Brit312, your almost spot on. But wasnt there a further pilot retraining scheme in the late 90's? I believe some who missed out the first time were successfull second time around.
As for the retirement date, I think you were correct it was a "projected" retirement date, not a guaranteed date, and hence some stayed rather than taking Classic jobs outside BA, a risk they weighed up at the time.
I am sure they have agreed over the last few years that BA needs to get rid of staff that are surplus.
What exactly is it they think BA owes them?