[Kilsally]

Hell On Earth Where Thousands Still Lie
AT the Somme battlefield in France today, hundreds of Northern Ireland men and women will gather at the Ulster Tower to remember the dead of the First World War.


http://www.newslette....uk/story/13499
Hell On Earth Where Thousands Still Lie
Thursday 1st July 2004

AT the Somme battlefield in France today, hundreds of Northern Ireland men and women will gather at the Ulster Tower to remember the dead of the First World War.

But, as STEVEN MOORE reports, a trip to the Western Front will soon not be complete without a visit to Thiepval Wood, where the soldiers of the 36th (Ulster) Division sheltered before "going over the top" on July 1, 1916.

ALMOST 90 years have passed yet, beneath the branches and undergrowth of Thiepval Wood, time has virtually stood still.

Today it is a place of tranquility and calm - but in 1916 it was hell on earth for the thousands of Ulstermen who sought what refuge they could find amidst its shattered trees and shell-pocked ground.

It was from the wood that the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division launched their famous but ill-fated attack on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme.

Within hours, more than 5,000 had become casualties, many to lie buried in the French soil for eternity.

On July 1 last year, Secretary of State Paul Murphy, on a visit to the battlefield, announced that the Somme Association was buying Thiepval Wood with a Government grant.

That deal was only completed in March but plans are already well advanced to turn this plot of woodland into what will be one of the finest First World War attractions on the Western Front.

There are still many problems to be overcome, including raising sufficient funds, but the association is confident of preserving the wood in memory not only of the sacrifice of the Ulster troops but all those who served there, while still allowing visitors and relatives limited access.

One of the most delicate issues is the fate of any bodies uncovered, with the association working with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and French authorities to provide an appropriate final resting place.

Association chairman Ian Adamson said Thiepval Wood had virtually been abandoned as a mass graveyard by the British following the German withdrawal in 1917 and, as a consequence, the bodies of many who fell there were never recovered.

He feels, with an interpretative centre to be built at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, a short distance away to the south of the Ulster Tower, and Newfoundland Park, the most popular of visitor attractions on the Somme front, just to the north, the wood is set to become a focal point for many tourists - and provide a much greater focus on the role of the Ulster soldier.

"We would like to show Thiepval Wood as it was, basically," he said. "The problem with people wandering about the wood, of course, would be the danger to life and limb.

"There are unexploded shells, mines and gas canisters, which are probably the most deadly of the lot.

"So, there would have to be specific trails you could wander, unless you did completely decontaminate it as they have done at Newfoundland Park, but Thiepval Wood would be much more difficult to do."

Many units before and following the Ulster Division were based in the wood, which means it will appeal to a much wider audience than just Northern Ireland.

One of its most famous soldier residents was John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings books, who served at the Somme with the Lancashire Fusiliers. His experiences during the war are said to have inspired the now famous trilogy.

All the development will be to the front of the wood, to the rear of Connaught Cemetery where many of the Irishmen who fought here, North and South, Protestant and Catholic, lie side-by-side today.

The reason for this is manifold: it contains the most areas of interest, it is convenient to the roadway and Ulster Tower and its allows the association to honour its commitments under the terms of its purchase contract.

These provisions were agreed with the Hanicotte family, which had owned the wood since the Second World War, and were largely responsible for the association securing the land ahead of rival bidders.

They include honouring the remaining 30 years of a husbandry agreement which requires a new tree to be planted for every one cut down; nurturing the wood's wildlife, including wild boar, large hares, pheasants and a wide variety of birds; and permitting the local hunting club to carry out shoots up to four times a year.

No timescale has been decided for the completion of the work involved in opening up the wood to the public - the availability of volunteer help and funds are the determining factors - though the simpler tasks will be tackled this summer.

The association is to contact both the 107th (Ulster) Brigade of the Territorial Army and the Royal Irish Regiment to see if they can provide help, as they have done in the past.

The association is also hoping to establish a student scheme, similar to that operated by the Canadian government at Vimy Ridge further north, with Ulster history undergraduates acting as guides for visitors.

[bluebear]

Ulster News Letter
http://www.newslette....uk/story/16073

Workshop To Explore War From The View Of Nationalists

By Elinor Glynn

Tuesday 26th October 2004

The Battle of the Somme, one of the most famous military encounters of the First World War, is a vital symbol of unionist identity in Northern Ireland.

Yet, Irish nationalists also fought at the Somme in the 16th (Irish) Division and the two went into battle side by side at Messines in 1917.

That special unity is to be explored and celebrated at a workshop being held in the run up to Remembrance Sunday by Moyle District Council.

'A common experience: Unionist and Nationalist soldiers in the First World War' will take place on November 11 in the Tilly Molloy Centre, Armoy, at 7.30pm and will examine "the loss of memory" amongst the majority of nationalists and recent attempts to recover the nationalist experience of the First World War.

Community relations officer Ryan Moore said: "At the Battle of Messines in 1917, the two divisions went into battle side by side.

"This two-hour workshop explores why both unionists and nationalists volunteered for the First World War, yet today only the sacrifice made by unionists is remembered with pride."

Mr Moore said that such events involving a community relations or cultural diversity theme can be grant aided by Moyle Council up to £500.

For further information contact 028 2076 2225 or e-mail to communityrelations@moyle-council.org

e.glynn@newsletter.co.uk

[Kilsally]

You can buy this book here:-
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/somme/

A Fitting Tribute To The Somme's Fallen
http://www.newslette....uk/story/20826

Simon Hunter

Monday 20th June 2005

One of the most often quoted facts about the Battle of the Somme in 1916 was that the heavy artillery could be heard in London.

Whether this is true or an exaggeration is of course open to debate, but there can be no doubt that the enormity of the Somme was felt nowhere more than in the cities, towns and villages of Ireland.

The number of Irishmen who served in the First World War and fought at the Somme ran into the hundreds of thousands, and the impact of a lost generation is still felt by many families today.

This is reflected by the huge number of people from throughout the island of Ireland who visit France each year to trace relatives, attend historical digs and take battlefield tours.

It is to these people that this book, by Belfast-born author and News Letter journalist Steven Moore, will appeal.

The book works as a Somme guide, casual coffee table reading for amateur historians, and as a serious tome for those studying the First World War's most infamous battle.

The Irish on the Somme is packed with superb illustrations, maps and some fantastic photos of the Irish men from the frontline and an allencompassing index for those interested in particular relatives or regiments.

It is written in the nononsense, concise style you would expect from a man with years of experience as a news editor, but doesn't forget that each tale of a fallen soldier has its own sad significance.

The author is also unapologetic for calling those that fought at the Somme Irishmen. The majority would have regarded themselves as such in the First World War, when they would not have been weighed down by the laborious debate over the term today.

This is still reflected in today's military with the Irish regiments in the British Army.

One of the nicest touches is the quotes at the start of each chapter that keep a very human edge.

Whether they be dying words, a verse on a card home or a more famed wartime poem, they all personalise a book which could easily have given way to facts and figures.

Perhaps this is best reflected in the author's dedication which is jointly to his father and his great uncle, who died on July 1, the opening day of the Somme.

Moore's aim was to encourage more people to visit France and see the battlefields and the headstones of fallen, yet not forgotten, men.

With his second book he will surely succeed.

The Irish on the Somme, by Steven Moore. Published by Local Press, Belfast. £16.99

Purchase your copy now on the News Letter website!

[Kilsally]

Duke Joins Inniskilling Regiments At Waterloo Anniversary
http://www.newslette....uk/story/20832

By Anne Palmer

Monday 20th June 2005

Enniskillen town is inextricably linked to the Inniskilling regiments which have played vital roles in world conflicts since the 17th century.

And at the weekend, the Inniskillings were remembered during commemorations of the 190th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo.

Inniskilling regiments of foot and horse fought together at Waterloo in 1815 and at the Boyne in 1690.

During the celebrations in the presence of HRH the Duke of York, the band bugles, pipes and drums of the Royal Irish Regiment and the band of the Dragoon Guards beat the retreat at London's Royal Hospital Chelsea.

The event was also aimed at raising funds for the Inniskillings regimental museum in Enniskillen.

The island town is unique in army history as it's the only town in the UK which kept its name in two regiments: the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards.

Both were raised in the town in 1689 and their history is recorded at the museum at Enniskillen Castle keep.

Ambitious plans are underway to modernise the museum's facilities, extending access to its rich heritage resources.
Curator Major Jack Dunlop said: "Our displays are almost entirely comprised of original uniforms and artefacts from the regiment. With this support for the project, modern technology will help tell the story of the regiments."

It is hoped new developments and the growing collection will increase visitor numbers in excess of 30,000 each year. Improvements to the attraction and Fermanagh County Museum, also housed in the Castle, are being developed in tandem with Fermanagh District Council and the Environment and Heritage Service.

The cost of the new museum is £500k and the final £50,000 towards the costs is currently being raised.

Museum Trustee Noel Santry explained the project was being developed in line with Enniskillen's appeal as a major tourist attraction. Modern technology and interactive displays will take the resource to a new level.

"It will be very much an outreach facility to be used by schools, museums, libraries and historical societies, rather than being a stand-alone military museum," he said.

New databases will be provided, with schools curriculum links and access for genealogy researchers.

In addition, the project will be developed in conjunction with the National Army Museum and the Military Heritage Trust of Ireland and the Museum of the Irish Soldier.

a.palmer@newsletter.co.uk


Precious memories of days in province

CHELSEA pensioner Ken White, 84, has precious memories of his time in Northern Ireland. The former Inniskilling Fusilier was conscripted in 1942, aged 20, and was trained initially in Omagh and was later posted to North Africa. "I remember there was a lot of marching about in Omagh at the time," he said. "I enjoyed my service with the Inniskillings, but I was wounded a few days before the end of the war.

"I was blown up by a grenade in Northern Africa at Cape Bonn in Tunisia. I was badly injured and was blinded in one eye, lost the top
of my right thumb and had a slit in my stomach.

"They had to put a tube in to keep my intestines in place."

But tragedy was on the horizon for Ken and his new Enniskillen love, Lucile.
During war-time the pair encountered difficulties as Lucile's family, from the nationalist tradition and who owned a cafe in
Enniskillen, disapproved of the romance.

Ken had a strict Salvation Army up-bringing. After a short romance, they moved to England to be married. Sadly, Lucile was killed in the London blitz. After the war, he remarried. When Ken left the Inniskillings he became a bus driver and later a chauffeur.

Last time he saw Enniskillen Castle, it was "falling into ruins". He is amazed it now houses the regimental museum. Ken returns to Northern Ireland annually for the Somme commemorations in recent years and said he always enjoyed his stay in Belfast.


Hell in the Pacific must never be forgotten

FORMER Inniskilling Fusilier Bill Moylon, 89, fought against the Japanese during WWII.
His troopship sank 15 miles from Singapore and he spent over four hours in the water. At the age of 24, the young soldier became a 'guest of the Emperor'.

"It is absolutely essential that our story is told. So many men left home so young and never returned," he said.
"In my case we were POWs under the Japanese. My friends from Ireland and Britain didn't die in battle, but were starved, butchered and tortured to death."

Bill was sent on a cattle truck with other prisoners to Thailand.

"The Japanese brutality was exceptional. They would use anything on the prisoners, from bamboo and rifle butts to bayonets. To them we weren't human. I was beaten several times.

"They would stand you to attention and they would just beat you. You suffered every day."

Forced to work 18 hours a day building camps for further prisoner intakes, many of Bill's friends succumbed to disease and died.
Bill himself was involved in building the infamous Bridge over the River Kwai.

"There was no machinery. Everything was built by hand, the railway and the bridge. People literally were dropping dead. The brutality was out of control. Combined with the limited food and back breaking work it was simply hell," he recalled.

[Kilsally]

Newsletter
www.newsletter.co.uk
June 27th 2005

Belfast yielded 46,000 of it`s sons to serve in battle

In the second in a series of extracts from his book, The Irish
on the Somme, STEVEN MOORE tells how the outbreak ol
war brought Irishmen to the Colours from across the world

JUST how many Irishmen served during the First World War is still a matter of some conjecture and debate.
Estimates have varied from close to half-a-million to just 100,000.
As early as 1919, a publication prepared by Belfast City Council was estimating the number to have joined the army in Ireland at 145,000, of which 50,000 enlisted in the first six months alone.

Investigations in recent years by eminent historians have in essence confirmed that original figure, give or take a few thousand.
The devil, however, is in the detail for there are many other statistics to be factored in.

Firstly there are the 58,000 men already in the regular Irish regiments in existence at the outbreak of hostilities, producing a running total to 210,000, though not all by any means were Irish by birth or even background.

Much harder to estimate is the number of Irishmen serving in non-Irish units, both in the British and Empire armies.
In the north, in particular, many men joined up with other units, often out of frustration at the delay in the formation of the Ulster Division. Scottish regiments were quick to exploit these opportunities.

The l/6th Black Watch already had a territorial battalion in Belfast prior to the war which crossed to Scotland every year for training and the regiment regularly sent recruiting parties to the province.

Likewise, the l/4th Seaforth Highlanders opened up an office in the city and sent over a recruiting sergeant in 1915, who left again with several hundred men.
The traffic wasn't all the one way, of course, with several hundred Glasgow Orangemen crossing to Belfast in September, 1914, to join the 36th (Ulster) Division.
Ultimately Belfast was to yield 46,000 of its sons for service, the second best response in the United Kingdom. That there were Irishmen in the Royal Field Artillery is unquestioned, many receiving their initial training at some of the island's coastal defence emplacements, while others ended up in the various corps.

The better educated strata of Irish society provided the raw officer material, hundreds of whom were sent to non-Irish regiments.
Not insignificantly, many sons followed family traditions in applying to their father's or grandfather's regiments while some battalions appealed to men to join up on the basis of common interests, such as sport or professional affiliations.

The likes of the Bantam battalions, created later in the war for men too short in stature to make the 5ft 3ins minimum height applied in 1914, presumably took in its fair share of Irish recruits, as did the soon to be corrupted Church Lads battalion of the King's Royal Rifles, which opened its doors to the Godfearing from the island.
Many exiles served with the Canadian, Australian, South African, New Zealand and American forces. Most served throughout their adopted nation's armed forces though some, particularly in Canada, joined ethnic regiments such as the Irish Canadian Rangers of Montreal, the Irish Regiment of Canada, formed in Toronto, the British Columbia Regiment and the Irish Fusiliers of Canada, from the same area.

The man responsible for the raising of Canadian divisions was Orangeman Sam Hughes, the Minister of Militia and Defence, whose father John had emigrated to Ontario from County Tyrone.

Given the difficulties of determining how many Irishmen fought in the war (or, indeed, who truly qualifies as being Irish for such purposes), it is not surprising that there is little agreement on how many lost their lives.

Ireland's Memorial Records, published in 1923, list 49,435 "known dead" among those who served in Irish regiments.
Not all, particularly in the latter years of the war, would be Irish by birth or even association.

Others have estimated the figure of Irish dead, including those who served with Empire forces and the United States, at 35,000, but a definitive figure has yet to be produced and may never be possible.

A look at those who volunteered from among the staff of the Belfast Banking Company serves as a snapshot of recruitment in Ireland and, though not necessarily typical of the overall trend, helps illustrate the difficulties in tracing the Irish contribution. A booklet prepared by the bank, undated but clearly from the latter half of the war, lists a total of 80 staff that had joined the armed forces from its branches in Belfast, Armagh, Ballyshannon, Bangor, Buncrana, Castleblayney, Coleraine, Deny, Donegal, Drogheda, Dublin, Dunfanaghy, Dungannon, Enniskillen, Kingstown, Letterkenny, Lurgan, Magherafelt, Navan, Newry, Pettigo, Portadown, Rath-friland, Sligo and Warrenpoint.

Of these, 14 had been killed in action; 30 had been wounded, of which six were then receiving hospital treatment; five officers had been awarded the Military Cross (one with bar) and one soldier the Military Medal (the equivalent for "other ranks").

Most were serving with Irish regiments, as might be expected, but 32 out of the 80 (including two with the Officer Training Corps whose destinies were then undecided) had either chosen or subsequently ended up in regiments, corps or services which were not specifically Irish.

These included the Highland Light Infantry, Cheshire Regiment, Machine Gun Corps, including two men who were serving in Tanks, the Black Watch, the Indian Army Reserve, Royal Flying Corps, Royal Garrison Artillery, Royal Sussex Regiment, Royal Navy, Manchester Regiment, King's African Rifles, the Royal Fusiliers, including one man described as being in the 26th (Bankers' Battalion), Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Field Artillery, 16th King's Liverpool Regiment, Royal Engineers and Army Service Corps.

The bank regularly published updates on its staff serving with the armed forces and in one document, dated January 20, 1916, lists J. T. Lockhart, of the bank's head office, as being with the Military Mounted Police, 51st Highland Division.

In the booklet initially referred to above, despite being of a latter date, he is recorded as a trooper with the North Irish Horse, which was likely the unit with which he went to war.

It is a further complication as it raises the possibility that other soldiers on the list may also have subsequently served with non-Irish units.
The attrition rate among officers, particularly early in the war, was very high.

Perhaps not surprisingly, therefore, given that these were educated men who had, for the most part, been with the Services since 1914, no fewer than 47 out of the 80 were officers (including the two previously mentioned as then with the O.T.C.).

Of these, 34 were second lieutenants, the lowest officer rank, with none higher than a captain. One officer, it was noted, was "Late 2nd Lieutenant, 8th Royal Irish Rifles resigned his Commission and re-entered the Bank", an extremely rare occurrence as even severely injured officers were generally kept on the books until after the war's end.

• The Irish on the Somme, by Steven Moore, can be bought directly from the News Letter Please see advert below for details.

Another extract in tomorrow's News Letter.

[Kilsally]

The Irish on the Somme (Steven Moore)
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/somme/


Release date: 17 June 2005. All pre-orders will be shipped on 16 June.

At 7.30am on July 1, 1916, some 60,000 men climbed out of their trenches and walked across No-Man’s-Land and into the history books.

The Battle of the Somme, which was to rage for another four-and-a-half months, would ultimately involve every Irish battalion on the Western Front.
For some, such as the 36th (Ulster) Division which sustained some 5,000 casualties in just 24 hours, the slaughter left them so weakened that they had to be withdrawn. For others their participation went on for weeks until attrition wore them down.

Today the Somme is at peace, though the First World War hasn’t been forgotten. Dotted across its tranquil landscape are memorials to the Irish dead, many of whom lie in the cemeteries clustered around the old front lines.

The Irish on the Somme puts the contribution of the men of Ireland, north and south, unionist and nationalist, into context. It takes the reader through the conflict, from the declaration of war in August, 1914, to the Second Battle of the Somme and the final push to victory, then on to the monuments and cemeteries, the tangible proof of Ireland’s part in the “war to end all wars”.

It is an invaluable guide to both the armchair enthusiast and those visiting the battlefields for themselves.

Steven Moore, a News Editor at the News Letter in Belfast, was born and educated in north Belfast. He has been researching the First World War for the past 30 years and has visited the Western Front battlefields on numerous occasions. He lives in North Down with his wife Heather and sons Nicholas, Andrew and Christopher.

[Kilsally]

Fallen Comrades Honoured
http://www.newslette....uk/story/21019

By Mary Lafferty

Monday 27th June 2005

As the sun shone down on the fluttering standards high above Belfast Lough yesterday a large crowd gathered to commemorate those who had fallen during the Battle of the Somme.

In the tranquil surroundings of Knockagh War Memorial in east Antrim, Pastor Trevor Clarke recalled and prayed for all of those who had died on July 1, 1916.

The annual event organised by officers from Whiteabbey Royal British Legion was led by Lord O'Neill, the Lord Lieutenant of Co Antrim.

Representing the Queen, Lord O'Neill laid the first wreath followed by sections of the Royal British Legion. Mayors, aldermen and councillors from eight councils and two cities also laid the traditional red poppy wreath, followed by representation from the PSNI.

As a piper from the 3rd Carrick Brass Band played the Last Post and the standards were lowered, a minute's silence allowed the crowd to remember not only the Battle of the Somme but the 60th anniversary of the end of WW1 where thousands more Ulster men and women lost their lives in conflict.

After the National Anthem, Lord O'Neill took the salute before the parade made its way back to the Monument Road.

Harry Powell, chairman of Whiteabbey Royal British Legion, said: "This year, in leading the traditional dedication for the fallen of the infamous WW1 Battle of the Somme, everyone is aware that it is also an appropriate commemoration for the 60th anniversary of the end of WW11as part of the local VE and VJ Day celebrations."

Ernst Thompson, 86, chairman of Whitehouse Royal British Legion, said he was delighted to see a large turnout.

"It is important that young people do not forget the sacrifices that were made and it is very encouraging to see so many of them here," he said. "They have a future and it is important that they don't forget the past and how the men and women we remembered today helped shape that future."

m.lafferty@newsletter.co.uk

[Kilsally]

A Fitting Tribute To The Somme's Fallen
http://www.newslette....uk/story/20826

Simon Hunter

Monday 20th June 2005

One of the most often quoted facts about the Battle of the Somme in 1916 was that the heavy artillery could be heard in London.

Whether this is true or an exaggeration is of course open to debate, but there can be no doubt that the enormity of the Somme was felt nowhere more than in the cities, towns and villages of Ireland.

The number of Irishmen who served in the First World War and fought at the Somme ran into the hundreds of thousands, and the impact of a lost generation is still felt by many families today.

This is reflected by the huge number of people from throughout the island of Ireland who visit France each year to trace relatives, attend historical digs and take battlefield tours.

It is to these people that this book, by Belfast-born author and News Letter journalist Steven Moore, will appeal.

The book works as a Somme guide, casual coffee table reading for amateur historians, and as a serious tome for those studying the First World War's most infamous battle.

The Irish on the Somme is packed with superb illustrations, maps and some fantastic photos of the Irish men from the frontline and an allencompassing index for those interested in particular relatives or regiments.

It is written in the nononsense, concise style you would expect from a man with years of experience as a news editor, but doesn't forget that each tale of a fallen soldier has its own sad significance.

The author is also unapologetic for calling those that fought at the Somme Irishmen. The majority would have regarded themselves as such in the First World War, when they would not have been weighed down by the laborious debate over the term today.

This is still reflected in today's military with the Irish regiments in the British Army.

One of the nicest touches is the quotes at the start of each chapter that keep a very human edge.

Whether they be dying words, a verse on a card home or a more famed wartime poem, they all personalise a book which could easily have given way to facts and figures.

Perhaps this is best reflected in the author's dedication which is jointly to his father and his great uncle, who died on July 1, the opening day of the Somme.

Moore's aim was to encourage more people to visit France and see the battlefields and the headstones of fallen, yet not forgotten, men.

With his second book he will surely succeed.

The Irish on the Somme, by Steven Moore. Published by Local Press, Belfast. £16.99

Purchase your copy now on the News Letter website!

[Kilsally]

The London Somme Association will be again this year
be marking the battle of the Somme and the cenotaph in
Whitehall.

As always this will be to remember ALL who gave their
lifes for our freedom that we take for granted today..

And also in particular alongside hero's such as Billy
McFaden, Londons very own 36th Ulster Division VC hero
- Lt Cather who was born and bred in Streatham and who
saved the life of 3 comrades before being cut down
himself, he has no known grave.

Lt Cathers parents were summoned to Buckingham palace
to recieve the Victoria cross which was presented by
King George in memory of their brave son of Britain..

A forgotten hero amongst so many more.

Lest we forget

[Kilsally]

The 36th (Ulster) Division Memorial
The Ulster Tower in France



Built as a copy of the tower that the men had trained under near Newtownards in Northern Ireland, the tower marks the site of the Schwaben redoubt against which the men of Ulster advanced on 1 July 1916.

There is a small cafe and museum to the rear of the tower, where you can watch videos, find a cup of tea and buy souvenirs.

Toilets are available (Others are at the South African Memorial and the new Thiepval Centre).

Inside the tower is a small chapel with a number of paintings and plaques from the various towns and boroughs of Northern Ireland.

Thiepval Wood opposite the Tower has now been bought by the Trust and it is hoped that by 2006 part of the wood will be open to members of the public. Until then you are advised that the wood remains closed to the public.

Local hunters still use it, so apart from the possibility of stumbling across unexploded devices, you run the risk of coming under fire. As the joke here goes; a good hunter sees something move - he shoots; a bad hunter sees something move - he shoots.

Never touch anything you find on the ground.

One of the paintings shows the men of the Division going over the top wearing their Orange Sashes as a reminder of their Protestant faith.

At the entrance to the tower is a plaque commemorating the names of the nine men of the Division who won the Victoria Cross during the Somme.

Behind the tower and to its right is a small garden. There you will find a memorial commemorating the part played by members of the Orange Order during the battle.

It used to be situated at the front but outside the confines of the tower. I do not know why it was brought inside the monument grounds but placed almost out of sight.

[Kilsally]

http://www.belfastso...ials_orange.htm


The Inscription on the Memorial Reads :
"This Memorial is Dedicated to the Men and Women of the Orange Institution Worldwide, who at the call of King and country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of man by the path of duty and self sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in Freedom. Let those who come after see to it that their names be not forgotten."


The Orange Memorial in France to fallen brethren not only recalls the service to King and Country by members of the Orange institution from throughout the world in the Great War 1914-1918 but in other conflicts before and since.

The siting of the memorial at the Somme beside the Ulster Tower was deemed appropriate when we consider the great sacrifices that were made on that now sacred ground by members of our Order. The memorial does not detract from the memory and our deep sincere appreciation of all those who paid the supreme sacrifice men and women of all nationalities and of all religions.

The memorial does however provide a focus of remembrance for Orangemen and women and their descendants throughout the world as more and more make the piigrimage to the Battlefields of Europe. It is a historical fact that the Orange Institution saw more of its members serve and make the supreme sacrifice in the first world war than any other single orgainisation.

The Orange Institution are justly proud of the tens of thousands of brethren who in the rich tradition of orangeism left all that was dear to them to serve their King and country and to protect the civil and religious liberty that lies at the heart of the institution.

The call to arms by Bro. Sir Samuel Hughes, the Canadain Minister for War and member of LOL 557 Lindsay Ontario resulted in some 80,000 brethren from Canada volunteer.
They were followed by thousands of Australian and -; New Zealand Orangemen, Able Seaman Bro William George Vincent Williams of LOL 92 Melbourne, was the first Australian to be killed in the war. Thousands more from South Africa, the USA and lesser known countries and islands from throughout the Commonwealth answered the call and paid the supreme sacrifice.


A painting that can be found inside the Ulster Tower which depicts an assult on the Ulstermen's line.
Note that some of the men are wearing Orange Order Sashes that members put on before going over the top


Members of the Orange Order who have been awarded the Victoria Cross :

Bro George Richardson VC Pte. 431834th Regt. of Foot, later the Border Regt. and latterly Sgt Prince of Wales Royal Rifles of Canada. Richardson won his VC during the Indian Mutiny and was recommended on 3 other occasions for the same award.

Bro. Abraham Acton VC Pte. 10694. The Border Regt and member of Whitehaven Lodge, England. Bro Acton won his VC at Rouge Bances, 21th December 1914.

Bro. Robert Ouigg VC Pte 12/18645 12th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles and member of Aird LOL 1195. Bro Quigg won his VC at Hamel,France, 1st July 1916.

Bro Hill Hanna VC CSM 75361 29th Vancouver I British Columbia Regt Canada and member Ontario LOL 2226. Bro Hanna won his VC at L France, 21st September 1917.

Bro Rev John Weir Foote VC Capt later Col Canadian Chaplins service attached to Royal Hami Light Infantry and member of Fraserville LOL Ontario. Bro Weir Foot was awarded his VC February 1946 for services above and beyond the of duty during WW2.

It must also be recalled that Bro Robert Dixon I2442 Toronto serving with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and Bro. Lieut J McCormick also from Canada were recommended the VC although this was not to be.

These few words in themselves do not give justice to the long history of Orangism and Military. It barely touches the surface of a proud history that to this day is engraved in the hearts of every member of the order but alas has been so easily forgotten or ignored by that democratic and fair society for which they fought and still fight for in service of the Crown.

Thiepval Memorial LOL 1916 who are responsible for the memorial and was founded under the auspices of the Grand Orange Lodge Ireland. Its mission to preserve the memory of fallen brethren in two world wars and in other conflicts draws its membership from orange lodges throughout the world.


See also the article named 'Sons of the Brave'
on the submissions page of the Resources section
This is an article written by Bro. G. Chittick LOL 1038,
which details the events of the day that the Orange Memorial was unveiled.

[Kilsally]

McFADZEAN, William Frederick


Private, 14th Bn., The Royal Irish Rifles, British Army
Campaign First World War
Age 20
Nationality Irish

Deed On 1 July 1916, near Thiepval Wood, France, in a concentration trench, a box of bombs being opened for distribution prior to an attack slipped down into the trench, which was crowded with men, and two of the safety pins fell out. Private McFadzean, instantly realizing the danger to his comrades, with heroic courage threw himself on the top of the bombs, which exploded, blowing him to pieces, but only one other man was injured. He well knew the danger, being himself a bomber, but without a moment's hesitation he gave his life for his comrades.

Killed In the above action.

VC Publicly Displayed:-
The Royal Ulster Rifles Museum (Belfast, Northern Ireland)

Private McFadzean has been immortalised in song, which is still sung to this day in Ulster:
Let me tell you a story of honour and glory
Of a young Belfast soldier Billy McFadzean by name
For King and for Country Young Billy died bravely
And won the VC on the fields of the Somme

Chorus:
Gone Like the snowflake that melts on the river
Gone like the first rays of days early dawn
Like the foam from the fountain
Like the mist from the mountain
Young Billy McFadzean’s dear life has gone

Now Billy lies only were the red Flanders poppy
In wildest profusion paints the field of the brave
No piper recalling his deeds all forgotten
For Billy McFadzean has no known grave

Chorus Gone Like the snowflake that melts on the river
Gone like the first rays of days early dawn
Like the foam from the fountain
Like the mist from the mountain
Young Billy McFadzean’s dear life has gone

So let us remember that brave Ulster soldier
The VC he won the young life that he gave
For duty demanding his courage outstanding
Private Billy McFadzean of the U.V.F

[Kilsally]

Newsletter
28th June 2005

Kitchener`s men helped create first national Army

Many of the more significant figures during the First World War were of Irish blood. In the third of a series of extracts from his book, The Irish on the Somme, Steven Moore tells their story.

EVEN as the talking over Ireland's political future began, other Irishmen were making more pressing arrangements for the war with Germany.
The rush of volunteers in 1914, though less so in Ireland where particular circumstances existed, owed much to the efforts of Horatio Herbert Kitchener.

Bom in June, 1850, just a year after the family had bought a bankrupt estate at Ballygoghlan, astride the county border between Kerry and Limerick on the banks of the Shannon estuary, he was Irish by birth if not blood.

He started the war already a national hero of long standing, so that his appointment as Secretary of State for War on August 5 seemed inevitable.
He accepted the post on a non-party, non-political basis, commenting the following morning: "May God preserve me from the politicians."

Kitchener shocked his cabinet colleagues by dismissing the commonly held belief that the war would be short or, as the expression widely circulating at the time put it, "would be all over by Christmas".

He warned it would last at least three years, though stopped short of telling them his opinion, often expressed privately, that a war between Britain and Germany could only end in stalemate.

He insisted that to win the war he would need a million men, and on August 11 issued an appeal for the first 100,000 volunteers, which were to be formed into six new divisions.

For the first time, Britain was to raise a national army rather than depending on its small professional force.
The citizen soldiers were to become known as the New Army, though many of those who signed up in those early days would always consider themselves as simply "Kitchener's men".

In the event, Earl Kitchener did not live to see his army put to the test on the Somme.
In June, 1916, as he set out in atrocious weather on a trip to Russia to encourage that country to continue in the war, his ship, the HMS Hampshire, hit a mine off Orkney and sank within 10 minutes.

He was last seen walking the deck in serious conversation, apparently unperturbed by the situation, and made no attempt to find a lifeboat.
His body was never recovered.

While the first of the fresh-faced volunteers queued in Ireland's cities and towns to take the King's shilling, it was the professionals who took the field.
The army which marched off to war in 1914 was much changed from that which had struggled to defeat the Boers during the South African campaign a decade-and-a-half earlier.
The man responsible for implementing those reforms was Field Marshal Lord Roberts, the most senior of the Irish generals and the last commander-in-chief of the British Army.

His Irish credentials were the opposite of Kitchener's.

Born at Cawnpore, India, in September 1832, he was sent to be educated in England by his Irish father, General Sir Abraham Roberts, attending Eton before passing out of Sandhurst.

He returned to India where he was to serve for the next 41 years in the region (including securing a resounding victory during the second Afghan War), the last eight as overall commander.

He was put in charge of the forces in Ireland from 1895, the same year he received his Field Marshal's baton, and was dispatched to South Africa in January, 1900, following the disastrous start to the campaign which had claimed the life of his son.

He quickly turned the army's foryunes round and returned to England exactly a year later, leaving Kitchener to continue the war against the Boers.
Lord Roberts had long retired from the active service list by the outbreak of the First World War but happily donned his uniform again to pay a visit to his Indian troops on the Western Front.

On November 13,1914, he retired to bed with a chill which rapidly evolved into pneumonia and at 8pm the following evening he passed away with his daughter and Sir Henry Wilson by his bedside.

Three days later, his coffin was borne on a gun carriage from the house in which he had died, 50 Avenue Carnot, St Omer, to the town's Hotel de Ville, where a funeral service attended by senior British and French generals was held.

Then, accompanied by Indian troops, his body was taken to Boulogne and transported home for burial at St Paul's Cathedral in London in the presence of King George.
Sir Henry Wilson was the man whose preparations and planning were to ensure the prompt and efficient arrival of the British Expeditionary Force in France.
From County Longford, he was both an unashamed Francophile, who did much to maintain good relations between the British and French armies, and a staunch unionist, his latter disposition making him something of an outcast among his fellow staff officers.

His support for the officers who took part in the Curragh Mutiny earned him political enemies, particularly in the Liberal Party, and prevented his appointment as chief of staff in 1914.

Wilson had been Director of Military Operations since 1910 and soon after the outbreak of war was appointed liaison officer to the French headquarters.
He commanded the IV Corps on the Western Front for a spell in 1915 but was a better administrator than commander and subsequently held a number of posts until made commander-in-chief in February, 1918.

His friendship with Marshal Foch, who was made supreme Allied commander the following month in response to the threatened German breakthrough on the Somme, was instrumental in ensuring the two armies worked in harmony.

Sir Henry was Britain's chief military advisor during the subsequent Paris Peace Conference, retiring as a Field Marshal in February, 1922, to enter Parliament as the Unionist MP for North Down.
Just four months later, as he returned to his London home after unveiling a war memorial, and dressed in full ceremonial uniform, he was shot dead by two IRA men (who were subsequently hanged for murder), the last British general to die with a sword in his hand as he bravely tried to defend himself.
For Sir Hubert Gough, from Gurteen, County Wexford, the outbreak of war revitalised a career blighted by the Curragh incident.
A Boer War veteran who had taken part in the relief of Ladysmith, he was commander of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade at the Curragh and had offered to resign his commission rather than take on the Unionists in Ulster.

In 1914 he was made a divisional commander and crossed to France with the British Expiditionary Force.
Two years later he was promoted to corps commander and ultimately took command of the Fifth Army.

Highly regarded by many as one of the best generals on the Western Front, he was replaced in 1918 following the poor showing of some divisions within his army group in the face of the German attacks of March-April that year.

He retired from the army in 1922. • The Irish on the Somme, by Steven Moore, can be bought directly from the News Letter. Please see advert below for details.
Another extract in tomorrow's News Letter.

[Kilsally]

Newsletter
29th June 2005

The ghastly spectacle of death on No-Man`s Land

Every Irish infantry battalion on the Western Front in 1916 took its turn in the trenches during the Battle of the Somme. In the fourth
extract from his book, The Irish On The Somme, STEVEN MOORE, tells of the part played by the 36th (Ulster) Division

THE X Corps contained the largest force of Irishmen in its ranks thanks to the inclusion of the 36th (Ulster) Division and, on its right, the 2nd Royal Inniskilling FXisiliers, part of the 96th Brigade of the 32nd Division.

On their front lay two of arguably the most difficult German fortifications on the entire front: the Schwaben Redoubt and the fortified Thiepval village.
The front line here ran along a ridge opposite the Ulster Division, before turning sharply right in front, of Thiepval.

This meant the Germans in the village could look down their gun sights on the flanks of the advancing troops in No-Man's-Land and pour fire into the occupied trenches.
The Ulster Division's front was split unequally by the River Ancre.

To the north of this natural obstacle was the 108th Brigade, consisting of the llth (South Antrim), 12th (Central Antrim), and 13th (County Down) Royal Irish Rifles and the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers (County Armagh, Monaghan and Cavan).

Despite being hindered by poorly cut wire, sufficient numbers of the first wave of troops made it into the German frontline trenches to make their presence felt but far too few to hold the position.

Armed with maps on which the division's objectives on both sides of the Ancre had been labelled with Ulster town names, such as Lisburn, Cavan, Moy, Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane, Bundoran, Portadown, Lurgan, Clones, Deny and Enniskillen. they advanced on an ever-decreasing front, attempting to reach Beaucourt station and coming within, perhaps, 100 yards of it.

But they now found themselves attacked from all sides.

With the failure of the 29th Division attack to their left, the German guns in Beaumont Hamel were able to turn south on the Ulstermen, while the withering artillery and machinegun fire now being unleashed on No-Man's-Land was savaging the later waves and preventing further reinforcements.

The Germans retook their front line, virtually cutting off any hope of retreat by the forward troops, though some did escape by crossing the railway lines and making their way down the banks of the river.

South of the river the opposition was every bit as great, though the division did manage to gain a better foothold.

The 107th Brigade, made up of the 8th (East Belfast), 9th (West Belfast), 10th (South Belfast), and 15th (North Belfast) Royal Irish Rifles, and the 109th Brigade, formed by the 9th (County Tyrone), 10th (County Derry), and llth (Donegal and Fermanagh) Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, and 14th (Young Citizen Volunteers) Royal Irish Rifles were involved here with the leading troops rapidly overrunning part of the German front line.

Colonel Ambrose Ricardo, standing on the parapet of the assembly trench with a loud hailer, encouraged his men forward.

He recalled later: "They got going without delay; no fuss, no shouting, no running, everything solid and thorough -just like the men themselves.
"Here and there a boy would wave his hand to me as I shouted 'Good Luck' to them through my megaphone.
"And all had a cheery face.
"Most were carrying loads.
"Fancy advancing against heavy fire with a big roll of barbed wire on your shoulder!"

Frank Percy Crozier, who later became a brigadier-general but who in 1916 was leading the west Belfast men of the 9th Royal Irish Rifles, spoke of the air "rent with deafening thunder; never has such man-made noise been heard before".

Looking to his right, he realised Thiepval village was still in German hands and that his men would face a withering fire from their flanks as they moved forward: "Again I look southward from a different angle and perceive heaped up masses of British corpses suspended on the German wire in front of the Thiepval stronghold, while live men rush forward in orderly procession to swell the weight of numbers in the spider's web.

"Will the last available and previously detailed man soon appear to do his futile duty unto death on the altar of sacrifice?
"We march on - I lose sight of the 10th Rifles and the human corn-stalks, falling before the Reaper."

The division's official history recorded how "flanking machine-gun fire burst out from the dominating position of Thiepval cemetery.

"The llth Inniskillings and 14th Rifles, as they emerged from the wood, were literally mown down, and 'No-Man's-Land' became a ghastly spectacle of dead and wounded".
Pausing just long enough to toss grenades into dugouts and tunnel entrances, the first wave of Ulster soldiers had pressed on, attempting to stay on a timetable which required them to be at the German third line by 7.48am.

The men swept across the Schwaben Redoubt, only for those Germans deep inside to emerge later in their rear.

They pushed ahead, their front shrinking all the time, to take the second, third and fourth lines of trenches.

An order to postpone the final push was too late in arriving and, in a last desperate effort, the Belfastmen of the 107th Brigade briefly attacked a short segment of the last German trench system after bitter hand-to-hand fighting.

It meant that the Ulster Division was the only one in the Somme sector to partially achieve all its objectives.

By this time the contest on either flank had long been settled in the Germans' favour and the encroachment of the Ulstermen was getting their full attention.

Bullets filled the air from the machineguns firing from Thiepval village to the right and the high ground of Beaumont Hamel on the left.

The Germans were reinforcing, with fresh troops arriving at Grandcourt by train.

The enemy counterattacked, pushing down from St. Pierre Divion.

Inch by inch the division was forced back, giving up its hard-won gains.

The survivors found themselves pinned down in a segment of the German front line trenches.

The 16th Royal Irish Rifles (2nd County Down), the division's Pioneers, attempted to cut a trench across No-Man's-Land but were forced to give up the task because of the weight of enemy fire.

When they were relieved on July 2-3, the Ulster Division had suffered some 5,500 casualties in dead, wounded and missing, including more than 200 officers - the 8th and 9th Royal Irish Rifles lost 20 each and none of the remaining battalions, with the exception of the Pioneers, suffered less than a dozen officer casualties.

Divisional commander Major-General Oliver Nugent, from a long-established County Cavan family, in his Special Order of the Day of JulyS, 1916, recorded that, in his opinion, "nothing finer has been done in the war than the attack by the Ulster Division on the 1st July".

He added: "The advance across the open to the German line was carried out with the steadiness of a parade movement, under a fire both from front and flanks, which could only have been faced by troops of the highest quality."

That July 12, instead of the traditional Orange Order parades, all traffic across Ulster came to a halt at noon for five minutes of silence.

• The Irish on the Somme, by Steven Moore, can be bought directly from the News Letter. Please see advert below for details.
Another extract in tomorrow's News Letter.

[Kilsally]

Newsletter
30th June 2005

Despite their vast numbers Germans were pushed back

In the fifth extract from his book, The Irish on the Somme, STEVEN MOORE tells of how the 36th (Ulster) Division
faced the German onslaught of March, 1918 - the Second Battle of the Somme

WHILE the Germans were the masters of defence, they were also more than capable of doing the arithmetic which told them that they would ultimately lose the war of attrition.

The Americans had entered the conflict in 1917 and their might, both sides knew, would prove the decisive factor.

By the middle of 1918, the United States had managed to deliver a million troops to France, and the total would top two million by the end of the year. At the end of 1917, however, the Americans were largely still in training and, following the defeat of Russia in the east, the Germans realised they had a numerical superiority for the first time.

If they were to snatch victory on the Western Front it had to be sooner rather than later. At 4.40am on March 21,1918, the German artillery opened up with 6,608 guns and more than 3,500 trench mortars on a front of about 50 miles.

Operation Michael, alternatively known as Kaiserschlacht or Kaiser's Battle to the Germans, and the March Retreat to the British, had begun. Some 74 German divisions, with the backing of 700 airplanes, moved forward in the first stage of a plan to knock Britain out of the war.

It took four weeks, and an agreement at long last to appoint an overall Allied commander, French Marshal Foch, to bring the German advance to an end just short of Amiens. The British suffered 38,500 casualties, of which 21,000 were prisoners and some 7,000 dead, while more than 500 artillery guns were lost on the first day alone.
The British had taken a decision late in 1917 to reorganise their divisions, reducing them from 12 to nine infantry battalions and disbanding more than 140 Service battalions.

As a result, virtually all the pre-war Irish infantry battalions which had fought on the Somme in 1916 (with the notable exception of the Irish Guards, the 1st remaining with the Guards Division and the 2nd transferring to the 31st Division) had been transferred to either the 16th or 36th divisions.

It is also worth noting that, by this stage in the war, the Irish element of these units had been greatly reduced by a system of allocating men according to need rather than any ethnic or political considerations.

The story of the Irish battalions in the 1918 battle is, therefore, simpler to tell than the 1916 campaign.

The 36th Division had been radically altered by 1918.

Many of the original battalions had been disbanded and the personnel drafted into other battalions of their own regiments. The 107th Brigade now consisted of the 1st Royal Irish Rifles, 2nd Royal Irish Rifles and 15th Royal Irish Rifles; the 108th Brigade of the 12th Royal Irish Rifles, 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers and 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers; and the 109th was made up of 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 2nd Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and 9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. The division had moved back to the Somme front in January, 1918, initially working on improving the defences in the Battle Zone after relieving the French who had formerly manned the St Quentin front.
The following month they were relieved of this task, moving into the line proper.

On St Patrick's Day, March 17th, 1918, the Catholics of the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Royal Irish Rifles held Mass together for the first time since 1854.

Four days later, on March 21, the three battalions holding a 6,000-yard front to a depth of 1,200 yards in the Forward Zone at St Quentin were subjected to a five-hour bombardment followed by an attack by three German Divisions.

The zone was overwhelmed, though pockets of troops held out. Some 24 hours after the initial assault, members of the 12th Royal Irish Rifles swam and waded down the canal at night to report that the battalion was still holding out at the Racecourse Redoubt.

The Battle Zone held firm initially, only giving ground at Contescourt. At Essigny, however, to the divisional right, the line was turned with the reserves of the 36th deployed in an attempt to stabilise it.

The 1st InnisMllings at Fontaine-les-Clercs, despite driving off numerous German assaults, finally had to pull back for want of support.
On the evening of March 22, the division withdrew, falling back in subsequent days as it continuously fought rearguard
actions.

The 2nd Rifles were trapped at Cugny on the 24th, and effectively wiped out.

Cyril Falls records: "There cannot be many instances, even in the late war, of a battalion being blotted out so completely as this.
"Only the transport, a handful employed with it, a few officers kept back, and those on leave were left."

At Velleselves, the 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers along with the Royal Dragoons recaptured Erches.

With the British retiring due west, and the French towards Paris, a gap opened in the line.

The 36th and 30th divisions were thrown forward to plug it on March 26, which they did successfully.

By the time the German assaults ground to a halt, the division had lost more than 5,000 men, the vast majority of them having been taken prisoner.

A letter home to Dungannon, County Tyrone, by a non-commissioned officer in the 36th (Ulster) Division was published in the News Letter on April 17,1918, without the writer being identified. It read: "At first the Hun had all in his favour, as for the first five days you could not see 50 yards ahead owing to the mist, and we always found on retiring that the enemy had gone four or five miles past us. "Some of our best lads have fallen but all played the game, and when the Huns surrounded them, and shouted "Ulster Division surrender' they cut them down in hundreds and got away.
"We brought the rations up to the lads each night, and once we went five miles past the Germans to reach our battalion and safely returned.
"Another night a mounted patrol surrounded us when we were unloading the rations but we drove them off with rifle fire and rescued from them two of the Inniskillings whom they had made prisoners. "On the second day of the offensive we held the Haig line, although the Germans were five miles past us.
"On our fourth day of retirement we were relieved late at night, but at five o'clock the next morning we had to rush into the line at the double.
"We stopped one night in a village, but next morning the Hun was on top of us, so it was a case of fighting again.
"It was very sad to see the women and children flying for their lives and leaving everything behind."

The 36th Division was withdrawn from the line and moved north to Flanders, where it remained until the end of the war, taking part in a number of the final actions as the Germans were pushed back towards Mons.

• The Irish on the Somme, by Steven Moore, can be bought directly from the News Letter. Please see advert on this page. Another extract in tomorrow's News Letter.

[stephen1]

The 36th (Ulster) Division was formed from Sir Edward Carson's Ulster Volunteer Force. They had formed in 1912 to try to keep Ulster within the United Kingdom. The southern Irish and many Ulster Catholics wanted a semi-independant Irish parliament to govern the whole island. Carson was prepared to set up his own provisional government in Ulster if the province was forced into such an agreement by the British, and the printing of independant Ulster banknotes was even discussed! The Ulster volunteers were over 100,000 strong and well armed.

At the outbreak of WW1 the Ulster volunteers decided to show their loyalty to the United Kingdom and the British Empire by fighting for Britain in the war against Germany. Carson said that, "England's difficulty is not Ulster's opportunity."

The volunteers were formed into the 36th (Ulster) Division of the British Army. They insisted on having the word "Ulster" in their title!

The Ulster Division first saw action at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. The day they were to go over the top was the 1st July- the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne a date of course held dear by Ulster Protestants. Some of the soldiers even wore their Orange sashes into battle.

The Division made the furthest advances of any British regiment on that day- to terrible cost. 5500 Ulstermen were recorded as casualties. The West Belfast Battalion went over with 700 men and returned with only 70.

Captain Wilfred Spender was later quoted as saying, "I am not an Ulsterman but yesterday, the 1st. July, as I followed their amazing attack, I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world".

On the 12th of July 1916 the traditional Ulster Orange parades were cancelled and a five minutes silence was held as the news of what had happened began to reach home. The effect of the slaughter of the Somme on the small Protestant communities in Ulster can hardly be over-stated. Even today the battle is still spoken of in hushed and reverential tones.

After the war the Northern Ireland state was set up, encompassing much of the province of Ulster. It had its own government virtually independent of London. The Somme became part of the birth "myth" of this new Ulster state- Ulster Protestants believed (and to some extent many still do) that their sacrifice on the Somme meant that Britain would never and could never force them into an all-Ireland state.

[Irish_gallowglass]

God bless the heroes of 1916. Who died fighting for freedom and democracy. In their own way, shape and form.

[stephen1]

God bless the heroes of 1916. Who died fighting for freedom and democracy. In their own way, shape and form.

Didn't miss that wee double meaning there gallowglass!

Also regarding your "unionist" quotes- Carson was very much an Irish patriot, he wanted the whole of Ireland to remain under British rule.

Craig was very much an Ulsterman first and he worked very hard to gain the exclusion of Ulster (6 counties) from Irish Home Rule.

It's also worth noting that despite Carsons all-Ireland ideals he was preparing (if Irish Home Rule was passed) to set up a provisional Ulster government in 1912 that would even have its own currency!

[Irish_gallowglass]

What double meaning? Both groups of men (Irish Volunteers) and the 36th Ulster Division died fighting for near the same thing. Democracy and the rights of small nations.

As for the quotes, the important thing to remember is that both Carson and Craig either opposed the Government of Ireland Act in 1920 (which was a year late anyways and thus null and void) or believed that partition would not last long and nor should it. Paritition however is now nessecary for any kind of Unionism (Irish or otherwise) because if one is against partition then one is practically asking for an indepdent Ireland, if one supports democracy.