remembrance ni

27 May - Majestic and Princess Irene lost in 1915. Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk continues. Hunt for Bismarck in 1941

Battleship HMS Majestic was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-21 off Cape Helles, Dardanelles. 49 of her crew died. Four were from Northern Ireland. Nine from NI were lost in Princess Irene.

Page 1 HMS Majestic. HMS Majestic was a battleship and the lead ship of the Majestic class. She served as the flagship of the Channel Squadron from commissioning for eight years whence she went in and out of reserve until WW1. She was relegated to secondary duties when recommissioned and for the Dardanelles Campaign she was despatched as a mine clearer. On 27 May Majestic was anchored inshore amongst transports and escorts when a periscope was sighted 400 yards away and a torpedo wake streaming through a gap in the nearby ships. Despite her anti-torpedo nets being out, the torpedo fired by U.21 passed straight through the heavy mesh and hit her amidships. It was followed by another one and within seven minutes Majestic, betraying the lack of internal torpedo protection common to her generation, capsized. Forty nine men were killed, mostly by the exploding torpedoes, and the upturned ship rested on the remains of her masts for months, her keel protruding above the water, until at the end of 1915 they collapsed and she sank beneath the waves.

ROLL OF HONOUR HMS MAJESTIC +MILLAR, Thomas RN. AB. Gunner. 165506. HMS Majestic. Died 27/05/1915. Broadway, Belfast. Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 5. Broadway - PCI RH

Page 2 +MURRAY, James AB. 172205. HMS Majestic. Died 27/05/1915. Age 40. Born Shankill, Belfast. Son of Richard Loughlin Murray and Eliza Murray, Mountpottinger Rd., Belfast. Plymouth Naval Memorial +PREECE, Samuel Charles RN. Stoker I. SS/103563. HMS Majestic. Died 27/05/1915. Enrolled 15/08/1906 for 5 and 7 years. Served to 12/05/1911. Joined RFR 13/08/1911. War service from 13/07/1914 in Victorious, Doris and Majestic (02/08/1914 - 27/05/15). Born Holmer, Herefordshire, 02/02/1886. Upper Townsend St., Belfast. Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 6. IMR. ADM 188/1109/103563 +SCOTT, William RN. AB. 216800. HMS Majestic. Died 27/05/1915. Age 31. Majestic was torpedoed by a German submarine in the Dardanelles. William had served in Calliope, Royal Oak, and Magnificent. Born Bangor 18/04/1884. Worked as an apprentice Clerk in Milford Weaving Company. Although he signed on for usual 12-year term in 1902, just over seven years later, on 09/05/1908, William's service document records 'Shore purchase' which usually means he purchased his release from service. It also records he joined the RFR (Royal Fleet Reserve) on 10/05/1908. On the outbreak of war, William was recalled for service and joined Majestic on 02/08/1914. On 03/03/1909, William, now working for the Milfort Weaving Company, married Annie Allen Johnston in St Anne’s Parish Church, Belfast. Annie was living at 6 Castleton Avenue, Belfast. William and his family moved subsequently to Parkmount Street, Belfast.

Page 3 Son of William and Agnes Scott, Albert St., Bangor. His wife and children lived in Kysemne Terrace, Croft St., Bangor. Plymouth Naval Memorial, Panel 6. Bangor Grammar School archives. Harmony Masonic Lodge 286, Bangor. Family memorial, Bangor New Cemetery. Bangor RBL Memorial plaque. First Bangor PCI RH. ADM 188/380/216800

HMS Princess Irene

On 27th May, 1915, HMS Princess Irene exploded and disintegrated when moored in the Medway estuary in . This occurred a few months after a similar explosion in HMS

HMS Princess Irene (built 1914 as a liner for the Canadian Pacific Railway, requisitioned as minelayer 1915) exploded while loading mines at , killing 352 people on board and on shore. Debris landed up to 20 miles away.

Page 4 Bulwark. Eight men from Northern Ireland died in Princess Irene. HMS Princess Irene was moored between Port and Sheerness in Saltpan Reach. She was being loaded with mines in preparation for a minelaying mission. As the mines were being primed on the ship's decks, there was a massive explosion. A column of flame 300 feet high was followed a few seconds later by another of similar height and a pall of smoke reaching to 1,200 feet hung over the spot where Princess Irene had been. The explosion also destroyed two barges that were lying alongside Irene. mines were being primed on the ship's decks, there was a massive explosion. Although the explosion was much larger than that which had destroyed HMS Bulwark, the loss of life was somewhat smaller. Of the Princess Irene's complement of 225 officers and men, three were ashore that morning. Also on board was a party of 80 Petty Officers from Chatham plus 76 Sheerness Dockyard workers. A total of 352 people were killed,including 273 officers and men, and the 76 dockyard workers. There were eight men from Northern Ireland known to be amongst the fatalities. On the a girl of nine was killed by flying débris, and a farmhand died of shock. A collier half a mile away had its crane blown off its mountings. A part of one of Princess Irene's boilers landed on the ship; a man working on the ship died from injuries sustained when he was struck by a piece of metal weighing 70 pounds Wreckage was flung up to 20 miles away, with people near being injured by flying débris. Severed heads

Page 5 were found at Hartlip and on the Isle of Grain. A case of butter landed at Rainham, six miles away. A 10 ton section of the ship landed on the Isle of Grain. The Admirality’s oil storage tanks there were damaged. The sole survivor from Princes Irene was a stoker, who suffered severe burns. Three of her crew had a lucky escape as they were ashore at the time. The victims whose bodies were recovered were buried at Woodlands Road Cemetery, Gillingham. A memorial service for the victims was held at the Dockyard Church, Sheerness on 1 June 1915. It was led by Randal Davidson, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Inquests were held on two victims of the disaster.The coroner stated that he did not intend to hold an inquest for any other victim unless there were exceptional circumstances that warranted it. A Court of Inquiry was held into the loss of Princess Irene. Evidence was given that priming of the mines was being carried out hurriedly and by untrained personnel. A faulty primer was blamed for the explosion. The explosion on Princess Irene was much larger than that which had destroyed HMS Bulwark six months earlier although the loss of life was less.Regrettably other similar incidents were to follow and the greatest naval loss of life in one incident in World War 1 was akin to the fate of Bulward and Princess Irene. Those lost on Bulwark and Irene are commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.

Page 6 Naval War Memorial to HMS Bulwark and HMS Princess Irene

A memorial to those lost on Bulwark and Princess Irene was erected at the Dockyard Church, Sheerness in 1921. It was dedicated by Archdeacon Ingles, the Chaplain of the Fleet. It was unveiled by Hugh Evan-Thomas, Commander-in-Chief, The Nore. Victims of both ships are also commemorated on the Naval War Memorial at Southsea. Another memorial was placed in Woodlands Road Cemetery, Gillingham, as part of the Naval Burial Ground ROLL OF HONOUR HMS PRINCESS IRENE

+CARELTON, John RN. Leading Stoker. K11026. HMS Princess Irene. Died 27/05/1915. Age 24. Enrolled 20/04/1911 for 12 years. War service in Forward, Roxburgh and Pembroke II (Princess Irene). Born Belfast 28/09/1892. Son of William and Mary Carleton, Belgrave St., Belfast. Chatham Naval Memorial. Londonderry, The Diamond WM. ADM 188/889/11026 +KANE, Christopher Able Seaman. 191225. HMS Princess Irene. Died 27/05/1915. Aged 34. Son of Patrick and Kate Kane. Born: St. James, Dublin 25/12/1880. Husband to Ethel Alice Kane,

Page 7 Garden Row, Cobridge, Hanley, Staffs. Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Panel 7. Ballycastle WM +LARMOUR, James Kenwick RN. Stoker. K/24617. HMS Princess Irene. Died 27/05/1915. Age 19. Enrolled 06/03/1915 for hostilities. In Pembroke II and Princess Irene. Born Belfast 05/10/1896. Lilliput Street, Belfast. Photo in Belfast Telegraph 18/06/1915. Chatham Naval Memorial, Panel 12. Newington - PCI RH. ADM 188/916/24617 +MAXWELL, James RN. Stoker II. K24593. HMS Princess Irene. Died 27/05/1915. Age 20. Enrolled 03/02/1915 for hostilities. Pembroke II and Princess Irene. Born Belfast 13/04/1895. Son of Joseph and Catherine Maxwell, Barbour St., Greencastle, Belfast. Photo in Belfast Telegraph 18/06/1915. Chatham Naval Memorial. Panel 12. Whitehouse - PCI RH. ADM 188/916/24593 +McADOREY, John RN. AB. 225486. HMS Princess Irene. Died 27/05/1915. Age 32. Enrolled 12/04/1903 for 12 years. War service in Latona, and Princess Irene (09/03/1915 - 27/05/1915). Born Belfast 12/04/1885. Son of the late John McAdorey, Garmoyle St., Belfast. Photo Belfast Telegraph 18/06/1915. Portsmouth Naval Memorial. ADM 188/397/225486 +McENROE, Matthew RN. Stoker II. K24912. HMS Princess Irene. Died 27/05/1915. Age 19. Enrolled 16/03/1915 for hostilities. In Pembroke I and Princess Irene. Born Balbriggan, Dublin

Page 8 21/10/1896. Resided with brother-in-law, Union St., Londonderry. Photo Belfast Telegraph 18/06/1915. ADM 188/916/24912 +McMURRAY, Alexander RN. 1st Class Stoker. SS116710 HMS Princess Irene. Died 27/05/1915. Age 22. Worked as a bricklayer before joining navy in January 1915. Born Bangor 24/10/1893. Son of William and Mary Ellen McMurray, Abbey St., Gray’s Hill, and later Dufferin Avenue, Bangor. Brother of Thomas, Royal Irish Rifles, who was wounded on three occasions. (Bangor Grammar School archives). Chatham Naval Memorial, Panel 12. Sheerness Memorial. Bangor WM. Bangor RBL Memorial plaque. First Bangor - PCI RH. ADM 188/1122/116710 +MAXWELL, James RN. Stoker 2nd Class. K24593. HMS Princess Irene. Died 27/05/1915. Age 20. Born Belfast. Son of Joseph and Catherine Maxwell, Barbour St., Greencastle, Belfast. Chatham Naval Memorial. Panel 12. Whitehouse - PCI RH Roll of Honour - May 27 Representing their comrades who died on this day 1915 HMS Majestic HMS Princess Irene See Rolls of Honour (above).

Page 9 1917 +BARR, Joseph Jubilee RND. Stoker 1st Cl. SS/108937. Hood Battalion, 2nd Naval Brigade. Died 27/05/1915. Enlisted in the RN 23rd July 1909 for 5 years plus 7 years Special Service. Served in HMS King Edward VII. Enrolled in the RFR 19th July 1914 ; Hood Battalion A/87 17/9/14-27/5/15 Sancroft St., Belfast. Obituary notice in Belfast Telegraph 19/6/1915. Photo in Belfast Telegraph 25/6/1917. Born Belfast June 17/06/1887. Husband to Josephine Barr, Sandcroft Street, Belfast (later of Walbeck Street, Belfast). In civil life he was employed as an assistant reeling master. 1914 Star issued to widow 05/04/19. Funeral conducted by Chaplain B Close. Special Memorial A7. Skew Bridge Cemetery. Dardanelles. IMR. ADM339 1940

+BOYLE, Patrick Pioneer Corps, Aux. Mil. Private.13011126. Died Between 27/05/1940 and 28/05/1940. Aged 39. Son of Patrick and Winifred Boyle; husband to Elizabeth Boyle, of Londonderry. Dunkirk Memorial, Nord, France +CONDY, John Devenish

Royal Artillery, 3 Searchlight Regt. Lieutenant. 87458. Died 27/05/1940 during the evacuation of Dunkirk. Aged 39. Belfast Royal Academy and Queens University Belfast. He was called to the bar in 1924 and specialised in conveyancing work. In February 1939, he became Junior Crown Prosecutor for County Tyrone. Only son of John and Page 10 Mary Condy, Clonsilla, Antrim Road, Belfast. Wormhoudt Communal Cemetery, Nord, France. QUB RH, Law Courts, Belfast WM +DORAN, Thomas

Royal Scots Fusiliers, 2nd Btn.Lance Corporal. 3127511. Died 27/05/1940. Aged 28. Husband to Sarah Doran, of Rosslea, Co. Fermanagh.Gaurain-Ramecroix War Cemetery, Hainaut, Belgium +HANNA, Joseph

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 2nd Btn. Lance Corporal. 6980102. Died 27/05/1940. Aged 19. Son of James and Annie Hanna, of Leggamaddy, Co. Down. Dozinghem Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium +HOEY, Richard Basil Echlin

Royal Corps of Signals, 3 A.A. Bde. Sigs. Signalman. 2339044. Died 27/05/1940. Aged 25. Son of James and Alice Echlin Hoey, of Whiteabbey, Co. Antrim. Dunkirk Memorial, Nord, France +McCAMLEY, John

Royal Irish Fusiliers. 1st Btn.Fusilier. 6978428. Died 27/05/1940. Aged 21. Son of Edward and Rose McCamley, of Newry. Dunkirk Memorial, Nord, France +McCULLOUGH, Norman Royal Artillery. Gunner. 1471266. Died Between 27/05/1940 and 02/06/1940. Aged 19. 12 Bty., 3 Searchlight Regt. Son of Mrs. L. McCullough, of Lurgan. Dunkirk Town Cemetery

Page 11 +PICKERING, William

Royal Scots Fusiliers, 2nd Btn.Fusilier. 7011661. Died 27/05/1940. Aged 38. Tobermore. Bus House Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium +SCOTT, Robert Norman Cecil

Royal Artillery Service, 3 Searchlight Regt,10 Bty. Second Lieutenant. 89740. Died 27/05/1940. Born on 26/07/1916. Aged 23. Known as Robin. He attended Rockport school and later played hockey for Lisnagarvey. On 01/09/1937 he joined the Royal Engineers as a Sapper (No. 2044463) in a Territorial Army Unit in Newtownards. On 01/04/1939 he was commissioned from Sapper to Second Lieutenant. 3 Searchlight Regiment was formed as a Supplementary Reserve unit. Although designated as a Royal Artillery unit, it was still cap-badged and manned by the Royal Engineers. 10 Bty was located at Sunnyside Street, Belfast. The regiment went to Europe on 14/12/1939 to join the British Expeditionary Force. It took part in the battle for France and in the defence of Dunkirk where Robin died. His uncle (his mother’s brother), Chief Engine Room Artificer Bernard Christopher Vivash RN, died in service on 01/04/1944. Robin was the son of Robin Norman Cecil Scott and Alice Demaus nee Vivash Scott of Eisleben House, Stranmillis, Belfast. His brother John served in the army seeing action in Kenya. Their sister Christina Scott presented a new pulpit to St. Bartholomew’s Church, Stranmillis, to the memory of her parents and brother. Dunkirk Memorial, Nord, France. Rockport School, St Batholomew’s Church and a family memorial in Belfast City Cemetery

Page 12 SINTON, Maynard Bunbury

Royal Scots Fusiliers. Second Lieutenant.69134. Mentioned in Despatches. Died 27/05/1940. Aged 24. Son of Maynard and Myra Sinton, of Ballyards, Co. Armagh. Bedford House Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium +SMYTH, John Patrick

Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 8th Btn. Private.5383688. Died 27/05/1940. Aged 26. Son of John and Sarah Smyth; husband of Margaret Smyth, of Tamlaght, Co. Fermanagh. Comines (Komen) Communal Cemetery, Hainaut, Belgium +TROLLAND, Jack

Royal Ulster Rifles, 2nd Btn. Corporal. 7013033. Died Between 27/05/1940 and 02/06/1940. Aged 25. Born in Co. Antrim. Dunkirk Memorial, Nord, France +WILLETT, Robert James

Northamptonshire Regiment, 2nd Btn. Corporal. 5883744. Died 27/05/1940. Aged 31. Husband to Annie Willett (nee Cromwell), of Castlewellan, Co. Down. Dunkirk Memorial, Nord, France +WILSON, JOHN Royal Artillery. Gunner. 1459277. Died Between 27/05/1940 and 02/06/1940. Aged 20. 9 Bty., 3 Searchlight Regt. Son of John and Sarah E. Wilson, of Whiteabbey. Dunkirk Memorial Column 16, Nord, France

Page 13 +WINTERS, John Joseph

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 2nd Btn. Fusilier. 6976906. Died 27/05/1940. Aged 27. Husband to E. Nora Winters, of Newtownstewart, Co. Tyrone. Dunkirk Memorial, Nord, France 1941

+WASSON, John Alfred

Royal Armoured Corps. North Irish Horse. Trooper. 7897755. Died 27/05/1941. Aged 25. Son of Robert and Louisa Wasson, of Strabane. Strabane Cemetery

1942

+CAMERON, Thomas

Royal Scots Fusiliers, 2nd Btn. Serjeant. 3127208. Died 27/05/1942. Aged 35. Son of John and Susan Cameron; husband to Martha Cameron, of Coleraine. Diego Suarez War Cemetery, Madagascar +STANFIELD, William Royal Horse Artillery. Gunner. 880709. Died 27/05/1942. Aged 22. 107 (The South Notts. Hussars) Regt. Son of Thomas Edward and Mary Jane Stanfield, of Portadown. Alamein Memorial, Egypt 1943 +MEGAW, Thomas James

Irish Guards, 1st Btn. Guardsman. 2718459. Died 27/04/1943. Son of Robert and Mary Megaw; husband to

Page 14 Florence Elizabeth Megaw, of Moneymore, Co. Londonderry. Medjez-el-Bab War Cemetery, Tunisia +O’BRIEN, John Royal Irish Fusiliers. Corporal. 7044339. Died 27/04/1943 of natural causes, acute cardiac collapse. Comrades found the soldier dead at an army billet in Lisburn. Aged 30. Son of Thomas O'Brien and Ellen O'Brien of 11 Castle Street, Waterford, Ireland; husband to Ann O'Brien of Lisburn. Milltown Cemetery, Belfast. Lisburn WM

1944

+O’DONNELL, Michael Royal Irish Fusiliers, 1st Btn. Fusilier. 7044319. Died 27/04/1944. Son of Richard and Elizabeth Wilson, of Aughnacloy, Co. Tyrone. Cassino, Italy.He is buried at Cassino, Italy.

+PATRICK, William Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 2nd Btn. Fusilier. 7903594. Died 27/04/1944. Aged 27. Son of Robert and Margaret Patrick, of Newtownstewart, Co. Tyrone. Anzio Beach Head Cemetery, Italy.

+STEWART, Thomas Royal Artillery. Gunner. 7013277. Died 24/05/1944. Aged 23. 69 Lt. A.A. Regt. Son of James and Martha Stewart; husband of F. A. Stewart, of Armagh. Rangoon Memorial, Myanmar

Page 15 1945 +HAMILTON, Herbert Royal Artillery. Gunner. 1488899. Died on 27/05/1945. Aged 26. 4 Lt. A.A. Regt. Son of James and Mary Hamilton; Husband of Georgina Hamilton of Banbridge. Donaghcloney Presbyterian Churchyard

On this day - May 27 1915 HMS Majestic torpedoed off Gallipoli (See article above) HMS Princess Irene sinks after explosions (See article above) 1916 At the Battle of Verdun the French take trenches south-west of Mort Homme.

1918. Third Battle of the Aisne with a new German thrust for Paris, with a heavy bombardment they attack between Soissons and Reims, the Allies line is pressed back. The Germans carry Chemin des Dames Ridge, and a smaller attack between Locre and Voormezeele.

1940

First full day of evacuations at Dunkirk. Heavy air raids on town and harbour setting oil storage tanks alight. Germans

Page 16 capable of shelling western approaches to Dunkirk so longer alternatives used by Navy. British position in Flander’s worsens as King Leopold of Belgium surrenders the remnants of his army leaving BEF with a 20 mile gap to plug. British sugar ration reduced from 12oz to 8oz. On the retreat to Dunkirk 99 men mainly from 2/Norfolks had ran out of ammo and options. Surrendering to SS Totenkopf, searched they group against a wall where they were murdered by machine gun fire. 97 British troops were murdered and 2 survived to say what happened after the war. 1941 President Roosevelt declares unlimited national emergency; calls upon all Americans to resist Hitlerism. Proposal to introduce conscription in Northern Ireland finally scrapped. The convoy HX129, becomes the first to have continuous escort protection across the Atlantic. Germans paratroopers take Canea and with it the main British supply point of Suda Bay. This convinces Major General Freyberg VC, that the situation has gone against the British and that he must withdraw from Crete to save what he can. Having been reinforced by the 15th Panzer Division, Rommel retakes the Halfaya Pass on Egyptian border. The 10th Indian Division begins to advance north from Basra towards Baghdad.

Page 17 HMS King George V On this day in 1941, at daybreak 400 miles west of Brest,, the battleship HMS King George V followed by the aging HMS Rodney along with the heavy cruisers HMS Norfolk and HMS Dorsetshire confronted the German battleship Bismarck. After all her guns are silenced, she is sunk by torpedo’s from the cruiser Dorsetshire. There are only 110 survivors out of a crew of 2,300. The ’s pursuit of the Bismarck began on 21/05/1941 at 0800 when the Admiralty received a coded message from a British agent in Sweden. The previous afternoon, the agent had seen two large German warships steaming north through the strait between Sweden and Denmark.

It was clear to Admiral Tovey that the Bismarck was headed to the North Atlantic to sink British shipping.

Page 18 Tovey was correct. The Operation Order for the Bismarck issued by Raeder and the Chief of the Seekriegsleitung, Admiral Schniewind, on 02/04/1941 read:

“The primary mission of this operation also is the destruction of the enemy’s shipping; enemy warships will be engaged only when primary mission makes it necessary and it can be done without excessive risk.”

Lord Tovey whose Home Fleet sank the Bismarck had immense determination and his pursuit of any objective was relentless.

John Cronyn Tovey was born in 1885. His father was a Colonel in the Royal Engineers, his mother a Canadian from Halifax, Nova Scotia

1942

Luftwaffe bombers sink 5 ships of Convoy PQ-16 off the northern coast of Norway. The siege of Sevastopol rages on, becoming the only incident of a formal siege of a modern fortress being pushed through to final reduction. Sevastopol is the premier port on the Black Sea, and its defenses include three zones of trenches, pillboxes, and batteries. The strongest defenses lie in the middle zone, which includes the heights and the south bank of the Belbek River. Among these hills are “Fort Stalin” on the East and the massive western anchor of “Fort Maxim Gorki I,” with its turret of twin 305 mm (12-inch) guns sweeping the length of the Belbek valley. 105,000 men defend this port. Against this the Germans and Romanians Page 19 range 203,000 men and some of the most powerful siege artillery ever disposed by any army in World War II. Field Marshal Erich von Manstein aims 305 mm, 350 mm, and 420 mm howitzers at the Russians, along with two of the new, stubby “Karl” and “Thor” 600 mm mortars. Also on hand is the 800 mm (31.5-inch) “Big Dora” from Krupp, which has to be transported to position by 60 railway wagons. “Big Dora” is commanded by a major general and a colonel, protected by two flak regiments and periodically fed with a 10,500 lb. shell. Czech patriots shoot Reinhard Heydrich in the suburbs of Prague. His condition is described as critical. The Afrika Korps, having pushed around the British defenses, move northeast. They are engaged by elements of the British 1st and 7th Armored Divisions. Many tank losses were taken by both sides, although as the battle went on the British armor became increasingly scattered. The Italian Ariete Armored Division continued to meet stiff resistance from the Free French at Bir Hacheim, while the Italian Trieste Motorized Division further north, found itself grinding through minefields under heavy fire as a result of a navigation error. Japanese Combined Fleet lifts anchor and sets sail for Midway. On the same day, Admiral Nimitz, having been for warned of the impending Japanese attack against Midway by US intelligence who were intercepting Japanese naval signals, issues orders for Task Force 16 (Admiral Spruance) with the carriers Enterprise and Hornet, plus 6 cruisers, 11 destroyers, 2 tankers and 19 submarines, to sail for Midway the next day.

Page 20 1943

Jean Moulin presides over the first-ever unified meeting of the French Resistance at 48 Rue de Four in Paris, where Charles de Gaulle is unanimously recognized as the movement’s leader. A month later, Moulin is betrayed and arrested by the Gestapo, dying on his way to a concentration camp in Germany. The first British ‘liaison’ team is dropped into Yugoslavia to join up with Tito’s partisans. 1944

Start of the monsoon season bogs down operations in Burma. 12,000 U.S. troops land on Biak in the Schouten Island Group, 350 miles West of Hollandia. MacArthur says, ‘this marks the strategic end of the New Guinea campaign’. 1945

Chinese troops are now 25 miles North of Foochow and take Loyaun. The U.S. Sixth Army takes Santa Fe on Luzon. 38(Irish)Brigade CQMS Edmund O'Sullivan 2 LIR: "E Coy was billeted in villages on the Ossiachersee & had the prize one: a convalescent home on the lake. The large house occupied extensive grounds backing on to the Ossiachersee and provided ample accommodation for the company - photo follows.

Page 21 Page 22 The principal was a gracious lady in her fifties. Her assistant, whom we called the adjutant, spoke perfect English. The adjutant thought that Rosie was a nickname for my rank (RSM) and called me Der Rossy. The house, which had about 6 rooms, became the sergeants’ mess & quarters."

SEE ALSO The Royal Ulster Rifles at Dunkirk Bala Bredin’s recollections; How 338,000 Allied troops were saved in 'miracle of deliverance’; 40 Facts about Dunkirk; The Dunkirk Memorial http://remembranceni.org/2018/07/06/the-royal-ulster-rifles- at-dunkirk/

Page 23 remembrance ni

The remembrance ni programme is overseen by Very Rev Dr Houston McKelvey OBE, QVRM, TD who served as Chaplain to 102 and 105 Regiments Royal Artillery (TA), as Hon. Chaplain to RNR and as Chaplain to the RBL NI area and the Burma Star Association NI. Dr McKelvey is a Past President of Queen’s University Services Club. He may be contacted at [email protected]

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