Next Friday, the 1st July is the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. By the end of the battle, the British Army had suffered 420,000 casualties including nearly 60,000 on the first day alone.
The French lost 200,000 men and the Germans nearly 500,000. It is heartbreaking to even try and imagine the devastation and loss suffered by so many families. There are many stories of loss and bravery handed down through older family members and very touching to read.
On Friday, I will take some time out to remember my Great Uncle Irwin who had only turned 21yrs old just three days before he lost his life on the first day of the Somme. I had never heard of Irwin until my Uncle Tommy sent me some documents and I took some time to look into the history of the Somme and immediately felt an attachment to this young man . . . killed like so many others and left on a foreign field.
On the anniversary, I usually go down to the local war memorial at Hilden and take a sprig of rosemary (for remembrance) and a poppy. For me, war memorials are very important as they are akin to our family gravestones. So many never came home because of the lack of wood for coffins and ships to bring them back for a burial in their homeland . . . these memorials mean a lot to people and I hate to see them vandalised.
This gives some detail on Irwin:
I always find this anniversary of the Somme to be a very poignant time. A topic that I have been interested in is ‘Race Memory’ and I do believe that past traumas can manifest in present generations. Something like the ‘Battle of the Somme’ and the loss of life affected so many families locally and also across this island and further afield. That memory and loss stays with us in the soul of the nation.
This extract was from a Lisburn newspaper at the time:
Today in N. Ireland, particularly in the working class PUL community, we are continually made to feel bad about our connection to the past, especially at this time of year. Yet, the past is part and parcel of the Republican narrative and accepted as such?
I believe by holding ceremony and acknowledging our past, we can send healing back to our relatives and community. We should never doubt that they deserve our love and respect and never let others try to attribute guilt to their actions . . . they are our ancestors and the bloodline of this land . . . Bless them.
Captain Wilfred Spender of the Ulster Division's HQ staff after the Battle of the Somme was quoted in the press as saying,
This gives some detail on Irwin:
Private Irvine (Irwin) McDowell, 13544, 9th (Service) Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, killed in action on the opening day of the "Somme offensive" otherwise battle of "Albert." 1st July, 1916. Son of James and Eliza McDowell nee Boyd, of Station Road, Clogher, County Tyrone. Deceased was twenty-one years of age, and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, Thiepval, France. Panel Ref. Pier and Face 4 D and 5 B. Private Irvine McDowell is commemorated on the St. Macartan's Cathedral Clogher as well as being commemorated on the Clogher War Memorial.
I always find this anniversary of the Somme to be a very poignant time. A topic that I have been interested in is ‘Race Memory’ and I do believe that past traumas can manifest in present generations. Something like the ‘Battle of the Somme’ and the loss of life affected so many families locally and also across this island and further afield. That memory and loss stays with us in the soul of the nation.
This extract was from a Lisburn newspaper at the time:
The Ulster Division suffered great losses at the Somme, over 5000 casualties and at least 2000 men dead. Across Lisburn, anxious families waited for news of their loved ones and dreaded the visit of the postman who might have a telegram from the War Office. Although, the local volunteer’s sacrifice at the Somme was of great pride – the 36th was one of the few divisions to reach its objective on July 1st – the mood in the town was one of deep depression. As one reporter noted, there was no parading, drumming or arches this twelfth, ‘There was nothing but rain’. . .
Today in N. Ireland, particularly in the working class PUL community, we are continually made to feel bad about our connection to the past, especially at this time of year. Yet, the past is part and parcel of the Republican narrative and accepted as such?
I believe by holding ceremony and acknowledging our past, we can send healing back to our relatives and community. We should never doubt that they deserve our love and respect and never let others try to attribute guilt to their actions . . . they are our ancestors and the bloodline of this land . . . Bless them.
♜ ♞ ♟
Captain Wilfred Spender of the Ulster Division's HQ staff after the Battle of the Somme was quoted in the press 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. My pen cannot describe adequately the hundreds of heroic acts that I witnessed . . . The Ulster Volunteer Force, from which the division was made, has won a name which equals any in history. Their devotion deserves the gratitude of the British Empire — Wilfred Spender
 |
| Shirley McMichael is a Pagan. |
I found this quite a powerful article. I'd be curious to hear what the author thought about Sinn Fein placing a wreath at a memorial for the dead. I think it can only be a positive thing.
ReplyDeleteI was at a seminar once and met a man from a unionist area of Belfast who was doing a dissertation on loyalist iconography. I asked him why there was a much heavier emphasis on WWI as opposed to WWII in terms of iconography. He said that the PUL community were badly affected by the losses of WWI and the subsequent actions of Westminster brought about a large degree of cynicism towards answering the call, so to speak.
"Across Lisburn, anxious families waited for news of their loved ones and dreaded the visit of the postman who might have a telegram from the War Office. Although, the local volunteer’s sacrifice at the Somme was of great pride – the 36th was one of the few divisions to reach its objective on July 1st – the mood in the town was one of deep depression."
It's hard to envisage what this was like. I'm reading a book at the moment which discusses "collective traumatisation" of a community. Lurgan, and many other places across Ireland, Britain, and the Commonwealth (and of course the Axis nations and Empire) would have experienced something similar.
A very interesting subject.
I understand the original UVF, renamed the 36th Ulster Rifles, made huge losses in WW1. A war which, unlike WW2 was uneccessary, as the battle against fascism was more important than fighting for empires and the monied classes. The Irish Volunteers, renamed the National Volunteers, those who foolishly but equally as bravely, also made huge sacrifices. The fact remains earlier in the year, 1914, the founder of the UVF was dining with Kaiser Wilhelm, discussing the issue of Irish Home Rule and how to combat the Bill. Carson even suggested, indeed asked, that Ireland may become part of the German Empire, 2nd Reich, so much was the treason the leader of unionism, and the UVF, was prepared to go. This makes a bit of a mockery surrounding the loyalist dedication to the memory of those who fell in WW1 as their own leader of the day, Edward Carson, was prepared to give loyalist Ireland to the Germans rather than have Home Rule.
ReplyDeleteCaoimhin O'Muraile