HC Deb 02 May 1967 vol 746 cc42-3W
Mr. Alan Lee Williams

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many acts of sabotage have been committed against British personnel or property in either North or South Vietnam; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. William Rodgers

The ony incident of violence in North Vietnam involving British persons or property, of which I am aware, is that in which the s.s. "Dartford" was reported to have been damaged on the 20th April in Haiphong harbour. However, in South Vietnam there have been thirteen incidents since January, 1964, in which loss or damage was caused by violence to British persons or property. They are:

  1. 1. January, 1964: Mr. Roy Spragett, a missionary, and his wife and child were injured by the explosion of a Viet Cong charge set in their house in Quang Tri province.
  2. 2. October, 1964: One lighter and two barges, owned by the Shell Oil Company, were intercepted by the Viet Cong on Saigon River, unloaded and set on fire.
  3. 3. February, 1965: Mr. H. W. Wallis, a British subject, was kidnapped by Viet Cong While boating on the river near Saigon.
  4. 4. March, 1965: Two British subjects were slightly injured in a Viet Cong attack on the American Embassy.
  5. 5. October, 1965: Mr. Charles Burnett, a British cameraman, was injured while filming fighting at Pleiku.
  6. 6. January, 1965: A British missionary, Mr. J. E. Haywood, was shot and killed when he came upon a Viet Cong ambush on two South Vietnamese vehicles near Da Nang.
  7. 7. February, 1965: A Hong Kong Chinese seaman was injured during a Viet Cong attack on a Panamanian vessel in the Saigon River.
  8. 8. March, 1965: A barge owned by the Shell Oil Company was set on fire by the Viet Cong in the Saigon River.
  9. 9. August, 1965: The British tanker "Harold Sleigh" was fired on by the Viet Cong in Saigon River.
  10. 10. November, 1965: A British Embassy car was damaged by splinters from a Viet Cong missile during the National Day celebrations at Saigon.
  11. 11. January, 1967: The British tanker "Haustrum" received four rounds of recoilless rifle fire in Saigon River, one Chinese crew member was killed and the Master was slightly injured.
  12. 12. January, 1967: A stray round of Viet-Cong motar fire fell in the garden of Mr. A. C. Buxton, First Secretary of the British Embassy.
  13. 13. April, 1967: Explosive charge was set off at the stern of the British tanker "Amastra" in Nha Trang harbour. No injuries were caused.