SAS HERO

 Town’s salute as SAS embassy hero revealed  

An SAS hero seen by millions around the world in iconic footage of the Iranian Embassy siege has been unmasked 43 years on – ahead of the Derbyshire town where he lived staging a civic salute following his death. Black-clad Norman Merrill was captured by cameras on the balcony of the London embassy as he hurled a smoke grenade through the window. The dramatic end to the six-day siege on May 5th 1980 gripped a worldwide audience as elite special forces abseiled from the roof to rescue dozens of hostages held by terrorists. Norman retired in 1995 after 26 years in the Forces, which included being wounded in the Falklands War. He later settled quietly in Ilkeston after mooring up near the Gallows Inn while touring the country’s canals and waterways. Friends described him as a dedicated family man. He married at Ilkeston Town Hall in 2020. The modest hero was 82 when he died at the end of September. The Ilkeston Branch of the Royal British Legion is to honour him at the town’s Market Place cenotaph on Saturday 10th February. Mayor of Erewash Cllr Frank Phillips will make a speech as he attends the 10.50am memorial service with his wife Pam – a fellow councillor who is the Mayor’s Consort. He will speak of a “well-loved man” who grew up in Sheffield before joining the RAF in 1969. Norman was proud of having seen service around the globe. 

The Mayor will say: “Not all of this could he talk about but some he could – including being the man on the balcony throwing a smoke grenade in the window at the Iranian Embassy siege. As the Mayor of Erewash, I am proud and humbled that such a man should choose Ilkeston as his home.”