Royal Irish Fusiliers
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The Royal Irish Fusiliers was an Irish infantry regiment of the British Army, raised originally as 87 Prince of Wales's Irish Regiment of Foot in 1793 and later combined with The 89 Regiment in 1881. It was given "The Royal Irish Fusiliers" title in 1827. It was one of eight Irish regiments raised and garrisoned in Ireland. Its first title in 1881 was Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers), later changed to The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's).
It saw quite an amount of service in the Napoleonic Wars and became famous as the first British Army unit to capture a French Imperial eagle in battle. It was in the Peninsula that the regiment got its nickname, the Faughs, from their Irish war cry "Faugh A Ballagh" (Fág a' Bealach, meaning Clear the Way).
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[edit] World War I
Militarily, the whole of Ireland was administered as a separate command within the United Kingdom with Command Headquarters at Parkgate (Phoenix Park) Dublin, directly under the War Office in London[1]. The regiment served the counties of Armagh, Monaghan and Cavan, its garrison depot located at Armagh town.
Battalions of it served with the 10th Irish Division and 36th (Ulster) Division during World War I and was amalgamated with The Royal Ulster Rifles and The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers to form The Royal Irish Rangers in 1968[2].
[edit] 6th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers in the Gallipoli Campaign
The 6th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers received orders to embark for service in the Dardanelles on 9th July 1915 as part of the 31st Brigade, 10th (Irish) Division. At the time the battalion was with the rest of the 10th (Irish) Division (less Divisional Artillery which had been sent to France previously) in Basingstoke having just completed their training.The Division was part of Kitcheners New Army; made up of generally of raw recruits with a sprinkling of older men who had already seen military service (i.e. Boer War and India) and who had either been recalled to the colours or had volunteered on the outbreak of war.
The battalion left Basingstoke in successive train loads on 12th July arriving at Keyham Dockyard, Plymouth where they were to embark upon the SS Canada. Owing to non-arrival of the vessel, the battalion located to a rest camp at Pull Point, Devonport overnight.
On 13th July the battalion and ammunition column commenced embarkation upon the SS Canada, setting sail the following day at 5pm.
The vessel passed Gibraltar on 18th July and arrived in Malta on 21st July for coaling. The vessel then sailed for Alexandria; arriving on 24th July.
On 26th July the vessel arrived at Mudros Harbour, Lemnos Island and during the period to 31st July the battalion participated in the disembarkation and sorting of stores and equipment; it having been recognised that equipment had not been loaded securely or in the correct order.
On the evening of 31st July the SS Canada sailed for Mytilene Harbour, Lesbos Island arriving on the 1st August. During the next few days the battalion undertook route marches around the island. A part of the battalion was inspected by General Sir Ian Hamilton; C in C Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
On 5th August the battalion received orders to be prepared to move by 12 noon the following day to a destination not yet stated. At 5-30 pm on 6th August the battalion sailed to Suvla Bay, Gallipoli aboard the minesweepers “Snaefell” and “Honeysuckle”. At this time the battalion comprised 778 officers and other ranks.
At 4-35am on 7th August the “Snaefell” and “Honeysuckle” arrived off Suvla Bay under heavy shrapnel fire. A landing was made at 8-30am with the battalion going into action in support of the 5th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers and East Yorkshire Regiment at 9am the same morning. On its first day of action the battalion suffered casualties of 1 officer wounded, 12 other ranks killed and 76 other ranks wounded or missing.
Overnight the battalion occupied trenches atop Hill 53 and during the following days provided support and reinforcement to other troops attacking Hill 70. During the period 8th to 9th August the battalion suffered further casualties of 5 officers killed, 12 officers wounded or missing, 12 other ranks killed and 220 other ranks wounded or missing. The battalion was suffering from the environment in which they were serving and existed on the “iron” rations with which they had landed since no supplies were able to get to them.
Having received supplies late on the 9th August; the battalion held Hill 53 until relieved by the Essex Regiment on the 10th August. The battalion was rested in reserve lines for the next few days.
The battalion moved into support trenches on 13th August and the following day received reinforcements of 5 officers and 159 other ranks from the battalion reserve at Mudros.
During 15th to 16th August the battalion was engaged in heavy fighting against Turkish Infantry on the Kiretch Tepe Ridge suffering losses of 10 officers and 210 other ranks killed, wounded or missing.
The battalion located to support trenches or rest areas during the period 17th August to 29th September taking part in almost daily skirmishes with the Turkish Infantry.
On 1st September the battalion was now recorded as comprising 5 officers and 388 other ranks, as well as losses through enemy action the battalion was increasingly suffering from ill health.
At 4am on 30th September the battalion left Suvla Bay; arriving at Lemnos Island at 8-30am on the same day.
The 5th and 6th Battalions Royal Irish Fusiliers were subsequently amalgamated and continued service in the Meditteranean theatre until the cessation of hostilities in 1918.
[edit] Victoria Cross
Recipients of the Victoria Cross:
- Private Robert Morrow. 1st Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers. 1915. Messines.
- Lieutenant Geoffrey St George Shillington Cather. 9th Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers. 1916. Hamel, Somme [3].
[edit] Great War Memorials
- Irish National War Memorial Gardens Dublin.
- Ulster Tower Memorial Thiepval, France.
- Island of Ireland Peace Park Messines, Belgium.
- Menin Gate Memorial Ypres, Belgium.
- Helles Memorial Cape Helles, Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
- ^ H.E.D. Harris The Irish Regiments in the First World War (1968) pp. 2-3
- ^ "Irish Rangers site". Irish Rangers site. http://royalirishrangers.tripod.com/history.htm. Retrieved on 31 December 2007.
- ^ ""Find-A-Grave profile for Geoffrey St. George Shillington Cather"". Findagrave.com. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10060204. Retrieved on 19 August 2007.
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