Gallipoli – An Irish Graveyard – Part 1

Gallipoli – An Irish Graveyard

Part 1 – Land Operations – the Regular Battalions

By Mal Murray – Gallipoli Association Forum Manager

Cover image: Members of the Royal Naval Division charging from their positions at Gallipoli. (World War I Illustrated)

Much debate and many pages have been written about Ireland’s involvement in the Great War. Mention of the war in Ireland is certain to focus on two significant events, the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme. Both events have, over time, been taken as representative of Ireland during the war. Here in Ireland both events have overshadowed a previous campaign; the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915-16.

The Gallipoli Campaign is seen in Australia and New Zealand as a defining moment in the history of their respective nations. The Irish involvement has all but been forgotten for many reasons. The decade 1913 to 1923 could be considered to be the most decisive and yet divisive decade in Irish history, and it is within this perspective that the Irish involvement in the Gallipoli Campaign should be considered.

In January 1919, Canon Charles O’Neill (Parish Priest of Kilcoo, Co. Down) attended the first sitting of Dáil Éireann. During the sitting the names of the men who had been elected during the General Election of 1918 were read out, but many were absent. For those absent their names were answered by the reply ‘faoi ghlas ag na Gaill’ meaning ‘locked up by the foreigner’. This had such an effect on him that some time afterwards he wrote the song ‘The Foggy Dew’. The song was written to tell the story of the Easter Rising but also attempted to show that Irishmen who fought for Britain during the war should have stayed home and fought for independence. It’s most significant elements with regards to this must be the following lines:

‘Twas better to die ‘neath an Irish sky than at Suvla or Sudh el Bahr’

How many who were taught that song, or indeed sing it, know where Suvla or Sud el Bahr are located or indeed their significance? These names were at the time on the lips of families all around the country and would leave deep scars and have a great effect on Irish attitudes towards the war. As Katherine Tynan wrote in 1919 in The Years of the Shadow: ‘So many of our friends had gone out in the 10th Division to perish at Suvla. For the first time came bitterness, for we felt that their lives had been thrown away and that their heroism had gone unrecognised. Suvla the burning beach, and the poisoned wells, and the blazing scrub, does not bear thinking on’.

Early Naval Operations in the Dardanelles

By late 1914 it was obvious all across Europe that the war on the Western Front for all intents and purposes had reached a stalemate. In attempting to break the deadlock new strategies were being reviewed. In January 1915, the Russians who were under great pressure on three fronts from the Germans, Austrians and Ottoman Empire requested that their allies (Great Britain and France) would conduct operations to divert attention away from them. The British First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, conceived a strategy which would, it was hoped, divert enemy attention and resources away from the Russians. The plan was to force a passage through the Dardanelles Straits with a force of battleships and level their guns on Turkey’s capital, Constantinople. The Dardanelles is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It was believed that the arrival of such a force at Constantinople would force the Ottoman Empire out of the war. It was also believed that by taking the Ottoman’s out of the war a new flank could be opened along with the opening of a two way all year round supply route between Russia and her allies.

The Dardanelles had been the subject of a Royal Navy blockade since late 1914. It was now envisaged that this naval force re-enforced by other ships would force the Dardanelles and complete the mission. Between February and March 1915, naval operations were conducted against the Turkish fortifications in the straits by the Royal Navy supported by the French Navy and elements of the Royal Naval Division. On 18 March, a major naval assault on the straits failed with three ships sunk and three badly damaged. At this time it was decided that the straits could not be forced with a naval only operation and that land based operations must be conducted in conjunction with naval operations.

The Gallipoli Campaign – Planning

Following the failure of the naval assault General Sir Ian Hamilton was tasked by Lord Kitchener to act in support of the naval operations. It was decided that in order to force the straits the Gallipoli Peninsula would have to be taken. Under Hamilton, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) was tasked with the operation. Hamilton had a mixed command which included the 29th Division (consisting of three Regular Army Irish Regiments: 1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 1st Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers and 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers), the Royal Naval Division, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC, consisting of the 1st Australian Division and the New Zealand Australian Division (New Zealand Infantry Brigade and 4th Australian Brigade)) and the French Oriental Expeditionary Corps (initially one Division but subsequently re-enforced with a second Division). Irish born soldiers would play a part at all levels within all of these contingents (French included) and the Gallipoli Campaign is as much their story as any other nations.

With short notice and limited resources General Hamilton made plans for landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula. This required reorganisation of the 29th Division transports to facilitate the conduct of efficient military operations. In order to prevent the Turkish fortifying the position, the date for the Allied offensive operations were set for mid-April.

The Gallipoli Campaign – April Landings

On 25 April 1915, the main assault took place. The strategic objectives were to secure the Achi Baba heights in order to dominate the straits. The British component landed at Cape Helles while ANZAC forces landed at Ari Burnu. These assaults were supported by a diversionary attack at Kum Kale on the Asian side of the Straits by the French. At Cape Helles the operational area assigned to 29th Division, were five beaches from east (inside the straits) to west (on the Aegean coast); S, V, W, X and Y. V and W beaches were the main landings at the tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula, either side of Cape Helles. On land the Ottoman Fifth Army: comprising two army Corps; the III Corps which defended the Gallipoli Peninsula and the XV Corps which defended the Asian shore, the 5th Division was positioned north of the peninsula under the command of First Army, and the Dardanelles Fortified Area Command.

A French battleship firing at shore positions in the preliminary bombardment.(Imperial War Museum)

For the purpose of this article the main focus must be centred on V Beach at the southern tip of the peninsula. V Beach has been described as a natural amphitheatre. The beach was approx 300 yards (270 m) long and 10 yards (9.1 m) wide, with a low bank about 5 feet (1.5 m) high on the landward side. Cape Helles and Fort Etrugrul (Fort No. 1) were on the left and the old Sedd el Bahr castle (Fort No. 3) was on the right looking from the sea and Hill 141 was inland. The beach had been wired and was defended by about a company of men from the 3rd Battalion 26th Regiment. Much debate has gone on since the landings as to whether the Turkish defenders where equipped with machine guns, the official history of the campaign (Military Operations Gallipoli: Inception of the Campaign to May 1915. Aspinall-Oglander) reports that they were equipped with four Maxim Machine Guns. The task of landing and securing the area was assigned to the Royal Munster Fusiliers and Royal Dublin Fusiliers (both part of 86th Infantry Brigade 29th Division). They were supported by two companies of 2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment (88th Infantry Brigade 29th Division) and elements of the Royal Naval Air Service Armoured Car Division acting as fire support. Other elements including naval fire also supported the landings.

In order to accomplish the task, the assaulting troops were allocated the Collier ship SS River Clyde. The ship had been converted into an ad hoc amphibious assault ship and was referred to at the time as the ‘Trojan Horse’ of the campaign. It was under the command of Commander Edwin Unwin Royal Navy; it was his idea to use the vessel for this role. The Clyde was to be filled with troops and run aground at V Beach. Sally ports were cut through the steel plates in her sides so troops could emerge on to gangways supported by ropes which ran along the sides towards the bows of the vessel from each side. These gangways then led down to two barges which were to form a gangway to shore. The plan was for three boats containing three companies of Royal Dublin Fusiliers to land on the beach and secures the beach for supporting landings from the Clyde when she was deliberately beached.

The converted steamer *SS River Clyde*, anchored at V-Beach, Gallipoli, Spring 1915. The SS ‘River Clyde was a 4,000 ton ex-collier turned Trojan Horse. (Imperial War Museum)

Disposition of troops:

Three companies of 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers in boats

On board SS River Clyde:

No. 1 Hold (upper deck).
X, Y and Z companies, Royal Munster Fusiliers
No. 1 Hold (lower deck)
W Company Royal Munster Fusiliers
W Company Royal Dublin Fusiliers
No. 2 Hold
Two companies Hampshire Regiment
One company West Riding Field Engineers
No. 3 and 4 Holds
Two sub-divisions Field Ambulance.
One platoon Anson Battalion Royal Naval Division
One signal section

All the troops aboard the Clyde were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Carrington Smith, Hampshire Regiment. Smith was killed in action during the landings and is named in the Irish Memorial Records.

Problems from the start

From the very start things went wrong. The boats containing the three companies from the Dublin Fusiliers were delayed by currents and came in thirty minutes late at 6:30am. The Turkish defenders opened fire just as the boats were landing. Guns in the fort and castle enfiladed the beach and killed many of the men in the boats, some of which were reported to have drifted away with no survivors. Many more casualties were suffered as the soldiers waded ashore and some wounded men drowned under the weight of their 60-pound packs. The survivors found shelter under the bank on the far side of the beach but most of the landing boats remained grounded with their crews dead around them. Two platoons landed intact on the right flank at the Camber and some troops reached the village, only to be overrun.

The SS River Clyde carrying the supporting troops had to slow down to avoid the boats containing the Dublin Fusiliers and therefore had not got the required speed to land high on the beach where it was originally intended (She would remain there throughout the campaign until re-floated in 1919). Because of this and the problems experienced by the Dublin Fusiliers, the boats which were to be used as pontoons to allow troops from the ship to disembark were not in position. Commander Unwin and members of his crew got into the water in the midst of the battle and attempted to form a bridge and assist some of the wounded. Six of them would receive the Victoria Cross for their actions that day.

Only the words of those who were there can truly describe what they experienced on the beach.

‘When my turn came I was wiser than my comrades. The moment I stood on the gangway, I jumped over the rope and on to the pontoon. Two more did the same, and I was already flat on the bridge. Those two chaps were at each side of me, but not for long, as the shrapnel was bursting all around. I was talking to the chap on my left when I saw a lump of lead enter his temple. I turned to the chap on my right, his name was Fitzgerald from Cork, but soon he was over the border. The one piece of shrapnel had done the job for two of them’
Private Timothy Buckley, 1st Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers

An article in the Leinster Leader on 7 August 1915, gave this account from Private William Harris, 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers:

‘On April 25th, before we got within 200 yards of the shore, we were under the heaviest shell and rifle fire that was ever known in the history of the war. When we came within 25 or 30 yards of the shore, our boats stopped. There was nothing for it only to swim ashore. Some got out all right, others were wounded and some never came out and may God rest them. It was only by chance anyone got out, for whichever way you swam that day you faced death. I will never forget when we got on land that morning at 5:30am in our wet clothes. Byrne and I, a chap named Keegan from Dublin and our officer were the only ones left of our platoon. We fell on our hands and faces and dared not move from that position for if we put up a finger we were shot. We lay there for 13 hours and I saw some of our brave friends, the Munsters, alongside me blown to pieces – heads, arms and everything off. Byrne was right behind me, his head touching my boots, yet near as I was I was afraid to twist my head to see if he was alive. The officer and Byrne got wounded later, I think I am the only member of the platoon who was not, but thank God’
‘The Dublin’s set off in open boats to their landing place which was the same as ours. As each boat got near the shore snipers shot down the oarsmen. The boats then began to drift and machine gun fire was turned onto them. You could see the men dropping everywhere and of the first boatload of 40 men, only 3 reached the shore all wounded. At the same time we ran the old collier onto the shore, but the water was shallower than they thought, and she stuck about 80 yards out. Some lighters were put to connect with the shore and we began running along them to get down to the beach. I can’t tell you how many were killed and drowned, but the place was a regular death trap’
Captain Guy Nightingale, 1st Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers

Such was the intensity of fire from the defenders that it was decided during the day that no further attempts should be made to land troops from the ship until the cover of darkness. Despite strong Turkish opposition the Allies managed to land sufficient troops to establish a beach-head at Cape Helles and ANZAC Cove.

Much has been written about the landings at V Beach and arguments have continued regarding the actual number of casualties for the Royal Dublin and Munster Fusiliers on 25 April. There are differences in statistics of the exact numbers killed between the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Soldiers Died Records. Current research would show that the reports of casualties were released in such a way as to down play the actual facts. Notwithstanding these casualties (including wounded personnel) sustained by the two battalions were sufficient enough for both battalions to combine into an ad hoc battalion nicknamed the ‘Dubsters’ for the period 30 April- 19 May 1915.

On 30 April, the respective strengths of the battalions were as follows: 1st Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers: 12 officers, 596 other ranks; 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers: 1 officer, 374 other ranks; from the normal strength per battalion of 26 officers and (approximately) 1,000 other ranks.

My research into the Irish at Gallipoli shows the following fatalities recorded for 25 April (Fig. A). They also show, particularly with regards to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, the breakdown in the command structure due to officer and NCO casualties.

Fig. A.

Killed in Action 25 April Royal Munster Fusiliers/Royal Dublin Fusiliers

Regiment	Officers	NCOs	Privates	Total

Munster Fusiliers	2	10	43	57
Dublin Fusiliers	7	6	52	65

Irish fatalities in the initial landings on 25 April, were not restricted to just these two battalions. Approximately 19 Irish born were killed during the landings at ANZAC Cove while serving with the ANZACs and approximately another 19 Irishmen were killed while serving with other British Regiments such as the Hampshire Regiment, Lancashire Fusiliers and the Essex Regiment.

A 60-pounder battery in action on a cliff top. (Imperial War Museum)

As with all statistics, there is a personal story behind them. For some families the soldier killed at Gallipoli would be the first loss during the war for that family, while for some families there would be double tragedies suffered by them during the initial landings at Gallipoli. The Mallaghan family from Newry, Co. Down would receive word that their two sons who served in 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers had been killed at V Beach. 10372 Private Samuel Mallaghan (aged 21) was reported as killed in action on 25 April, and his brother, 10741 Private John Mallaghan (aged 19) was reported as killed in action on April 30th. The Smyth family from Glendermott, Derry would also lose two sons. 10696 Private Samuel Smyth (aged 28) and 10058 Lance Corporal William John Smyth (aged 31) were both killed in action on 25 April.

Early in the land campaign it was realised that the hoped for breakthrough and success of the Gallipoli Campaign had been denied to the Allies by the tenacity of the Turkish defenders. The stalemate and trench warfare of the Western Front had all too painfully set in at Gallipoli. Success was measured in feet and yards, the Allies never advanced more than three miles up the Peninsula, with opposing trenches no more than 15 feet away from each other in some case.

The Gallipoli Campaign – May and June

Throughout May and June 1915, the Royal Munster Fusiliers and Royal Dublin Fusiliers, though badly mauled, would continue to serve in the frontline at Gallipoli. They would, alongside the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (who also sustained heavy casualties), took part in the second and third battles of Krithia and sustain further casualties and lost many of their pre-war regular soldiers with whom they had started operations.

The battalion history of 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers (Neil’s Bluecaps Volume II), describes the ‘scanty reinforcements’ that reached the battalion at Helles, comprising 3 officers (Captains C.B. Riccard, W.F. Stirling and Adrian Taylor), 1 Sergeant, 2 Corporals and 43 Privates from the battalion reserves at Mudros, along with another officer from the 3rd Battalion and 4 officers from the 9th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry. A total reinforcement of just 54 officers and men. After receiving these meagre reinforcements, the 1st Battalion was reconstituted as a separate unit on 19 May.

A Royal Irish Fusilier teasing a Turkish sniper by holding his helmet above the trench on his rifle. The 6th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers landed with the 10th (Irish) Division at Suvla on August 6th. (Imperial War Museum)

During the Battle for Gully Ravine (Third Krithia) the Dublin Fusiliers suffered enormous casualties when on 28-29 June, they lost approximately 236 officers and men killed, wounded and missing. The old regular army battalions were being bled to death at Gallipoli and the black ribbons were being hung on doors all across Ireland. The true reality of the war was being brought home to these families and the Irish as a nation.

By mid-June 1915, plans were made for large scale re-enforcements to the MEF and a new offensive was planned for August to break the dead-lock. The Irish involvement in the new campaign would increase with the inclusion of the 10th (Irish) Division, which would include Service Battalions of almost all the existing Irish regular regiments. The 10th (Irish) would be the first of the three raised divisions in Ireland which would see active service during the war, and its use and treatment would affect Irish attitudes to the war much deeper than any other Irish units engagement.

The 29th Division, the only regular division in the MEF, remained at Gallipoli until January 1916. It was used as the ‘Fire Brigade’ Division throughout the campaign and during the August offensive served for a period of time at Suvla Bay before returning to serve at Helles until the final evacuation. It earned the title ‘The Incomparable 29th’ due to its service. The 10th (Irish) Division and its role in the August campaign will be discussed in Part 2.

There is more to be told about the Irish at Gallipoli, the Irish graves that stretch from the Gallipoli Peninsula, through Egypt, Malta, the depths of the Mediterranean, Gibraltar, and across the UK and Ireland have their own story to tell about the effect they had on Ireland and it’s people and should no longer be considered as ‘Lonely graves by Suvla’s waves’.

The phases of the Gallipoli Campaign April to October 1915.

Mal Murray is a former member of the Irish Defence Forces. He is currently the Gallipoli Associations Forum Manager. For more information see: www.gallipoli-association.org

March 18, 2021March 18, 2021

Clement Robertson – The First Tank VC

By Ian Robertson (Grand Nephew)

At the beginning of World War I tank warfare was not in the manuals of the day. To break the deadlock of trench warfare however, the belligerent nations began to develop armed armoured tracked vehicles. These were crude machines. By Autumn 1917, the tank had made its appearance on the battlefield. Clement Robertson, from Delgany in Wicklow, was one of the first to volunteer for the newly established Tank Regiment – and the first tank Victoria Cross recipient. Robertson Family

Captain Clement Robertson VC, circa 1916.
(Image from author’s collection)

Clement was born on 15 December, 1890, in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa as his father was serving there at the time. He had four brothers, three older and one younger. His great grandfather was William Robertson who married Margaret Jameson in 1801. She was the daughter of John Jameson the founder of the John Jameson and Sons Distillery and Margaret Haig (daughter of John Haig the original proprietor of John Haig and Sons). His father John Albert Robertson was born in 1851; he was in the Royal Artillery and served in South Africa. He retired after the Boer War and settled more permanently in Delgany in County Wicklow. The five sons were all involved in serving King and Country in one way or another. William Cairns Robertson (1882-1950) DSO Royal Artillery, Albert John Robertson (1884-1954) (My Grandfather) Royal Navy Rear Admiral and MVO, Sir Fredrick Robertson Kt Bach CSI CIE (1885-1964) was in the Indian Civil Service, Clement Robertson VC (1890-1917) KIA, and Charles Wyndham Robertson (1892- 1971) served with the Monmouthshire Regiment. Charles then joined the engineer firm John Jameson & Sons after the war.

William Cairns Robertson DSO, the eldest, became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Garrison Artillery like his father. He had joined at the end of the Boer War and served in the Great War. He was awarded the DSO in 1918 and was mentioned in Despatches. Albert John was my Grandfather. He chose the Royal Navy. He was born in 1884 and like his brothers was educated at Hill House, St. Leonards on Sea. He joined the HMS Britannia Royal Naval College in 1898 and went to sea as a midshipman in 1900. After his promotion to Lieutenant in 1905 he specialised in the navigation branch. Throughout the Great War he served with the Second Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. He was navigator on HMS Achilles and was there during the engagement with the sinking of the disguised German Auxiliary Cruiser Leopold in March 1917, in defence of the armed boarding steamer Dundee, which the Leopold had attacked.

Albert was mentioned in dispatches following this engagement and noted for early promotion as ‘an exceptionally skilful and cool navigation officer’. From June 1918, he served on the armoured cruiser HMS Minotaur. These ships operated in the North Atlantic protecting merchant shipping. HMS Minotaur was involved in the Battle of Jutland in 1916. These two ships were Warrior Class Armoured Cruisers. Albert was thrown into the freezing Atlantic Ocean on a couple of occasions and this affected his health in later life. After the war, he worked at the Portsmouth Navigation School and from 1922 until his promotion to Captain he was navigator on the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert. He became Captain of Dockyard and Kings Harbourmaster at Portsmouth from 1931 to 1933 and became ADC to King George V. He retired on promotion to Flag Rank in 1936. He was also a member of the Royal Victorian Order.

Sir Fredrick, I don’t know that much about, except that he worked in the Indian Civil Service. He left Trinity College Dublin in 1908 with a BA. He was in the Indian Civil Service from 1909 to 1937. He had a number of different positions and clearly did well because he was knighted in 1945. He was awarded the Honour of ‘Companion of the Star of India’ in 1941, and the ‘Companion of the Indian Empire’ in 1935.

Charles Robertson, the youngest, studied engineering at Trinity College Dublin and hadn’t finished his degree when war broke out. He joined the Royal Monmouthshire Regiment and served during the war in Palestine and Egypt. The Monmouthshire Regiment were engineers and built bridges, roads and defence works. He was mentioned in Despatches. Following the war, he went to the Sudan on an irrigation project. His later life was spent as a director of John Jameson and Sons Distillery. His passion was golf and he won the Irish Close Championship in 1925 as a member of Delgany Golf Club.

‘Later that year at the end of September the push towards Passchendaele was in progress. By this time Clement had been promoted and was now Acting Captain and in command of a section consisting of five tanks.’

The five brothers were all fanatical golf players and were founder members of Delgany Golf Club. It is Fredrick whose name appears on the monument at the entrance to the Club as one of the founders in 1908. Clement won the Captain’s prize in 1908 and Charles won the Presidents Cup the following year.

Family photo taken at Struan Hill, Delgany, where they lived. Clement is on the back left, Fredrick beside him. Parents in the middle, seated, and Charles on ground in front, circa1904. (Image author’s collection)

Early Life

Although born in South Africa, Clements pent his childhood in Delgany. He went to Haileybury College in England and then to Trinity College Dublin to study Engineering. He graduated in 1909, and went to Egypt to work on the Nile Irrigation Project. With the outbreak of war, he returned to England and joined the 19th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. He applied for a Commission in the 3rd Reserve Battalion, Queen’s Royal (West Surrey)Regiment and was successful. This was 1916 and, in an effort, to break the stalemate of trench warfare on the Western Front they were secretly developing and testing a large, armoured, mobile vehicle with cannon and machine guns. This machine, they hoped, could travel through no-man’s land, crushing the barbed wire defences, cross the enemy trenches and fire sideways down the length of the trenches. The Heavy Machine Gun Corps was being formed. This would later become the Tank Corps and later styled the Royal Tank Regiment.

Clement volunteered, and with his engineering background, was accepted as one of the first officers appointed. He went to Belgium in January 1917 as a Tank Commander. He was in action in early June 1917, in the assault and taking of the Messines Ridge. His tank was part of X Corps and in support of units of the London Regiment of 140th (4th London) Brigade, part of 41st Division. I have walked the route he took that morning from Arundel House towards his objective at White Chateau Stables and on to Opal Reserve and have seen where his tank was hit by a 5.9- inch artillery shell. The left Sponson was badly damaged. Three of his crew were hit; Sergeant William Clegg was killed and two others were badly wounded. I have visited the grave of Sergeant Clegg in the Dikkebusch New Military Cemetery; killed in action 7 June, 1917, aged 32, from Burnley in Lancashire. The tank could not precede and had to limp back to base.

Passchendaele

Later that year at the end of Septemberthe push towards Passchendaele was inprogress. By this time Clement had beenpromoted and was now Acting Captain andin command of a section consisting of fivetanks. On October 4th, he was to take histanks into action at a small village calledReutel, a few miles east of Ypres, in supportof the infantry. The front line was on thesoutheast corner of Polygon Wood. Thetanks had to be brought safely in darknessand under heavy shellfire to that point first.

For three nights prior to this, Clement and Gunner Cyril Allen worked, without sleep, to reconnoitre and tape a safe route for the tanks to take. This was the Third Battle of Ypres and by now the ground was a bare sea of mud and craters. You will have seen the photographs showing just stumps where trees once grew, mud so deep that a man could drown in it. The hard ground of the damaged road was the only way. Eventually on 4 October, they were to move up to the start line. They crawled from Sterling Castle, through Black Watch Corner and along the south side of Polygon Wood. Constantly under shellfire and with the weather deteriorating, Clement and his assistant were not happy that they could follow the tapes safely from inside the tanks. They therefore got out of the tanks and Clement and Cyril Allen guided the tanks on foot. They reached the start point at 3am and rested for a few hours and at dawn they moved off. Clement knew that there was still a real danger of the tanks missing their way. So, with great determination he continued to lead them on foot. The small bridge over the Reutelbeek miraculously was still intact. It was the only way to cross the marshy ground to their objectives on the other side of the small valley. Captain Robertson was certain that if the tanks failed to see the bridge and follow the hard ground to it then action would be lost.

Image from the Illustrated War News report on Clement’s action.

‘The gunfire was intense by now and was concentrated on the leading tanks. The commander of the first tank was amazed to see Clement still untouched‘

The German barrage came down furiously, rifles cracked, machine guns spluttered, but the two lone figures went ever forward. They were well ahead of the infantry now, the only two living creatures to be seen. Bullets whistled by them, flattening with a dull sound against the thick hides of the following tanks, shell bursts flung showers of mud over them, but they walked on, unhurt and undeterred. At last they came to the bridge. Gunner Allen went back to guide the rear tanks and Clement guided the leading tank over and then the others one by one. The gunfire was intense by now and was concentrated on the leading tanks. The commander of the first tank was amazed to see Clement still untouched. The tanks were now safe to continue to their respective objectives and when Gunner Allen reached the bridge, he could not see his Captain. The fire was so intense that, in his own words he ‘had to crawl on my hands and knees’ eventually finding his brave Captain in a shell hole, shot in the head. Gunner Allen took maps and documents from Clement’s body and finally took shelter in one of the last tanks. Clement was 26 years old. The Tank Section went forward and successfully drove the enemy from their strong points.

For his actions on 4 October, Clement was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) and his medal was presented to his mother by Brigadier General C. Williams CB, Commanding Dublin District at the Royal Barracks in Dublin. It is sad that she did not feel up to the journey to London to have it presented by the King, as would be customary.

Acting Captain, The Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment, attached to A Battalion, Tank Corps

The citation reads:

On 4 October 1917 at Zonnebeke, Belgium, Captain Robertson led his tanks in attack under heavy shell, machine-gun and rifle fire over ground which had been ploughed by shell-fire. He and his batman had spent the previous three days and nights going back and forth over the ground, reconnoitering and taping routes, and, knowing the risk of the tanks missing the way, he now led them on foot, guiding them carefully towards their objective, although he must have known that this action would almost certainly cost him his life. He was killed after the objective had been reached, but his skilful leading had already ensured success.

Gunner Allen was awarded the DCM (Distinguished Conduct Medal) for his splendid devotion to duty. It was unfortunately not long before death claimed him also. He was killed some seven weeks later in Cambrai where the tanks were next to go into action. His body was not found and his name appears in the Louvreval Memorial. Killed in action on 20 November, 1917. He wrote a letter to my Grandmother outlining the events leading up to Clement’s death. It is a moving a poignant letter, beautifully written in pencil and using wonderful English. The sadness is in the fact that he never got a chance to send this letter to my Grandmother. It only appeared a few years ago when a relation was looking through some of Cyril’s effects that had survived and been kept in an attic for 90 years.

Clement Robertson is commemorated on a plaque in Delgany Parish Church and on the Memorial in Trinity College Dublin. He is buried in Oxford Road Cemetery in Belgium near where he fell.

On 4 October 2017, the friends of the Tank Memorial Ypres Salient organised a special centenary remembrance ceremony dedicated to Captain Clement Robertson VC of the Royal Tank Corps. At this occasion the bridge at the Reutelbeek was officially named ‘Robertson’s Bridge’.

This article first appeared in the Victoria Cross Journal in March 2014. Ian Robertson, Clément’s nephew, served with the Irish Guards and today is Chairman of the Irish Guards Association in the Rep. of Ireland.

March 18, 2021March 18, 2021

Irish Volunteer, Dublin Fusilier, Patriot – Lieutenant Tom Kettle

By Brendan O’Shea

Lieutenant Tom Kettle, 9th Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, was killed in action on 9 September 1916, near the village of Ginchy in Northern France at about five o’clock in the afternoon of the 71st day of the Battle of the Somme. Initially buried on the battlefield by members of the Welsh Guards, the location of his grave was subsequently lost and his remains were never found thereafter. Today his name is inscribed on the Thiepval Memorial near the town of Albert together with those of 72,000 others who lost their lives on the Somme, and equally have no known grave. 100 years later, a constant stream of people from all over the world visit Thiepval every day to pay their respects to the fallen. Some remember Tom Kettle, but most never heard of him, notwithstanding the inclusion of his name on a stone tablet in the Island of Ireland Peace Park at Messines, Belgium when it was opened in 1998. And unfortunately, this also remains true in 21st century Ireland.

The only pubic memorial in Ireland to Tom Kettle can be found in Dublin’s St. Stephen’s Green directly across from the Shelbourne Hotel. Never unveiled properly, and following several objections by the Commissioner of Public Works to the inscription, in 1927 a bust of Kettle was eventually placed where it stands today without any reference to the facts that he was an Irish Volunteer, an officer in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers or that he died during the Battle of the Somme. It is hardly any wonder then that nobody gives this memorial a second glance as the citizens of Dublin go about their daily business but on the 100th anniversary of his death it is also nothing short of a national disgrace that nobody stops, nobody looks and nobody cares. Of course there are reasons for this not least amongst which is the manner in which history has been taught to successive generations prioritising one historical narrative over another and thereby effectively reducing the contribution of Kettle and others like him to the status of an historical footnote. This is deplorable and ignores the fact that Tom Kettle was a truly great Irishman of whom we should all be immensely proud.

Thomas Michael Kettle was born in Artane, Dublin on 9 February 1880. The seventh of twelve children, in his formative years he was influenced significantly by the Home Rule politics of his father Andrew who was a leading Catholic Nationalist politician, and together with Michael Davitt a founding member of the Irish Land League.

Educated initially by the Christian Brothers at O’Connell School, Richmond Street, Dublin he proved to be an excellent student. In 1894 he moved on to Clongowes Wood College in Co. Kildare where it was immediately obvious that the young Kettle possessed more than just an average intellect. Three years later he enrolled at University College Dublin, where in 1898, he was elected auditor of the Literary and Historical Society and became vocal on the legitimacy of the Boer War in South Africa, before obtaining a Bachelor in Arts Degree in 1902. Thereafter he was admitted to the Irish Bar and qualified as a Barrister in 1905.

Throughout this period, he also indulged in political journalism and was a determined supporter of John Redmond and the Irish Parliamentary Party. He became president of the Young Ireland Branch of the United Irish League in 1904. In 1906, a vacancy arose in East Tyrone after the death of the sitting MP, Patrick Doogan. Not surprising Tom Kettle was offered and accepted the chance to stand for election to Parliament. In the by-election which followed he won the seat by 18 votes, thus becoming the youngest member of the Party and was immediately viewed by many colleagues as a future leader. In this regard his vision of where Ireland should stand in the world was critical and a fundamental component of his entire political philosophy. Together with Willie Redmond he passionately believed that an emerging independent Ireland must exist within a wider political context. For Redmond that context was colonial in a shared political jurisdiction with Canada, Australia and New Zealand. For Kettle it was Europe. In his article ‘Ireland’ he wrote: ‘My only programme for Ireland consists in equal parts of Home Rule and the Ten Commandments. My only counsel to Ireland is, that to become deeply Irish, she must become European’. Tom Kettle could see the big picture and that is precisely what set him apart from the majority of his peers.

By 1908, and still only twenty-eight years of age, he had become the new Professor of National Economics at University College Dublin, while simultaneously continuing his work as an MP. However, the burden became too great given the fragile nature of his health and prior to the general election of December 1910 he stood down and did not contest the seat. Nonetheless he retained his political connections and remained an active supporter of John Redmond welcoming the 3rd Home Rule Bill in 1912, and believing that Unionist fears could be overcome in due course.

‘So here, while the mad guns curse overhead, And tired men sigh, with mud for couch and floor, Know that we fools, now with the foolish dead, Died not for flag, nor King, nor Emperor, But for a dream, born in a herdsman’s shed, And for the secret Scripture of the poor’.
However other social and political factors were now also at play in Ireland and in 1913 Dublin became embroiled in a workers strike and subsequent lockout by management. Unlike many in the political establishment Kettle supported the locked out workers and wrote numerous articles describing the appalling poverty in which thousands of working class people were forced to live before intervening directly himself through the establishment of a peace committee in order to find a resolution.

1913 also saw the formation of the Irish Volunteers in Dublin’s Rotunda Rink on November 25th, and together with his brother Laurence, he immediately enrolled subscribing to the Volunteer Manifesto, which envisaged holding Ireland for the Empire and resisting the separatist intentions of the Ulster Volunteers formed the previous year.

Thereafter he was tasked by the Volunteer leadership with obtaining arms on the open market. In August 1914 he found himself in Belgium where he personally witnessed both the ferocity of the German invasion and the corresponding inability of the Belgian military to resist. Writing for the Daily News at this time he was unequivocal in his thoughts… ‘It is impossible not to be with Belgium in this struggle. It is impossible any longer to be passive. Germany has thrown down a well-considered challenge to all the deepest forces of our civilization. War is hell, but it is only a hell of suffering, not a hell of dishonour. And through it, over its flaming coals, Justice must walk, were it on bare feet’.

For Kettle the die was now cast and his continuing experiences in France and Belgium during September, particularly in relation to the plight of the civilian population, served only to confirm his view that this was a war of civilization against barbarians. He was also clear that Ireland had obligations to support Belgium in her hour of need… ‘In such a conflict to counsel Ireland to stand neutral in judgment, is as if one were to counsel a Christian to stand neutral in judgment between Nero and St. Peter. To counsel her to stand neutral in action would be to abandon all her old valour and decision, and to establish in their places the new cardinal virtues of comfort and cowardice. In such matters you cannot compromise. Neutrality is already a decision, a decision of adherence to the evil side’.

Not surprisingly then when Kettle returned to Ireland he had little difficulty subscribing to John Redmond’s belief that Ireland should play its part in the war effort notwithstanding that Home Rule had been suspended until hostilities ceased. True to his convictions he quickly applied for a commission but was turned down because of his fragile health. However, he persisted, and eventually obtained the rank of Lieutenant, albeit that he was confined exclusively to a recruiting role. Undeterred, he continued to apply for active service and with his health improving marginally, and a chronic need for replacement officers on the Western Front, in 1916 he received an appointment in the 9th Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers and deployed to France.

However, within a short time his health deteriorated again and at Easter he found himself at home in Dublin on sick leave. As his former colleagues in the Irish Volunteers launched their ill-conceived insurrection, Kettle watched in fury believing that his dream of a free Ireland in a free Europe had been terminally damaged. That said he was also distraught at the manner in which the leaders were subsequently dealt with and he could not be consoled when his colleague at UCD, Thomas MacDonagh, was executed. Nevertheless, when his time came to return to the front Kettle understood what his duty required of him and on 14 July, he set sail once again for France. He was 36 years old and had a mere 58 days left to live.

Readjusting to life in the trenches Kettle did not find life easy. ‘Physically I am having a heavy time,’ he wrote, ‘I am doing my best but I see better men than me dropping out day by day and wonder if I shall ever come home… the heat is bad as are the insects and rats, but the moral strain is positively terrible’. Nevertheless, he carried on bravely and his leadership was very effective in the series of successful attacks on Guillemont, which began on 3 September.
But the village of Ginchy still remained to be taken and writing to his brother the night before the main attack we get a very clear insight into his frame of mind. ‘I am calm and happy but desperately anxious to live. …the big guns are coughing and smacking their shells, which sound for all the world like overhead express trains at anything from 10 to 100 per minute on this sector; the men are grubbing and an odd one writing home. Somewhere the Choosers of the Slain are touching, as in our Norse story they used to touch, with invisible wands those who are to die’.

Tom Kettle did not want to die. He simply wanted to do his duty, survive the war, and go home. His numerous writings which survived him make this abundantly clear and any suggestions to the contrary are completely without foundation. However, the following afternoon, at about 5 o’clock, having made his way thought the stench of the dead in the forward trenches and progressed to within touching distance of his objective, which was the destroyed village of Ginchy. The Choosers of the Slain chose Tom Kettle notwithstanding that he had tried to outwit them by wearing a somewhat primitive bulletproof vest. Kettle was gone and Ireland had lost one of her most loyal and faithful servants.

In the intervening years Tom Kettle has often been criticised for supporting the war and serving in the British Army. Some commentators have even dared to suggest that if he wished to make a personal sacrifice in 1916, he should more properly have done so in the General Post Office with his former Irish Volunteer colleagues now turned insurrectionists. In fact, Kettle was acutely aware that this criticism would be made but firmly believed that: ‘the faults of a period or a man should not prevail against the cause of liberty’.

Writing a sonnet to his daughter Betty (his gift from God) on 4 September, just before the attack on Guillemont, Tom Kettle railed at the madness of his predicament and spelt out in detail why he had put country before family….

So here, while the mad guns curse overhead, And tired men sigh, with mud for couch and floor, Know that we fools, now with the foolish dead, Died not for flag, nor King, nor Emperor, But for a dream, born in a herdsman’s shed, And for the secret Scripture of the poor’.

In recent times lesser poets and lesser people have seen fit to criticize this incredible poem without having made the slightest effort to understand the physical and psychological contexts within which it was written. This is Kettle’s epitaph crafted in a world of unimaginable horror with nothing save the stench of death for company and the cold sweat of fear soaking into every fibre of his body. Kettle’s dream was of a free, united and independent Ireland in a free Europe – of that there is no doubt whatsoever – and the secret scripture of the poor is what is always is – liberty, equality, and fraternity – or in modern parlance, Human Rights.

On 1 July 2016, I went to Thiepval to remember all Irishmen who died there 100 years ago. I took with me the first edition (1917) of The Ways of War by Lieutenant Tom Kettle, 9th Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers which once upon a time was owned and treasured by Private Maurice Donovan, 1st Battalion The Durham Light Infantry. The very last words on the very last page have turned out to be quite prophetic:

‘History will write of us that we began nobly, but that our purpose corrupted. The Great War for freedom will not, indeed, have been waged in vain; that is already decided: but it will have but half kept its promises. Blood and iron will have been once more established as the veritable masters of men, and nothing will open before the world save a vista of new wars’.

Lieutenant Tom Kettle, Irish Volunteer and Dublin Fusilier, died courageously leading his men on 9 September 1916. He was, however, so much more than just another soldier who simply did his duty. He was desperately anxious to live and undoubtedly would have played a leading role in the development and evolution of our nation had he been spared. Alas, it was not to be – such are the Ways of War – and our Nation has long been the poorer as a consequence.

Bust of Thomas Kettle in St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin. (Photograph by Brendan O’Shea)

Brendan O’Shea is a retired member of the Irish Defence Forces and holds a PhD in History. He is the author of numerous books. In 2010, along with Gerry White, he edited, A Great Sacrifice – Cork Servicemen who died in the Great War.

Sources for this article include: Tom Burke, In Memory of Tom Kettle Journal of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association Vol. 9 Sept 2002; Tom & Mary Kettle, The Ways of War, Talbot Press, 1917; Desmond and Jean Bowen, Heroic Option, Pen& Sword, 2005; Gerry White & Brendan O’Shea, Baptised in Blood, Mercier Press, 2005.

March 18, 2021

LAST OUT – The Royal Munster Fusiliers on the Italian Front

By Pat Dargan

British regiment marching along a road near the Piave, on their
way to take up their position in the allied line on the Italian front.
(The Great War Vol. XI, 1918)

During the closing stages of the Great War, the 1st Garrison Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers served on the Italian theatre of war, the only Irish regiment in the British Army to do so. One member of thebattalion was Private Patrick Dargan, my grandfather from Rutland Street, Limerick. He served as a clerk in the Pay Sergeant’s office and in his own words, never fired a shot in action, beyond his basic training.

At the beginning of the Great War in 1914 the Royal Munster Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army comprising of the 1st and 2nd Battalions. The regiment had its origins in India and this was reflected in the regimental cap badge, which consisted of a Bengal tiger mounted on a circular grenade burst. Over the period of the war, seven further battalions were raised and pressed into service in France, the Dardanelles and the Middle East. In around April 1917 the 1st Garrison Battalion was raised – one of a number of battalions formed specifically for home defence purposes. The rank and file members of the new battalion were made up of ‘C-Category’ men. That is men who were not appropriate for front line action, but more suitable for clerical or home guard duties. The battalion structure consisted of a headquarters unit and three infantry companies with the initial contingent drawn from other units of the Munsters, as well as from the Durham Light Infantry, the Leinster Regiment and the Connaught Rangers. The new battalion was initially based in Victoria Barracks in Cork, where its duties included guarding vulnerable points on the south Irish coast between the Shannon Estuary and Arklow, Co. Wicklow.

I am not sure exactly when my grandfather joined the 1st Garrison Battalion. He rarely spoke about the war except to say he saw little live action, as he acted as a battalion pay clerk. Prior to his joining up he had worked as a clerk in his father’s business in Limerick. When the army realised that, not only could he read and write, but he had experience of bookkeeping, he was posted to the Pay Sergeant’s office, where he served throughout the war. His one claim about his own war experience was that, other than during his basic training, he never fired a shot.

Highest trench in the war – ortler vorgipfelstellung 3850m (1917),

This initial tour of duty seems to have been uneventful except for two incidents in Arklow, where the battalion’s responsibility included guarding the vast Kynoch munitions factory and the town harbour facilities. In the early morning of 21 September 1917, the munitions plant suffered a massive and mysterious explosion which killed 27 workers. The soldier on guard duty was Private Richard Craig who gave evidence at the inquest on the following day. He stated that he could offer no explanation for the cause of the explosion other than to rule out an enemy attack from the sea. Curiously, the cause of the explosion was never satisfactorily explained. The same period also witnessed the death of Private Charles Reilly who was accidentally shot by a comrade while doing sentry duty at Porter’s Rock.

Figure 1: The Italian Front, November 1917, indicating the extent of the Austrian Caporetto Offensive

In November 1917 the 1st Garrison Battalion was posted to the military training camp at Prees Heath in Shropshire; where it underwent infantry and trench warfare training in preparation for front line action. Following this training period, the Battalion was ordered to Italy to join the Italian Expeditionary Force. A small number of troops remained behind in Prees Heath, where they formed the 2nd Garrison Battalion. This 2nd Garrison Battalion was subsequently moved to Portsmouth where it was involved in assembling drafts for service with the various Irish regiments for the remainder of the war, until it was disbanded in 1919.

By the end of 1917 the 1st Garrison Battalion had left Prees Heath for Southampton, from where they sailed for Le Harve. Here the battalion was transported across southern France by train. They passed through the Rivera and into northern Italy and by January 1918 joined the GHQ base in Arquata Scrivia. Along with two infantry battalions they were assigned to the lines of communication. The main duties of these troops were to act as a link between the GHQ and the main service troops and to provide a range of non-fighting services such as medical, engineering, and transport. They also provided guard and protection duties in areas such as the Base Headquarters, airfields and ammunition dumps, in addition to guarding prisoners of war.

The Italian Front opened in 1915 when Italy joined the British, French and Russian Allies against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria and Turkey. Between 1915 and 1917 the Italian and Austrian troops engaged one another in a series of eleven battles along the River Isonzo, which formed the frontier between the two countries, without either side achieving any significant advantage. In October 1917, as part of the Caporetto Offensive the Austrian and German armies finally broke through the Italian defences and advanced westwards into northern Italy, where they were halted at a line that stretched along the River Piave and swung westwards as far as the northern tip of Lake Garda (Fig1). At this juncture the Italians appealed to Britain and France for help to stem the advancing enemy. The Allies responded favourably and eleven divisions from both the British and French armies began the move to Italy from the Western Front. At the end of October two of the British divisions returned to France, at which point the Italian Expeditionary Force was made up of the 7th, 23rd and 48th Divisions, as well as the General Headquarters (GHQ).

Figure 2: The Italian Front, October 1918, indicating the extent of the Italian Vittorio Veneto Offensive, as well as the Arquata Scrivia, Cremona, Legnano, and Montecchio War Cemeteries.

In June 1918 the Austrians launched the Piave Offensive with the aim of advancing beyond the line of the Piave River. The offensive failed and Austrians retreated behind the river. In October the Italian army, including the British divisions, launched a successful two pronged counter attack against the enemy. By the beginning of November the Italian troops, with the French and British contingents had pressed northwards and into Austria. At the same time the allied army moved eastwards and crossed the River Piave, where the Austrian army fell back and totally collapsed within a few days (Fig.2). An armistice was signed on 3 November 1918, and hostilities were brought to a close.

Normally it is possible to trace the activities of British military units during the First World War from the Regimental War Diaries. These are the day-to-day records of the military events experienced by most battalions in the British army during the war. The diaries were completed in the field and were sent to the War Office in London on a regular basis. Today these diaries are housed in the National Archives in Kew, where they are accessible to the general public. Unfortunately, the diaries of the 1st Garrison Battalion have been lost, so very little detail of the Battalion’s activities on the Italian Front is available. Despite this it is possible to piece together some of the Battalion’s experiences from the limited range of publications that deal with the British Army’s involvement on Italian Front, such as the works of Barnett, Edmonds, McCance, and Barnsley, as well as from the details provided by the Commonwealth War Grave Commission internet.

As the British troops and GHQ moved eastwards across northern Italy, it must be assumed that some, at least, of the 1st Garrison Battalion moved with them, but it does seem that, at times, the battalion was split into different sections. For example Sir James Edmonds in the ‘Official History of the Great War’, notes that three companies of the 1st Garrison Battalion served with the ‘Lines of Communication’ at the beginning of 1918, but by June of the same year this number had been reduced to two. In another example, the War Graves Commission notes that Lance Corporal Paton served with the 63rd Anti-Aircraft Section. The War Graves Commission internet site provides information relating to the members of the Royal Munster Fusiliers who were killed in action in Italy and who lie buried in the war graves that lie between the Arquata Scrivia base and the River Piave (Fig.2). Eight members of the battalion were buried in Arquata Scrivia, two were buried at Cremone, two at Montecchio and a single member was buried at Legnano (Fig.3). This suggests that the 1st Garrison Battalion members served in that area of the war front between Arquata Scrivia and the River Piave.

Following the Italian armistice the 1st Garrison Battalion seems to have returned to the Arquata Base, where it continued to undertake guard and administration duties. On 11 November 1918, the General Armistice came into effect and the Italian Expeditionary Force began the slow process of returning home. Finally in 1920, it was the turn of the 1st Garrison Battalion and in April of that year it returned to England – the final British Army unit to leave Italy. It is interesting to note that just prior to this Private Daniel Corless died on 7 January 1920, and was buried in the Arquata Scriva cemetery. In April the 1st Garrison Battalion retuned to Plymouth and there it was disbanded on 4 May 1920.

On his return back to Ireland Patrick Dargan remained in the army, but as a civilian. He was based in the Artillery Barracks in Limerick where his duties consisted of checking the quartermaster’s accounts from barracks across the Munster area. Curiously during this period his sons were active members of the Volunteers. The older boy, John, was a member of the Limerick City Active Service Unit while the younger son, Thomas, was interned in Spike Island.

Help for Italy’s women and children: British reinforcements passing through an Italian country town. (The Great War Vol. XI, 1918)

After Thomas was arrested, Grandfather was accused of being a spy and he was dismissed from his post by the army. He immediately telegrammed the War Office in London explaining he had been dismissed by the army. The War Office telegrammed him back and instructed him to get back to work immediately as the army had no authority to dismiss him as he was an employee of the War Office – not the army. Later when the British Army withdrew from Ireland after the Anglo/Irish Treaty, the War Office offered him a similar position in Liverpool, but he declined and spent the remainder of his life in Limerick.

The only other reference I have of my grandfather and his war experience was that when he had a few drinks with his old army comrades in Limerick, they liked to sing the Munster Fusiliers, to the air of the British Grenadiers.

With the establishment of the Irish Free State the British Army disbanded six of their Irish regiments. In June 1922 the Royal Munster Fusiliers, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, the Connaught Rangers, the Royal Irish Regiment, the Leinster Regiment, and the South Irish Horse, were stood down. Their colours were presented to King George V at Windsor Castle and the Royal Munster Fusiliers as a British regiment ceased to exist.