DOCSLIB.ORG

Santo Tomas Internment Camp Thirty-Seven Miles Away on the Grounds of the College of Agricul- Ture and Forestry of the University of the Philippines

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Santo Tomas Internment Camp Thirty-Seven Miles Away on the Grounds of the College of Agricul- Ture and Forestry of the University of the Philippines Freedom’s Voice The Monthly Newsletter of the Military History Center 112 N. Main ST Broken Arrow, OK 74012 http://www.okmhc.org/ “Promoting Patriotism through the Preservation of Military History” Volume 4, Number 1 January 2016 Memorial Flag Plaza Important Date The Military History Center is dedicating a small portion of March 17 – Vietnam Veterans Day the Memorial Flag Plaza as a special section to honor Okla- homa’s thirty-five Vietnam War MIAs with engraved bricks. Each The MHC will host its annual Vietnam Veterans Day observance of the thirty-five bricks will be engraved with the MIA’s name, on March 17. The February newsletter will contained detailed rank, branch of service, city and date listed as missing. information. In the meantime, please mark your calendars, and The first MIA brick to be laid in the Plaza was donated by the plan to attend this important, patriotic event. City of Ringwood in memory of Captain John Paul Gauley, USAF, of Ringwood, OK, reported missing January 10, 1967. The Memorial Flag Plaza is one of the MHC’s primary fund- raisers. The cost of each brick is $100. We invite you to join the MHC in honoring these heroes. Donations are welcome. Please contact the MHC for information. If you lost this ring, contact the Military History Center. Jack Cleveland Montgomery (July 23, 1917 – June 11, 2002) joined the Army in 1937 at Sallisaw, OK. On February 22, 1944, st th Museum Hours and Admission Fee he was serving as a 1 lieutenant in the 180 Infantry Regiment, th 45 Infantry Division. Near Padiglione, Italy, Lt. Montgomery Tuesday – Friday: 10:00 – 4:00; Saturday: 10:00 – 2:00 single-handedly attacked a German position, killing eleven en- Closed Sunday and Monday and major Federal holidays emy soldiers and taking dozens of prisoners. For his actions in the battle, during which he was seriously wounded, he was Adults – $5.00 awarded the Medal of Honor, on January 15, 1945. He is buried Members and Children under 18 – Free in Fort Gibson National Cemetery. The Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee is named for him. FOR MORE INFO CALL (918) 794-2712 This Month’s Featured Artifacts Battle of New Orleans This month’s featured artifacts are the recent acquisition of a World War I era Keystone Stereoscope and six volumes of prints, donated by Steve Sutterfield. This complete set of World Artist Edward Percy Moran created this fanciful painting of Major War I images, published in 1923 and compiled by Joseph Mills General Andrew Jackson standing on the parapet of his defenses as his army repulses an elite regiment of Scottish Highlanders Hanson, covers the war chronologically from events preceding the war and the U. S. entry into the war, to the signing of the The scene depicted in the painting was the culmination of peace treaty in 1919. This is an important addition to the Mu- several lesser actions that began on January 8, 1815, and ended seum’s collection. Among other institutions that have a like set with the all-out assault on American lines on January 15. Un- are the Library of Congress, College of William and Mary, Emory known to the combatants, a peace treaty had been signed in University and San Jose State University. Ghent, Belgium more than a month previous, on December 14. The Keystone Stereoscope was developed by the Keystone Major General Andrew Jackson and a motley assortment of View Company, a major distributor of stereographic images. Army regulars, militia fighters, frontiersmen, slaves, Indians and From 1892 through 1963, Keystone produced and distributed even pirates, stopped cold, in about twenty-five minutes, a su- both educational and comic/sentimental stereoviews and stere- perior British force led by Lt. General Sir Edward Packenham. oscopes. The final assault cost the British an estimated 700 dead, includ- Joseph Mills Hanson, a noted author and military historian, ing General Packenham, 1,400 wounded and 500 prisoners, at a was born in Yankton, Dakota Territory on July 20, 1876. He grad- cost of just eight Americans killed and thirteen wounded. uated from the St. John’s Military Academy in Manlius, NY in The victory propelled Andrew Jackson to stardom and even- 1897 with the rank of First Sergeant. In 1916, the South Dakota tually to the Presidency. More importantly, the war cemented National Guard called him to active duty at San American independence. The British had granted the thirteen Benito, TX, where he served as a captain with states their independence in 1783 out of necessity, rather than Co. M, 4th Infantry Regiment. He was deac- conviction. After the War of 1812, they accepted the fact that tivated that year, but was reactivated in 1917. the colonies were lost forever and never again challenged the Hanson served with the 147th AEF as Captain- United States militarily. Adjutant of the 2nd Battalion in France during World War I, where he was placed on the writ- ing staff of Stars and Stripes as officer in charge of the Historical Sub-Section. After the war, Support the Military History Center Hanson remained in Europe as a special writer for Stars and Stripes to write the History of the Do you want to join the many patriotic Oklahomans American Combat Division. who are already supporting the Military History Center’s Later, Hanson was employed by the National Park Service as mission of “Promoting Patriotism by Preserving Military Historical Assistant. His last book, Bull Run Remembers, com- History”? If so, contact the Military History Center at (918) piled from his extensive research for the Manassas Battlefield 794-2712 to learn how you can be a supporter, or go to Park, was published in 1953, He retired from the National Park the MHC website at http://www.okmhc.org/donate/. Service in December 1947. Hanson was one of the eighteen There’s something to accommodate everyone’s founders of the Civil War Roundtable of Washington DC, in 1952. budget. Monetary donations, as well as gifts in kind, are The Roundtable promotes the preservation of Civil War battle- tax deductible, subject to IRS regulations. We invite you to fields and landmarks. He lived in Manassas, VA until his death on be a part of this unique opportunity to support a first-class February 11, 1960. military museum and history center in Oklahoma. Santo Tomas Internment Camp thirty-seven miles away on the grounds of the College of Agricul- ture and Forestry of the University of the Philippines. Later, fam- The Japanese internment camp at the University of Santo To- ilies joined the men. By 1944, shortages of all kind, especially mas in Manila was the largest of several camps the Japanese food and medicine, had become critical in the camps. The in- army created to hold the thousands of civilians trapped in the ternees frequently subsisted on as little as 500 calories per day. Philippines by the Japanese occupation of the islands. The in- Male internees, such as those shown above, lost an average of ternees were of several nationalities whose countries were at fifty-three pounds during their thirty-seven month imprison- war with Japan and/or Germany. About 3,200 were Americans ment. and about 900 were British, including citizens of Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada. The remainder came from at least a dozen other countries. Women at Los Baños washing their hair in a communal tub. Teenager, Margaret Whitaker, interned with her family, is on the right, Because conditions were so crowded within the buildings, General Douglas MacArthur visited the camp on February 7, such as the Education building (now the University Hospital) an event accompanied by Japanese shelling that night and again shown above, many internees built shanties outside. Note the on the 10th. Twenty-eight people in the compound were killed vegetable gardens in the lower left of the photograph. in the artillery barrages, including sixteen of the newly liberated internees. Evacuation of the internees began on February 11. Sixty-four U.S. Navy and Army nurses, the “Angels of Bataan and Corregidor”, some of whom are shown below, were the first to leave that day and board airplanes for the United States. Flights and ships to the United States for most internees began on Feb- ruary 22. As the war progressed, conditions steadily deteriorated at the camp. It became so crowded, that in May 1943, the Japa- nese transferred 800 men to a new camp at Los Baños, located Liberation of Santo Tomas At 8:40 in the evening of February 3, 1945, internees at Santo Tomas heard the sounds of tanks, grenades and rifle fire near the front wall of the compound. Five American tanks broke through the fence of the compound. Thus, began the liberation of more than 4,000 civilians who had been interned by the Jap- anese since January 1942, at the infamous Santo Tomas Intern- ment Camp in Manila. General MacArthur was anxious for the safety of prisoners of war and civilian internees held by the Japanese. On January 31, he ordered the commander of the 1st Cavalry Division to organ- ize a flying column and “Go to Manila! Go over the Japs, go around the Japs, bounce off the Japs, but go to Manila! Free the prisoners at Santo Tomas and capture Malacañang Palace and nd the legislative buildings.” A flying column made up of the 2 Oscar Nipps, Jr – May 1944 th nd th Squadron of the 8 Cavalry and the 2 Squadron of the 5 Cav- alry, led by First Brigade Commander, Brig. General William C.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • SUPPLEMENT to the LONDON GAZETTE, 13 NOVEMBER, 1946 5593 So That They Could Take Their Place Jn a British Indiscipline in Both Brigades
    SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 13 NOVEMBER, 1946 5593 so that they could take their place Jn a British indiscipline in both brigades. The instigators field force. of the disturbances were left-wing officers and 258. The 2nd Polish Corps, under command men with violent anti-Metaxist sympathies. It of General Anders, was the largest allied force became necessary to remove a number of to 'be trained and equipped in this manner. officers, but for political reasons the ringleaders In August, 1943, a Polish Corps of two infantry could not be removed. The formation of the divisions and one tank brigade began to move ist Greek Divisional Headquarters was discon- to Middle East from Persia and Iraq Command. tinued and the command of both brigades was By the middle of October the first part of the taken over temporarily by British Brigadiers. move was complete, and most of the corps was On. 6th July further disturbances took place, concentrated for training in Southern Palestine. this time mainly 'in the 2nd Greek Brigade, At the end of November the corps moved to as a result of which two battalions of the 2nd Egypt, preparatory to moving overseas to Brigade were disbanded, and .the ist Italy. Here re-organisation took place on the Brigade wasi completed to war establishment latest British war establishments, to bring the tfrom the reliable elements of the 2nd Brigade. corps into' line with British formations and The 8th Greek Battalion, which was intended units, and on loth December the move to Italy for guard duties only, was formed from the began.
    [Show full text]
  • BATTLE-SCARRED and DIRTY: US ARMY TACTICAL LEADERSHIP in the MEDITERRANEAN THEATER, 1942-1943 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial
    BATTLE-SCARRED AND DIRTY: US ARMY TACTICAL LEADERSHIP IN THE MEDITERRANEAN THEATER, 1942-1943 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Steven Thomas Barry Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2011 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Allan R. Millett, Adviser Dr. John F. Guilmartin Dr. John L. Brooke Copyright by Steven T. Barry 2011 Abstract Throughout the North African and Sicilian campaigns of World War II, the battalion leadership exercised by United States regular army officers provided the essential component that contributed to battlefield success and combat effectiveness despite deficiencies in equipment, organization, mobilization, and inadequate operational leadership. Essentially, without the regular army battalion leaders, US units could not have functioned tactically early in the war. For both Operations TORCH and HUSKY, the US Army did not possess the leadership or staffs at the corps level to consistently coordinate combined arms maneuver with air and sea power. The battalion leadership brought discipline, maturity, experience, and the ability to translate common operational guidance into tactical reality. Many US officers shared the same ―Old Army‖ skill sets in their early career. Across the Army in the 1930s, these officers developed familiarity with the systems and doctrine that would prove crucial in the combined arms operations of the Second World War. The battalion tactical leadership overcame lackluster operational and strategic guidance and other significant handicaps to execute the first Mediterranean Theater of Operations campaigns. Three sets of factors shaped this pivotal group of men. First, all of these officers were shaped by pre-war experiences.
    [Show full text]
  • Roinn Cosanta. Bureau of Military
    ROINN COSANTA. BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY, 1913-21. STATEMENT BY WITNESS. DOCUMENT NO. W.S. 883 Witness Lieut. -Col. John M. MacCarthy, 225, Cabra Road, Phibsborough, Dublin. Identity. Adjutant, East Limerick Brigade; Member of East Limerick Flying Column. Subject. National and military activities, East Limerick, 1900-1921. Conditions, if any, Stipulated by Witness. Nil File No. S.523 Form B.S.M.2 Statement of Lieut-Colonel J.M. MacCarthy. CONTENTS. Pages 1. Family background and the national orientation in Kilfinnane in the early years of the century. 1-4 2. Schooldays - Clongowes & St. Colman's, Fermoy. 5-6 The: Volunteer movement in Kilfinnane from to the 3. 1914 Redmondite Spilt. 6-12 The Irish Volunteers after the: 4. Re-organised Split with the? assistance of Ernest Blythe: as the G.H.Q. organiser. The: formation of the Galtee. Battalion. 12-14 5. Galtee training camp under Ginger O'Connell in summer of 1915 - subsequent camp at Kilkee. 15-1614-15 The: 1915 Whit parade in Limerick. 6.7. Proposal to arm Volunteers with pikes. 17 Easter Week 18-23 8. 1916. The 9. Re-organisation and the Manahan-Hannigan Split and the enquiry. 25-28 10. Sean Wall. as the: Brigade Commander in East Limerick - his death in 1921. 28-30 The crises 30-32 11. Conscription period The: africars of the (Galtee) Battn. 32-34 12. re-organised 5th The elections - induct ion into the I.R.B. 13. 1918 My 34-35 Reference. to the rescue: of Sean Hogan at 14. Knocklong Station. 35-37 Reference ta the Limerick.
    [Show full text]
  • S..Jl.Tl. Mwmi
    TIIE BEE: OMAHA. SATUttDAY, MARCH 25, 101 G. 17 south of Columbus until the wagons points, and such wa th secrecy thrown pital corps have had only two cases to homes of th absentees wer occupied reached. Then a park master of th mule cil Is 41,S"0, according to William Hayes STORY OF came up. When these had crossed the about their movement that even th of- handle, one of them a soldier accidentally promptly by Mexican families ami held trains notinir hla exhaustion picked him Fisher, parliamentary secretary of ih boundary into Mexico, Major Tompkins, ficer of lesser rank did not know of shot at Carriso, and who later died, and by them until Villa' last trip through. up and let him ride a park Into camp local gnvertiVnt board, in a speech to mi colonel, T. S. Bowcn. of- 1 a brother of the noted lieutenant their coming. Lieutenant the aviator The bandit leader still raging, ordered the louse of Commons committee on 'Tommy" Tompktna of cav- ficer injured Mtvnday when his biplane MEXICANINYASIOH the Seventh More or la tae Dark. them to get out. He lold them he ha 1 the war pensions bill today. There are alry, spread his guard out. tm was caught by whirlwind, turned upon Houso Ko.noo ' advance In In the organ I na- a killed a number of Mexicans at Corrlll-to- s Refuses to shout widow of sailors, Mr. Fisher fact th officer ef nose plunged to ground. the form of a wide fan. the rider of tions moved more or lea In th dark.
    [Show full text]
  • James Lalor Papers P133 Descriptive Catalogue UCD Archives School Of
    James Lalor Papers P133 Descriptive Catalogue UCD Archives School of History and Archives archives @ucd.ie www.ucd.ie/archives T + 353 1 716 7555 F + 353 1 716 1146 © 2009 University College Dublin. All rights reserved ii CONTENTS CONTEXT Biographical History iv Archival History v CONTENT AND STRUCTURE Scope and content v System of arrangement vi CONDITIONS OF ACCESS AND USE Access vii Language vii Finding Aid vii DESCRIPTION CONTROL Archivist’s Note vii iii CONTEXT Biographical History James Lalor was born in 1892 in Kilkenny. He joined the IRB in 1905. At the age of 26 he joined the Irish National Volunteers on 5 March 1914. At this time he was working with his father in his building business in Friary Street, Kilkenny. Following the split in the Volunteers, Lalor was appointed Section Commander of No. 1 Section of the Irish Volunteers in Kilkenny. After mobilising for Easter 1916 he was arrested on 5 May and eventually imprisoned in Frongoch Internment Camp in North Wales. He was released in August 1916. During the summer of 1917 Lalor assisted in the organisation of Volunteer companies in a number of towns and villages in county Kilkenny. Once this organisation was underway a decision was made to form battalions and James Lalor was elected Vice O/C or Vice Commandant. In 1918 further organisation of the Volunteers led to the formation of the Kilkenny Brigade and Lalor was elected Brigade Vice-Commandant. Towards the end of 1918 he was appointed Director of Elections for the Sinn Féin candidates in Kilkenny city and county.
    [Show full text]
  • The British Army's Effectiveness in the Irish Campaign 1919-1921
    88 THE CORNWALLIS GROUP XIV: ANALYSIS OF SOCIETAL CONFLICT AND COUNTER-INSURGENCY The British Army’s Effectiveness in the Irish Campaign 1919-1921 and the Lessons for Modern Counterinsurgency Operations, with Special Reference to C3I Aspects Gordon Pattison U.K. Ministry of Defence e-mail: [email protected] Gordon Pattison joined the Ministry of Defence as a systems designer in 1985, following a first degree in physics and mathematics. During Operation Granby, he was transferred into an Operational Analysis department and has remained within military OA since that time, principally in the area of Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence. He is currently on secondment from Dstl Farnborough to MOD Head Office in London in the Directorate of Scrutiny, where he has responsibility for scrutinising the analysis in support of a range of Information System acquisitions. This essay is an expanded form of research being conducted currently as part of a Masters degree in Intelligence and Security Studies. ABSTRACT The Irish War of Independence 1919-1921, variously known as the Anglo-Irish War, The Tan War or The Troubles, was in many ways a prototype of many later counter-insurgency conflicts. The governing power failed to realise the strength of the Sinn Fein movement in undermining and then replacing key institutions, was unable to suppress the IRA by its military and police efforts, and carried out some security policies that gave ammunition to the insurgent’s propaganda efforts. Many commentators have attributed these weaknesses to an incoherent command and control infrastructure, at the centre of which was an intelligence system that was not fit for purpose.
    [Show full text]
  • An American in the Russian Fighting
    Surgeon Grow: An American in the Russian Fighting Laurie S. Stoff The remembrances of Dr. Malcom Grow, an American surgeon who served with the Russian Imperial Army for several years during World War I, serve as a valuable addition to our understanding of the war experiences on the Eastern Front. The war in the East is signifcantly underrepresented in publications on the Great War than that of the Western Front. While one may peruse shelf after shelf of memoirs, journalists’ accounts, and scholarly assessments concerning the participation of Western nations in the First World War, the same cannot be said about Russia’s Great War. Loath to celebrate an imperialist war, in fact, for many, merely perceived as prelude to revolution, the Soviet ofcials failed to engage in extensive ofcial commemoration of the war akin to that of the British and French; Soviet historians similarly shied away from extensive analysis of the confict. Western scholars, as a result of language barriers and general lack of attention to Eastern Europe, tended to focus their histories on Western actors. Russia’s participation in the First World War was thus often overlooked, and ultimately overshadowed by the Revolution, and then, by the devasting impact of the Second World War.1 Nonetheless, the war in Russia deserves considerable attention (and in recent years, has begun to obtain it)2, not only as a result of the fact that it was a primary area of confict, but also because Russia’s Great War was substantively diferent in numerous ways. Perhaps most importantly, the war was far from the stagnant trench warfare along a relatively stable front that characterized the combat in places like France.
    [Show full text]
  • The War of Independence: Transition Year Project Book 2
    Unit 7: The Irish War of Independence, 1919-21 Part 2 Transition Year Project Book Contents Lesson 3 The Irish Republican Army 3 Documents: IRA Units and Flying Columns 4 Comprehension Questions 10 Lesson 4 Republican Women 14 Documents: Cumann na mBan and the White Cross 15 Comprehension Questions 18 Task 5: Remembering Republican Women 19 Lesson 5 Ambushes and Reprisals 20 Documents: Attacks on property by Crown Forces 21 Photograph Analysis Worksheet 22 Comprehension Questions 27 ATLAS OF THE IRISH EVOLUTION ResourcesR for Secondary Schools THE Irish republican army (IRA) with a knowledge of engineering and explosives prepared and planted land mines at strategic points and supervised Nearly every community in Ireland contained an Irish bridge destruction. Republican Army (IRA) presence. Some IRA units - frus- trated by a lack of arms and ammunition - were largely Flying Columns & GUERILLA TACTICS inactive. Others, particularly those in southern Munster, created sophisticated guerrilla organisations. After the introduction of the ‘Restoration of Order in Ire- land Act’ in August 1920, more and more IRA men were In theory, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was com- forced to leave their homes and go ‘on the run’ to avoid manded by a General Headquarters (GHQ) staff in Dub- arrest. These fugitive Volunteers banded together for safety lin. In reality, most IRA brigades governed their own areas and became the nucleus of elite IRA active service units, or with little direct oversight. GHQ offered encouragement ‘flying columns’. and unity to the underground army, especially through the distribution of its journal An t-Óglach edited by Piaras “What we had in mind was an efficient, disciplined, Beaslai.
    [Show full text]
  • Battle of Cowpens
    The Battle Of Cowpens A Documented Narrative & Troop Movement Maps by EDWIN C. BEARSS OFFICE OF ARCHEOLOGY AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION October 15,1967 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR The Battle Of Cowpens A Documented Narrative & Troop Movement Maps by EDWIN C. BEARSS OFFICE OF ARCHEOLOGY AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION October 15,1967 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Table of Contents Chapter I Morgan Crosses the Broad 1 Chapterl Notes 4 Chapter II Morgan Decides to Accept Battle attheCowpens 6 Chapterll Notes 13 Chapter III The Americans Rout Tarleton 16 Chapterlll Notes 24 Bibliography 28 List of Maps PLATE FOLLOWING PAGE I Troop Movements ofPhase I, January 17,1781, from Daybreak to 7 a.m 12 II Troop Movements of Phase II, January 17,1781, from the British Advance to the Withdrawal of Pickens'Militia 20 III Troop Movements of Phase III, January 17,1781, from the Advance of the 71 (Fraser Highlanders) to Howard's Counterattack 22 IV Troop Movements of Phase IV, January 17,1781, the Rout of the British 22 The Battle Of Cowpens A Documented Narrative CHAPTER I Morgan Crosses the Broad "Seldom has a battle, in which greater numbers were not engaged, been so important in its consequences as that of Cowpens," wrote John Marshall. The annihilation of Major Patrick Ferguson's corps at Kings Mountain on October 7,1780, by the "backwatermen" had stalled for the time being the British campaign aimed at the subjugation of North Carolina. Spirits that had been dampened by the crushing defeat inflicted on Major General Horatio Gates by the British at Camden in August soared.
    [Show full text]
  • VOL III * NO 6 Rumtm FEBRUARY 1945 Have You Learned a Lesson About the Enemy?
    VOL III * NO 6 Rumtm FEBRUARY 1945 Have You Learned A Lesson About The Enemy? The Intelligence Bulletin is anxious to obtain contributions from units and individuals, especially intelligence agencies, for publication. Articles that present lessons about enemy tactics, techniques, and ma- teriel are particularly desired, and when it is consistent with security, credit will be given to the contributing agency or unit. Contributions may be sent directly to the Supervisor of Reports, Military Intelligence Service, War Department, Washington 25, D. C. Readers are urged to comment on the use they are making of this publication and to forward suggestions for future issues. Reproduction of material published herein is encouraged, provided that (1) the source is stated, (2) the classification is not lowered, and (3) one copy of the publication in which the material is reproduced is forwarded to the Military Intelligence Service. By arrangement with the Adjutant General, the Intelligence Bulletin is distributed in the same manner as is prescribed for field manuals (see paragraph 6-9, 23a, FM 21-6, List of Publications for Training). Requests for additional copies should be made through channels. FOR USE OF MILITARY PERSONNEL ONLY • NOT TO BE PUBLISHED VOL. Ill NO. 6 FEBRUARY 1945 INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE DIVISION WAR DEPARTMENT • WASHINGTON, D . C . TABLE OF CONTENTS GERMAN Page FORTRESS BATTALIPNS AND HOW THEY ARE USED 1 Their Purpose and Missions 1 The Three Basic Types 3 Notes on Tactics 7 MORE NOTES ON ANTITANK TACTICS 10
    [Show full text]
  • The Third Tipperary Brigade - a Photographic Record
    TIPPERARY HISTORICAL JOURNAL 1994 © County Tipperary Historical Society www.tipperarylibraries.ie/ths [email protected] ISSN 0791-0655 The Third Tipperary Brigade - a Photographic Record By Neil Sharkey Editorial Introduction In the several articles on the War of Independence period published in the Tipperary Historical Journal since 1988, there had been a couple of passing references to a Lieutenant Sharkey. One recalls an amusing, but also potentially serious, anecdote by Aodogan O'Rahilly of being sent by de Valera with an urgent dispatch for Sharkey to Kilsheelan during the Civil War and of finding the village either about to be taken or just captured by Free State troops - and of O'Rahilly himself being lucky to escape. One recalls too Col. "Tommy" Ryan mentioning Sharkey as having taken photographs of men and events in 1921 shortly before the Truce. Then out of the blue in 1992 I received a letter from Neil Sharkey, now living in Galway, giving the exciting news that he still possessed a large collection of his late father's collection of photographs taken while a Volunteer officer ill South Tipperary in the 1918-1923 period. Meetings followed, then a glimpse of the prized Sharkey albuIIl, ilnd eventually an offer to allow publication of a selection in the Tipperary Historical Journal. To put the icing on the cake as it were, a second collection turned up on the death in Boston of a brother of Jack Sharkey. I have insisted that Neil Sharkey write his own personal account of this rare visual record of the "fight for Irish freedom", to use Dan Breen's famous phrase.
    [Show full text]
  • The Forgotten Battle of Pike's Bridge
    Introduction This picture shows children playing soldiers in Leixlip village.[1] Not so many years later and within walking distance a real battle took place with very tragic results. There were many lives lost including a past pupil from our school Anthony O’ Reilly, who was not much more than a boy .We will tell you about daring plans, failed ambushes, violent battle and terrible consequences. This is the story of the forgotten Battle of Pike’s Bridge. Setting the scene The War of Independence began in 1919. The Irish used surprise attacks on British forces in Ireland, this type of warfare was called ‘guerrilla warfare’. In response the British sent over soldiers known as the Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries. The most violent day was 21st November when in retaliation for the execution of British spies and Auxiliaries, the Black and Tans fired on the crowd in Croke Park killing 14 people. In July 1921 a truce was called. In October 1921 a group, including Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, went to London to negotiate a treaty. A treaty was signed forming an Irish Free State made up of 26 counties. Ireland would have its own army, flag and currency but would remain part of the British Empire. TDs would also have to swear allegiance to the British King. In 1922 a Civil War began between people who supported the Treaty, led by Michael Collins and those who opposed it led by Eamon De Valera. The events in our essay took place in the villages of Leixlip and Celbridge during this Civil War.[2] Mayhem in Kildare The anti-treaty column in our area was led by Patrick Mullaney, a National School teacher in Leixlip.
    [Show full text]