The Bloody Sunday shootings occurred during his tenure as Commander Land Forces, Northern Ireland.

[1] He served in North West Europe during World War II and was mentioned in despatches.

Skipping one rank, he was promoted to brigadier on 31 December 1967 and appointed Commander of 7th Armoured Brigade in 1968.

[9][10][11] He was criticised in the Saville Report into the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry for deploying soldiers to arrest peaceful protestors: "In our view his decision to use 1 Para as the arrest force is open to criticism but he did not know his decision would result in soldiers firing unjustifiably.

"[12] In the secret memo to his superior, dated 7 January 1972, Ford said he was "coming to the conclusion that the minimum force necessary to achieve a restoration of law and order is to shoot selected ringleaders amongst the DYH (Derry Young Hooligans), after clear warnings have been issued".