ABSTRACT
In 1977 John Purnell, Phil McVeigh and Henry Dowswell were awarded the George Medal for their conspicuous bravery in chasing down the four armed members of the Active Service Unit (ASU), resulting in the six-day siege at Balcombe Street. The 1975 Balcombe Street siege had given the Met leadership team the opportunity to watch Peter Imbert as he went about the difficult job of talking the ASU out of number 22b. John and Sheila Mathews moved away from Balcombe Street after Mr. Mathews retired from the Post Office, buying a house in the town of Abingdon in the Buckinghamshire countryside. Despite the readiness, and apparent willingness, of the Special Air Service to go into the flat to bring the stand off to an end, a bloody tactical conclusion to the Balcombe Street siege would have done lasting damage to the Wilson government and an unknown, and unimaginable, outcome in Northern Ireland.
