The Auxiliaries and Temporary Constables in and from Clare Part 1
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The Auxiliaries and Temporary Constables in and from Clare 1920-22 Part 1 Timeline and List of Names G Coy at Killaloe Hotel. (theauxiliaries.com) Ger Browne 1 Introduction All the information below is thanks to David Grant at theauxiliaries.com, findmypast.ie, ancestry.com, The Other Clare, the Clare Library and The Killaloe Anthology by Sean Kierse. I would like to thank Dr Tomas Mac Conmara for his advice and encouragement, and the benefit of his incredible knowledge on the most important period in Irish history. This is just one part of an overall project called The Clare Revolution 1916 -1923. Index P3 The Auxiliaries in Killaloe and Corofin P6 The Veterans’ Division P 7 The Timeline for the Auxiliaries in Clare P 28 The Auxiliaries and Temporary Constables in Clare P 66 The Auxiliaries and Temporary Constables from Clare A woman police searcher posing with G company Auxiliary division and RIC at Killaloe Co.Clare (irish History 1916 -1923 facebook page) 2 The Auxiliaries in Killaloe ‘By mid 1920 the ranks of the Royal Irish Constabulary were reduced by hundreds of resignations from the force. The failure of the police to check the activities of the Irish Republican Army led the British Government in that year to recruit additional forces, the Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries, to replenish the depleted ranks of the RIC. The Black and Tans were recruited from ex-soldiers and sailors of the British army at a wage of ten shillings a day. They were under the control of and responsible to the officers of the RIC. The Auxiliaries were enlisted from demobilised army officers and though nominally part of the the RIC police force they operated independently and were a law unto themselves, being noted for their brutality, reprisals and drunkenness. Their rate of pay was £1 a day plus expenses. The Auxiliary division was a mobile force created to combat the IRA in their guerrilla war. It was divided into companies of about 100 well-armed men and posted to troublesome areas throughout the country. They were initially under the command of Brigadier-General Frank Percy Crozier, who later wrote a book Ireland for Ever, giving his account of his time as commander of the force.. In February 1921, General Crozier resigned as Commander of the Auxiliary Division in Ireland. The main reason for his resignation was his disagreement with General Henry H Tudor, Chief of Police, following the disgraceful conduct of the Auxiliaries in Trim.… Brigadier -General Frank Percy Crozier The undisciplined conduct of the Auxiliaries billeted at the Lakeside Hotel was not unique to the Killaloe area but was replicated throughout Clare, Tipperary and many other places in Ireland. These so called ‘cadets’ murdered, robbed, looted and burned at will innocent people and their property. The Auxiliaries, camouflaged as policemen, were not amenable to any authority and conducted a ruthless campaign of terror and reprisals…. The Auxiliaries have earned their place in Irish history as the most detested and despised of all crown forces. According to Crozier, in 1920 and 1921 the whole British cabinet should have been marched to the Tower of London, ‘in company with the chief of the Imperial Staff and there shot …. On account of what they permitted to be done in the King’s name and by the authority of his uniform in Ireland.’ (Sean Kierse – The Killaloe Anthology) 3 G Company at the Lakeside Hotel Killaloe Nov 1920 – July 1921 The Auxiliary Division (ADRIC - Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary) was divided into 21 companies with about 80 officers and men in each. Their composition was: • Company Commander - graded DI1(District Inspector RIC) • 2nd in Command - the Adjutant - graded DI2 • Intelligence Officer, graded DI3 • CQM (graded Section Leader) plus a A/Cqm (ungraded) running the Company Stores • Transport (graded Section Leader) running the Companies motor vehicles • 3 Platoons - each with a Platoon Commander - graded DI3 • Each Platoon comprised of 3 Sections - each Section under a Section Leader (ranked Head Constable) and comprising about 7 men (ranked Sgt) G Coy Killaloe Front Row: Company commander, 2nd in Command and six DI3 with Sam Browne’s. - These were the Section Leaders. The Lakeside Hotel Killaloe 4 The Auxiliaries in Corofin July 1921 – Jan 1922 It was reported in the Irish Times 7 July 1921 that Corofin Union Workhouse 8 miles from Ennis had been taken over as a temporary barracks by Auxiliary Police, and the inmates moved to Ballyvaughan Workhouse. All that now remains of the workhouse is the single- storey front block, now used as a storage depot. Dr.Donough Macnamara’s ‘Memoir Of The War Of Independence’ The Other Clare Vol 40. He was the GP in Corofin in 1921. 5 Veterans' Division: Temporary Constables, Drivers, Fitters Temporary Constables and Veterans, were attached to the Auxiliary Division. • They provided the Drivers, Fitters, Mechanics, Armourers, Cooks and Canteen staff needed, for the ADRIC to function efficiently. • They were recruited for a year’s service from Veteran ex-soldiers of 35 years of age and upwards. • They were paid 10s. a day, with a gratuity of 25 Pounds on completion of a year’s service. • Boot allowance of 1s. a week was also paid, along with a rent allowance of 40 Pounds a year. and separation allowance of 2s. a night to married men. • These Temporary Constables were distributed among the different Auxiliary Companies stationed in different locations. • The Veterans Division had its headquarters at Gormanstown Depot, alongside but separate from the R.I.C. Training Depot. Killaloe The Bridge in Killaloe 6 The Timeline for the Auxiliaries in Clare Nov 1920 - Their arrival at Killaloe 1920 July 27. The first recruits started arriving in Dublin. There was no command structure. 1920 Aug 10. They were barracked at The Curragh and recruits had to arrange their own messing and canteens, and there was nobody in command. The first six "Companies were A Coy, B Coy, C Coy, D Coy, E Coy, F Coy plus a Depot Coy. 1920 Sep 1. By now Crozier had been confirmed as commander of the ADRIC, and the depot was moved from the Curragh to Beggars Bush Barracks in Dublin. 1920 Oct 5. A J Andrews appointed Coy Commander of G Coy. 1920 Oct 13 to Oct 20 The main bulk of G Coy recruits are enlisted, with the first intake of 93. 1920 Nov. ‘The Auxiliaries arrived in Killaloe in early November 1920 and commandeered the Lakeside Hotel, then owned by John McKeogh, but occupied by the British Army from May 1916 until March 1920. On 12 November, the Auxiliary company opened an account with the Provincial Bank in Killaloe, the cheques of which were signed by Lt. Col R I Andrews the commanding officer. Accounts were also opened in various shops in Killaloe and Ballina for supplies to the mess and canteen. For the half year, January-July 1921 the sum of £29,900 was allocated to the company. Members such as Captain W Philip Wood, Peter Charles Kine Styles, Stanley Smiles, Norman Harrison, William Graham price, Herbert Pritchard, Thomas Wallace Piggford and Percy George Wiles of the Auxiliary force also opened private accounts with the Killaloe Bank. Dr Henry McKeogh’s appointment as medical officer to the company on its arrival at the Lakedside, was brief. Within a short period the ‘Crown forces, on learning of his anti-English proclivities, found it very convenient to deprive him of the position.’ (The Killaloe Anthology – Sean Kierse) 7 1st Nov 1920 - Homes Destroyed at O’Briens Bridge 1920 Nov 1 ‘The Auxiliaries raided the village of O’Briensbridge on 1 November 1920. This was apparently in revenge for the murder of Constables Downey and John O’Keefe, who were killed in John Ryan’s public house in the village, on the previous 29 September. More than thirty Auxiliaries terrorised the inhabitants of the village for a number of hours. Six families were singled out for particular attention. The occupants were ordered out of their homes and shots were fired over their heads as they were leaving. The women and children ordered to clear away, while the men and grown sons were put facing a wall with their hands up. Meanwhile petrol was poured over and into their homes and set alight. Three houses with their contents were totally destroyed and three more badly damaged. A week later, the house of Michael Hayes of Leitrim was completely destroyed by fire, and in the same townland on the same night, the house of Michael Larkin was also damaged by fire – all the work of Auxiliaries. Ryan’s Public House - O’Briens Bridge. At the Quarter Sessions in Ennis, the following February, Judge Bodkin granted compensation totalling £13,000 to twenty-five applicants in respect of the O’Briensbridge outrages. The following were some of the larger settlements: Edmond Power, for the burning of his house £2,500, Daniel Fitzgerald, for the burning of his house £799, James Crotty, process server, received £1,439 for the total destruction of his house, James Kelly £52 for the attempted burning of his house, James Kelleher £354 for interior damage to his house by fire, Mrs Mary Crotty, an old age pensioner, received £84 for damage to her home, Michael Hayes of Leitrim was decreed £1,027 for the destruction of his house, Michael Larkin, Leitrim claimed £1,000 for damage to his house.(The Killaloe Anthology – Sean Kierse) 8 15th Nov 1920 - Laying of Wreaths in London 1920 Nov 11 ‘King George V prepares to unveil the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, by pressing a button on the pillar in front of him which caused the two Union Jack flags to fall on Armistice Day, 11 November 1920.