remni june 23

JUNE 23

remembrance ni

Menin Gate Memorial to Missing 54,000

The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is a war memorial in Ypres, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown.

The Menin Gate is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres

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Salient. Broadly speaking, the Salient stretched from Langemarck in the north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood in the south, but it varied in area and shape throughout the war.

The Salient was formed during the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914, when a small British Expeditionary Force succeeded in securing the town before the onset of winter, pushing the German forces back to the Passchendaele Ridge. The Second Battle of Ypres began in April 1915 when the Germans released poison gas into the Allied lines north of Ypres. This was the first time gas had been used by either side and the violence of the attack forced an Allied withdrawal and a shortening of the line of defence.

There was little more significant activity on this front until 1917, when in the Third Battle of Ypres an offensive was mounted by Commonwealth forces to divert German attention from a weakened French front further south. The initial attempt in June to dislodge the Germans from the Messines Ridge was a complete success, but the main assault north-eastward, which began at the end of July, quickly became a dogged struggle against determined opposition and the rapidly deteriorating weather. The campaign finally came to a close in November with the capture of Passchendaele.

The German offensive of March 1918 met with some initial success, but was eventually checked and repulsed in a combined effort by the Allies in September.

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The battles of the Ypres Salient claimed many lives on both sides and it quickly became clear that the commemoration of members of the Commonwealth forces with no known grave would have to be divided between several different sites.

The site of the Menin Gate was chosen because of the hundreds of thousands of men who passed through it on their way to the battlefields. It commemorates casualties from the forces of Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and United Kingdom who died in the Salient. In the case of United Kingdom casualties, only those prior 16 August 1917 (with some exceptions). United Kingdom and New Zealand servicemen who died after that date are named on the memorial at Tyne Cot, a site which marks the furthest point reached by Commonwealth forces in Belgium until nearly the end of the war. New Zealand casualties that died prior to 16 August 1917 are commemorated on memorials at Buttes New British Cemetery and Messines Ridge British Cemetery.

The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial now bears the names of more than 54,000 officers and men whose graves are not known. The memorial, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield with sculpture by Sir William Reid-Dick, was unveiled by Lord Plumer on 24 July 1927.

Impact on N Ireland community - A Gate of Death and Glory

The name of Menin came home to Northern Ireland after the war and influenced street names. For example in Antrim there are housing areas which were built specifically for

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returning veterans and their families. Two are titled the Menin Road and the Bourlon Road.

The dedication of the memorial gate and the public reaction to it was described by a Belfast newspaper on 11 November 1927 as “A Gate of Death and Glory”.The newspaper commented, “Many monuments have been raised in various parts of the world to the honour of our Glorious Dead, but none has stirred the heart and gripped the imagination of the public in the same degree as the Menin Gate Arch; and to its noble “Hall of Memory,” hallowed with the names of 56,000 British heroes, the thoughts of countless bereaved will be concentrated during the two minutes’ solemn silence. Since the official opening by Lord Plumer, in the presence of the King of the Belgians, on 24th July last, there has been a constant stream of British pilgrims to this beautiful memorial. By train, charabanc and private car, people have poured into Ypres. The signatures on the visitors’ book have averaged 500 a day, that number probably representing about one-third of the total who have made the journey.

“In itself, of course, Menin Gate is not historic in the sense that the scenes of actual fighting a few miles away are historic, save for the fact that it was the focal point in that colossal waste of mangled desolation. It may be said that practically every soldier who fought in the defence of Ypres must at one time or other have passed through its narrow portals. Those who survived have been rewarded by the knowledge that their heroic efforts contributed to victory and kept us a free people, but to thousands, nay, tens of thousands, Menin was the gate of death. Many gallant lads

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marched through it to the rolling ground that leads to Hooge, strong, reliant and fearless in their manhood, never to return; or perchance to crawl falteringly back helpless wrecks, gasping and choking with poison gas slowly destroying their lungs, until, their strength completely sapped, they fell exhausted, only to die alone on the roadside. Alas! too frequently in the hateful mud and water-logged ground, churned up on every side by shell-fire, their identities were lost with their lives; and no man knows their grave to this day.”

The names of the men of the Royal Irish Regiment are recorded Panel 33.

The names of 8 holders of the VC are recorded on the memorial.

An inscription on the memorial states its purpose thus, “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. Here are recorded names of officers and men who fell in Ypres Salient but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death”.

The birth of a tradition

Every night at 8.00pm a moving ceremony takes place under the Menin Gate in Ypres. The Last Post Ceremony has become part of the daily life in Ypres and the local people are proud of this simple but moving tribute to the courage and self-sacrifice of those who fell in defence of their town.

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In 1928, a year after the inauguration of the Menin Gate Memorial, a number of prominent citizens in Ypres decided that some way should be found to express the gratitude of the Belgian nation towards those who had died for its freedom and independence.

The idea of the daily sounding of the Last Post - the traditional salute to the fallen warrior - was that of the Superintendent of the Ypres Police, Mr P Vandenbraambussche. The Menin Gate Memorial on the east side of Ypres was thought to be the most appropriate location for the ceremony. Originally this was the location of the old city gate leading to the Ypres Salient battlefields and The Menin Road, through which so many British and Commonwealth troops had passed on their way to the Allied front line.

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The privilege of playing Last Post was given to buglers of the local volunteer Fire Brigade. The first sounding of Last Post took place on 1 July 1928 and a daily ceremony was carried on for about four months. The ceremony was reinstated in the spring of 1929 and the Last Post Committee (now called the Last Post Association) was established. Four silver bugles were donated to the Last Post Committee by the Brussels and Antwerp Branches of the Royal British Legion.

From 11 November 1929 the Last Post has been sounded at the Menin Gate Memorial every night and in all weathers. The only exception to this was during the four years of the German occupation of Ypres from 20 May 1940 to 6 September 1944. The daily ceremony was instead continued in England at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey. On the very evening that Polish forces liberated Ypres the ceremony was resumed at the Menin Gate, in spite of the heavy fighting still going on in other parts of the town. Bullet marks can still be seen on the memorial from that time.

When the Last Post returned to Ieper (Ypres) after the Second World War the Brookwood Last Post Association (under Colonel McKay) continued, until recent years, to sound the Last Post at Brookwood Military Cemetery on the first Sunday of the month.

Names of Belfast men listed on the memorial

ROYAL IRISH RIFLES ADAIR, R. J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Brussels Street, Belfast.

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ATKINSON, M., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Mersey, Street, Belfast.ATKINSON, T., Lance-Corporal, Royal Irish Rifles, Blaney, Street, Belfast.BARKER, G., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Roundhill Street, M’pottinger, Belfast.BEST, R., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Ghent Street, Belfast.BROWNE, A. V., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Argyle Street, Belfast.BURNS, W., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Knockbreda Road, Cregagh, Belfast.CAMPBELL, C., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Surrey Street, Belfast.CAMPBELL, J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, King’s Road, Knock, Belfast.CARLISLE, D., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Bristol Street, Belfast.CLARKE, C., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Little Charlotte Street, Belfast.COATES, R., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Argyle Street, Belfast.COLLIER, D., Company-Sergeant-Major, Royal Irish Rifles, Belvoir Street, Belfast.COLLINS, H., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Pernan Street, Belfast.COTTER, W., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Copperfield Street, Belfast. DICKEY,J., Corporal, Royal Irish Rifles, Davton Street, Belfast.DUNNE, T., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Steen’s Row, Belfast. ELLIOTT, C., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Disraeli Street, Belfast.

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ELLIS, W., Corporal, Royal Irish Rifles, St. Kilda Street, Belfast.FERRIS, S., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Crumlin Road, Ballysillan, Belfast.FINN, W. J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Paris Street, Belfast. FITZSIMMONS, P., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Raphael Street, Belfast.FLYNN, W. G. A., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Glenbank, Ballysillan, Belfast. FRAZER, W., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Northumberland Street, Belfast. GRAHAM, R. H., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Lisburn Avenue, Belfast.HAMILTON, H., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Moat Street, Donaghadee. HARVEY, T., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Weir Street, Belfast.HEANEY, J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, McQuillan Street, Belfast. HENDERSON, W. A., Corporal, Royal Irish Rifles, Eighth Street, Belfast.HUGHES, J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Moscow Street, Belfast.JENKINS, R., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Ninon Street, Belfast. JOHNSTON, H., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Carew Street, Ballymacarrett.KENNEDY, J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Frederick Place, Belfast. KENNEDY, W. W., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Island Street, Belfast. KING, S., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Eighth Street,

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Belfast. LOUGHLIN, R., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Clandeboye Street, Belfast. LYNAS, W., Lance-Corporal, Royal Irish Rifles, Malvern Street, Belfast. M’CAFFREY, T., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, College Street, Belfast. M’CALLUM, J., Sergeant, Royal Irish Rifles, Pevril Street, Belfast. M’CANLEY, R., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Hill Street, Dunmurry.M’CARTHEY J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Mashona Street, Belfast. M’CLELLAND, W. J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Bann Street, Belfast. M’CLURG, W., Lance-Corporal, Royal Irish Rifles, Urney Street, Belfast. M’COMB, W., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, North Howard Street, Belfast. M’CRORY, H., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Urney Street, Belfast. M’CULLOUGH, J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Agincourt Avenue, Belfast. M’DONALD, D., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Tomb Street, Belfast. M’FALL, R., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, MillRoad, Whitehouse.M’FARLAND, G., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Rosebery Street, Connswater.M’KEE, W. D., Lieutenant, Royal Irish Rifles, Cyprus Park, Bloomfield. M’KENZIE, T., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Convention Street, Belfast.

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M’KEOWN, J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Conlon Street, Belfast. M’LEAN, R. G., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Fortuna Street, Belfast. M’REAVIE, W. J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Weir Street, Belfast.MILLAR, R., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Harrison Street, Belfast. MOAN, J. L., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Anderson Street, Belfast. MORGAN, G., Corporal, Royal Irish Rifles, Chamberland Street, Belfast. MULLAN, T., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Genoa Street, Belfast. MURRAY, H., Corporal, Royal Irish Rifles, Seaforde Street, Belfast. NAPIER, J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Beersbridge Road, Belfast. NEILL, J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, The Lane, Whitehouse.NELSON, R., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Dickson Street, Belfast. O’DONOHOE, P. J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Waterford Street, Belfast. O’RORKE, T., Sergeant, Royal Irish Rifles, Osman Street, Belfast.ORR, W., Sergeant, Royal Irish Rifles, Belvoir Street, Belfast. PARRY, W., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Upper Canning Street, PATTON, J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Douglas Street, Belfast.PHAIR, G., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Laganvale Street,

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Belfast. POLLAN, R. K., 2nd Lieutenant, Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Taunton Avenue, Belfast.RIDDELL, J., Lance-Corporal, Royal Irish Rifles, Bathurst Court, Belfast.SMYTH I., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, James Street, Belfast.SOMERVILLE, G., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, St. Leonard’s Street, Belfast.STEWART, T., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Brownlow Street, Belfast.STUART, D., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Alexander Street, Belfast.TORRANS, S., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Schumberg Street, Belfast.TURLEY, J., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Cyprus Street, Belfast.WALSH, T., Lance-Corporal, Royal Irish Rifles, Gilbert Street, Belfast.WILKINSON, K., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Belfast.WILLIAMSON, F., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Kendal Street, Belfast. WILSON, J., (6072) Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Tyrone Street, Belfast.WILSON J., (13878) M.M., Rifleman, Royal Irish Rifles, Linwood Street, Belfast.ROYAL INNISKILLING FUSILIERS

CAMPBELL, H., Private, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Ewart’s Row, BelfastCLINTON, J., Private, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Oswald

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Street,CUPPLES, W., Captain, Private, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Malone Avenue, BelfastDALY, J. J., Private, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Herbert Street, BelfastGORDON, W., Corporal, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Ottawa Street, BelfastKENNEDY, W. E., Company-Sgt-Major, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Derlett Street.NORNEY, T. J., (M.M.) Private, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Millfield, BelfastROSBOTHAM, S., Corporal, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Woodvale Avenue, Belfast ROYAL IRISH FUSILIERS

ANDERSON, W., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Lesson Street, BelfastCHEYNE, E. E., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, M’Clure Street, BelfastCOOKE, C. E., 2nd Lieutenant, Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Nottinghill House, BelfastCOPELAND, J., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Sheriff Street, BelfastCorrigan, P., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Cullingtree Street, BelfastCRANGLE, J., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Ardenlee Avenue, BelfastCUNNINGHAM, W., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Athens Street, BelfastDEMPSTER, S., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Montreal Street, Belfast

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FITZSIMONS, C., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Grosvenor Place, BelfastHUMPHREYS, W., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Ottawa Street, BelfastHYDE, J., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Bentham Street, BelfastKERTLAND, E. B., 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Knockdene Park, BelfastKIRK, F., Sergeant, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Euston Street, BelfastM’CREA, A., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Little Patrick Street, BelfastM’CREADY, D., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Templemore Street, BelfastM’MEEKAN, W., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Bentham Street, BelfastMILLAR, A. J., Captain, Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Eglantine Avenue, BelfastO’HAGAN, J., Company-Sergeant-Major, Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Frederick Street, BelfastRAFFERTY, W. J., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Lower Clonard Street, Falls Road, BelfastMILLAR, A. J., Captain, Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Eglantine Avenue, BelfastO’HAGAN, J., Company-Sergeant-Major, Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Frederick Street, BelfastRAFFERTY, W. J., Private, Royal Irish Fusiliers, Lower Clonard Street, Falls Road, BelfastOTHER REGIMENTS.ALLMAN, G., Corporal, Cheshire Regt. Leopold Street, BelfastBRIEN, J., Private Royal Scots Fusiliers, Colinward Street,

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BelfastDICKSON, R. A., 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Irish Regiment, Stranmillis Road, Belfast DONNELLY, J., Private, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Spring View, Belfast DUN WOODY, R. A., Private Irish Guards, Gaffikin Street, Belfast EDWARDS, J., Private, Army Cyclist Corps, Lepper Street, Belfast FAUSSET, S. S., Lieutenant, King's Liverpool Regiment, Chichester Avenue, Belfast FENNING, T., Private Irish Guards, Northumberland Street, BelfastGILL, D. L., Private, 11th Hussars, Westmoreland Street, BelfastGORDON, G., Lieutenant, 12th Lancers, Rosemary Street, BelfastHAMILTON-TEMPLE-BLACKWOOD, Lord B. G. T., Lieutenant, Grenadier Guards, Clandeboye, County Down HANDS, R., Private, Royal Lancaster Regiment, Westland Street, BelfastHANLON, T., Private Royal Munster Fusiliers, Kilronan Street, BelfastHOGAN, W. E., Sergeant, Cheshire Regiment, Beersbridge Street, BelfastHOWIE, W., Private, Irish Guards, Jerusalem Street, BelfastLAUGHLIN, W. D., Private, Irish Guards, Shankill Road, BelfastLEARY, J., Private, Cheshire Regiment, Duffy Street, BelfastLENNOX, A., Lance-Corporal, East Lancashire Regiment, Matilda Street, Belfast M’CREADY, D., Private, King’s Liverpool Regiment, Templemore Street, Belfast

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M’KEE, W., Private, Seaforth Highlanders, Avoneil Street, BelfastM’MANUS, T., Private, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Rugby Avenue, BelfastM’MILLAN, R., Private, Irish Guards, Convention Street, BelfastMALONEY, W. A., 2nd Lieutenant, Cheshire Regiment, Fortwilliam Park, BelfastMULHOLLAND, W. P., Private, Irish Guards, Cavendish Street, BelfastPRENTER, J., Private, King's Shropshire Light Infantry, Sungville Street, BelfastRAMSAY,T. L., Private, Cameron Highlanders, Harrybrook Street, BelfastSELBY, W. A., Private, Royal Sussex Regiment, Sixth Street, Belfast SEYMOUR, S. H., Private, Machine Gun Corps, Blackwood Street, BelfastSKELLY, S., Private, Inniskilling Dragoons, Farnham Street, BelfastSTEELE, A., Private, North Lancashire Regiment, Isabella Street, BelfastTODD, H. E., (M.M.), Private, Yorkshire Regiment, Andersonstown, YOUNG, J., Private, Dragoon Guards, Westbourne Street, Belfast

Extract from the Belfast Newspaper, 11th November, 1927

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Newspaper reports - June 23

The Witness 23/06/1916

Sergeant Robert Gibney, of the 5th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers, who has been awarded the D.C.M., is an old campaigner who, served through the South African war. His parents reside at Banbrook Hill, Armagh.

The Lord Bishop of Kilmore, Ardagh, and Elphin (Right Rev. Dr. Moore) has received a telegram from the War Office intimating that his son, Lieutenant D. W. Moore, Royal Irish Rifles (Ulster Division) has been killed in action. The late officer, who was serving with the Machine Gun Corps, received his commission on the 2nd February, 1915.

Approval has been given for the appointment of Major-General W. Fry, C.V.O., C.B., Colonel West Yorkshire Regiment, as Major-General in Charge of Administration, Irish Command, in succession to Major-General Right Hon. L. B. Friend, C.B., who is leaving Ireland in order to take up another appointment.

The death occurred on 18th inst. from wounds received in action of Second-Lieutenant Francis Theodore George Corscadden, Royal Irish Rifles. He was the youngest son of Mr. T. Corscadden, Hollymount, Manorhamilton, and was twenty-seven years of age.

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It is officially announced that the King has been pleased to give permission to Major W. D. Kenny, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, to wear the decoration of the Order of the Nile, third class, conferred upon him by the Sultan of Egypt in recognition of his valuable services. Major Kenny is a son of Mr. Justice Kenny, and is aide-de-camp to the Sultan of Egypt.

Amongst those who were awarded the Military Medal in the King’s Birthday Honours was Sergeant R. Monaghan, son of the late Mr. George Monaghan, Carrickatee, Ballybay, and a member of the 1st Canadian contingent, who has been with the Expeditionary Force for sixteen months.

Lieutenant and Adjutant Roger Hall, 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), who was mentioned in despatches by Sir Douglas Haig for gallant and distinguished conduct in the field, is the only son of the late Captain Roger Hall, D.L., Narrowwater Castle, Warrenpoint. He obtained a commission on the outbreak of war in his father’s old regiment, and has seen a good deal of active service on the Western front.

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On this Day - June 23 1915

At 2200hrs during the Gallipoli campaign on the Dardanelles, Major Crover RM from A Coy Portsmouth 'at the point of a bayonet' took a Turkish trench which they held for an hour and a half. Crover was killed during the action.

A narrow gauge train carrying men and artillery shells to the front lines in WW1

1916

At the Battle of Verdun the Germans take Hills 321 and 320 and the Thiaumont Fort.

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1940

Destroyer HMS Khartoum sank in the Red Sea when she suffered an internal explosion (probably caused by a faulty torpedo) after taking part with other ships in a battle with Italian submarine Torricelli. 1 crew member died.

General Erwin Rommel in the Paris, France victory parade

The German advance continues down west coast of France.Pierre Laval is appointed as Vice-Premier, while de Gaulle is cashiered by Weygand for announcing the formation of French National Committee in London.

First British commando raid on France is made at Le Touquet.Hitler makes a brief sightseeing visit to Paris. Driving through nearly empty streets, he makes a special point of viewing Napoleon’s tomb, ending his tour at the Eiffel tower.

1941

US Under-Secretary of State, backs Churchill’s aid-for-Russia policy.

The Red Army launches an armored counter-attack near Tilsit in Lithuania, but this is repulsed with heavy losses. German forces cross the River Bug, bypassing Brest-Litovsk from the North and South and penetrating 50 miles into Russian occupied Poland.

Slovakia declares war on the Soviet Union.

1942

The Russians withdraw to the South side of Sevastopol’s bay, preserving their front, as the bombardment and

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German attacks increase. German advanced elements reach the Egyptian border. Rommel signals Kesselring for permission to continue the advance in to Egypt, pointing out that at Tobruk his forces has captured large quantities of fuel and supplies.

As a part of so-called euthanasia operation, murdering of mentally ill people in Nazi Germany, 566 Poles were gassed in Bunker 1 in Auschwitz II-Birkenau: 535 deported from psychiatric hospital in Kobierzyn and 31 from Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.

1943

A coal strike is Appalachia is finally settled. President Roosevelt warns the miners that if they strike again, he will draft them into the army so that they will be forced to work.

1944

38 (Irish) Brigade - Lt-Col Horsfall 2 LIR, 23rd June 1944:

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"Led by Colin Gibbs, F Coy was 500 yds up the road to Pescia & still held the tactical strong point of Casa Montemara. It was the key to the next operation as the opening barrage of 78’s divisional artillery had to start on a line through it.

“I offered to withdraw F Coy a 1/4 mile back to safety. Colin said, ‘Colonel, I would like to talk to my chaps.’ & after speaking to them told me: ‘Sir, you must begin with the barrage on this place, but we would like to stay. It has good cellars & we will go in to them at zero.

“Colin thus took the decision, which no senior officer would have ordered – not in a British army. But it was the right one. And so it came about that a company commander & 30 riflemen elected to stay in their posts when their division’s artillery put down their wrath upon them.."

The Red Army launched Operation Bagration on the Eastern Front. By the end of August, German Army Group Centre had been virtually destroyed. This, together with activities of the Western allies, would spell the death knell for Nazi Germany

Eden tells the Commons ‘ the facts’ about the killing of 50 ‘escaping’ RAF officers at Stalag Luft III, saying ‘These prisoners of war were murdered’.

Generaloberst Dietl, C-in-C of 20th Gebirgs Army on the Arctic front in northern Finland, is killed in an air crash.

In one of the largest air strikes of the war, the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force sends 761 bombers against the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania.

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1945

The San Francisco Conference Co-ordination Committee, completes the text of the UN Charter.

Roll of Honour - June 23 Representing their comrades who died on this day

1915

+GREER Richard Ussher

Following the declaration of war in 1914 and the announcement on the 3rd September by Sir Edward Carson of the formation of the 36th (Ulster) Division, the Rev. Greer immediately secured a chaplaincy with the 8th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles (East Belfast Volunteers). The 8th Battalion, along with the 9th, 10th and 15th Battalions, Royal Irish Rifles formed the 107th Infantry Brigade.

They were initially trained at Ballykinlar Camp on the County Down Coast, and it was while the Rev Greer was on a leave of absence from there that he suffered a brain hemorrhage at home and died suddenly on 23/06/1915.

Born on 29 July 1868 at Riverside, County Tyrone. Richard was the son of the Reverend William Henry and Charlotte Pike. Rev Greer was Rector of Kilcoleman and Crossboyle, County Mayo. Richard was educated at the Royal School

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Armagh and then the Royal School Dungannon and Trinity College Dublin (1887-93).

Richard Ussher Greer married Elizabeth Lindsay Greer, daughter of Frederick Greer and Cecilia Staples, of Tullylagan Demense, County Tyrone, on 28 April 1898.

Family: Richard Ussher Greer; Elizabeth Lindsay/Lauder Greer; Ussher Macgregor Greer (born 8 Jun 1899), (died 4 Jan 1962); Rt. Rev. William Derrick Lindsay Greer (born 28 Feb 1902), (died 30 Oct 1972); Margaret Cecilia Lindsay Greer (born 21 Mar 1905); Monica Elizabeth Greer (born 27 Feb 1907).

At his funeral he was given full military honours, his coffin was originally carried from the old Seapatrick Rectory by members of the Orange and Black Institutions. He had for a long time, been associated with both institutions, being chaplain to the local Seapatrick Orange lodges, Banbridge Bible and Crown Defenders LOL 423 and also Chaplain to Mount Nebo RBP 53. In fact, he was so well liked that following his death. A Woman’s Orange Lodge was formed in his honour called “The Greer Memorial WLOL41”. This lodge is still in existence today and meets monthly in Banbridge Orange Hall under his photograph. His portrait in full military uniform graced the LOL 423 lodge banner and it was only recently that a new banner was dedicated that depicts St Patrick’s Village Church, Seapatrick.

Members of the Royal Irish constabulary along with 100 soldiers of the 8th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles formed the guard of honour at his funeral and his sons Ussher Macgregor Greer and William Derrick Lindsay Greer walked

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behind the coffin. On arrival at the parish church, four fellow officers carried his coffin in. The Reverend C C Manning, a Chaplain to the Forces, conducted the funeral service. The Reverend D R Mitchell BA, the Presbyterian Chaplain to 107th Infantry Brigade read a special lesson. Canon Peacock gave the address. At the conclusion of the service, the regimental band of the 8th Battalion played the Death March and the Last Post as the casket left the church. The cortege then left for a private family burial in Newmills Church of Ireland churchyard in County Tyrone.

Right Rev J Irvine Peacock, Lord Bishop of Derry, unveiled a memorial tablet in November 1916 to the memory of the late Rev R Ussher Greer. The memorial tablet can still be viewed today in Seapatrick Parish Church, Banbridge, Co Down. It is on the left of the chancel and bears the Inscription:

“To the Glory of GodAnd the Loving Memory ofRichard Ussher Greer M. A.For 3 ½ years Rector of this parish 1911-15.Until the day break and the shadows flee away”

Buried at Newmills, which is just off the Dungannon to Cookstown Road. The family plot has a large granite headstone and ornate fenced surround and it sits proudly overlooking the main road through the village in the churchyard adjacent to the church.

Rev Richard Ussher Greer’s son, Rt. Rev. William Derrick Lindsay Greer, held the office of Bishop of Manchester

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CWGC London Cemetery Neuville-Vitasse

between 1947 and 1970. - Friends of The Somme - Mid Ulster Branch.

TCD 1887, BA 1890, MA 1893. Curate of Christ Church, Lisburn c.1902. Rector of St Michael’s, Belfast. Rector of Seapatrick, Banbridge 1911 - 15.

1916

+IRWIN, Michael

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 9th Btn. Private. 25518. Died 23/06/1916. Age 28. Born in Benburb, County Tyrone.

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Michael Irwin was living in Hexham-on-Tyne, when he travelled to Finner Camp, County Donegal to enlist. Uthuile Military Cemetery, Authuile, Somme, France. Hexham

1917

+DUNWOODIE, William David

Auckland Regiment, 1st Btn. N.Z.E.F. Private. 31968. Died 23/06/1917. Aged about 19. Born about 1898. Son of William Dunwoodie, Millberry, Caledon. His mother died before he was three. William Dunwoodie attended Dilworth Ulster Institute in Auckland, New Zealand from 1906-1911. After leaving school William worked as a labourer in New Zealand before enlisting with the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. Messines Ridge (NZ) Memorial, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Dungannon WM

1918

+ROCHESTER, James

Royal Irish Rifles, 12th Btn. Rifleman. 19/309. Died 23/06/1918. Age 23. Son of James and Elizabeth Rochester, of 184, Ravenhill Avenue, Belfast. Native of Gateshead. Berlin South-Western Cemetery, Germany

1940

+TOZER, James Johnstone

RAFVR. Pilot Officer (Observer). 77983. Died 23/06/1940. Aged 20.107 Sqdn. Son of William J. and Mary Tozer, of Finaghy. Steenwijkerwold (Willemsoord) General Cemetery, Overijssel, Netherlands

JUNE 23

1941 HMS FEARLESS

+McNEILL, JamesRN. AB. D/SSX 25765. Died 23/07/1941. Age 20. HMS Fearless. His only brother Private George McNeill, RUR, was killed in action in Belgium the year previous. His parents residence in Mountcollyer St., Belfast had been destroyed in an air raid. Son of Mr. and Mrs. George McNeill, Upper Charville St., Belfast. (Belfast Weekly Telegraph 16/08/1941). Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 47

+SMITH, HughRN. Able Seaman. D/SSX 24851. Died 23/07/1941. Age 21. HMS Fearless. He was posted as missing after the sinking of Fearless. He had three and a half years service and had been in two ships which also had been sunk by enemy aerial attack. His brother Thomas was serving in the RN. Son of Samuel and Elizabeth Smith, Fortingale St., Belfast. (Belfast Weekly Telegraph 16/08/1941). Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 48

1944

+GORDON, Thomas

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 6th Btn. Warrant Officer Class II (C.S.M.). 7010877. Died 23/06/1944. Aged 34. Son of Robert and Mary Ann Gordon; husband of Olive Gordon, of Strabane. Bolsena War Cemetery, Italy

JUNE 23

+NELSON, James Craig

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 6th Btn. Fusilier. 14435402. Died 23/06/1944. Aged 23. Son of James and Margret Nelson, of Upperlands, Co. Londonderry. Orvieto War Cemetery, Italy

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