 years on from the tragedy

When the IRA bomb exploded, Maureen remembers seeing a flash of light before 'floating' through the air. "I don't remember hearing it, but I remember feeling like I was lifted out of my seat," she told the BBC on new podcast In Detail: The Pub Bombings.

"When I landed I was fully conscious. I had a piece of sharpnel lodged in my hip which punctured my bowel. "I remember feeling like there was a hole in me, and I was worried something would fall out. It sounds crazy but that's how it felt."

Maureen could also hear Ian shouting out to her. "If I die, remember I love you," she remembers telling him. Ian was badly injured with serious wounds on his face and legs, but his body was shielded by his new sheepskin coat.

"It was probably the best £80 we ever spent," Maureen said. Maureen was rushed to the General Hospital where a priest read her last rites. She remembers her dad sobbing at her bedside.

"I remember thinking 'I'm not going to get through this'," she added. "I knew I was going to die. Thankfully, the medics saved me, I was one of the lucky ones."

Maureen was discharged from hospital after four weeks, just in time for Christmas. She still bears scars on her left arm from the searing hot shrapnel that spewed from the bomb.

It took her years to process the trauma from that night, but Maureen maintains she is not a victim of mainland Britain's biggest unsolved mass murder. In 2014, speaking to the Birmingham Mail, she said: "I may be looked on as a victim, but I don't want to be a victim. I am a survivor, there's a big difference."

Maureen is a supporter of the Justice 4 the 21 pressure group who continue to campaign for a public inquiry into what happened that night - and who was responsible. 21 people died and nearly 200 were injured in the Birmingham pub bombings. No one has ever been brought to justice for the massacre.