Ger, This is from The Guards Division In The Great War by Headlam. Volume 1, page 206. At 7am on the 15th March the 1st Bn Scots Guards advanced into St Pierre Vaast Wood, keeping in touch with 8th Division on its right and with the 2nd Bn Irish Guards , which had relived the 1st Bn Coldstream Guards , on its left. The Scots Guards met with no opposition , but the advance of the 2nd Bn Irish Guards was checked by the enemy's long range machine-gun and artillery fire, which also considerably interfered with the movements of the 1st Battalion of the same regiment in the vicinity of Sailly-Saillisel. Hence your Great-Uncle being in that cemetery. CWGC :: Cemetery Details
Many thanks for that Owen. I'm going to check this out further. Much appreciated (as ever) for all the help!
I don't know what's being sought here, but this clip from the 2nd Bn I.G.'s history (Kipling) covering the same period as in Owen's post might be of some assistance? Dave.
Croonaert, I've discovered a relative of mine who was killed in the Great War serving with the Irish Guards. Here are a link to his details: CWGC :: Casualty Details Found it on the CWG website and Owen was filling me in on some of the details about the Irish Guards movements at the time of his death.
OK. You'll possibly be wanting the page covering that date from the history of the 1st Battalion then?...
have you got his Medal Index Card?... You'll note that his arrival date (13/8/14) indicates that he was in the first draft of irish guardsmen to arrive in France (arrived at Le Havre at 6am on the SS Novara). He'd certainly have seen a fair bit of action before his death!!!!
I sometimes get the feeling you've been stalking our lost WW1 relatives... Ger, welcome to the 'Being 'Daved' club'... I'm a member myself .
Dave, Thank you very much. I'd normally do that privately but since you have taken the trouble to post this I want to express it publicly!!!
When I went to work, I knew that when I got back a certain Mr Croonaert would have worked his magic. Good on yer Dave.
When I went to work, I knew that when I got back a certain Mr Croonaert would have worked his magic. Good on yer Dave. Getting predictable am I?:p Dave.
I sometimes get the feeling you've been stalking our lost WW1 relatives.... Nah! It's just that I knew them all "when I were a lad"! Dave
Somewhere in this photo could be Gerard's Great-uncle. 1st Battalion, Irish Guards leaving Wellington Barracks, to join the British Expeditionary Force which was due to leave for France. I wonder if Alex was his Platoon Commander? Lieutenant the Honourable Harold Alexander (later Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander) with No 1 Platoon, Irish Guards at Wellington Barracks.
Anglo-Irish Gentry I think they call it. This is Alex's dad. James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Grandad. James Alexander, 3rd Earl of Caledon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Harold Alexander was born in London. Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I thought St Patrick's day was being moved to the 15th. I wasn't sure, but Chris Evans been on about it this week. So Ger , have an extra pint in memory of Gt-Uncle Richard. ireland.com - Breaking News - St Patrick's 'day' moved to 15th St Patrick's 'day' moved to 15th Worldwide celebrations for St Patrick's Day could face disruption after the Catholic Church decided to move the Irish patron saint's feast day. Bishops were left with sore heads after they discovered the traditional March 17th festivities will clash next year with the second day of Holy Week. Under the Church's rules, the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar, the saint's feast day does not rank as high as the Monday before Easter and has to be moved. After much deliberation, Rome gave Irish authorities the green light to shift the official religious celebrations two days back to March 15th, which falls on a Saturday.
Its his anniversary today. Thanks to Richard, my sons now have an interest in things military. especially my eldest son.