Royal Ulster Rifles Fallen Soldier

[Mark McShane]

Back in 2006 while I was in Normamdy one of the many sights I took in was the Bayeux War Cemetary. It was a very wet grey morning and the girlfriend stayed in the car and I was the only person wandering around. I signed the guest book and as it was raining pretty heavily I had a scan through the cemetary register. First off I checked out my own surname, but there was none there, so I had a quick scan though for Irish names in general or Irish persons. The first one I came across was a 24 year old Irish man from Drimnagh, Dublin. He was in the Royal Ulster Rifles and had died on the 7th June. His name was Patrick Joseph O'Connor. As his plot was close to the memorial I was sheltering in, I went around to have a look. I took a few photo's then and that was that.
I was back in Normandy again at the begining of this month and I decided to pay my respects agin to PJ. I kind of felt that it would a small gesture to come back again to the young mans grave, put some fresh flowers on it and I suppose in some way keep the memory of what himself and the other lying there had done back in 1944.

So here are a few photo's then of PJ O'Connors grave, as I had plenty of time in Normandy this time, I got to go around many of the smaller memorials and graveyards. So I also got to take a photo of the Memorial for The Royal Ulster Rifles. It is just outside Cambes En Plaine, beside the British cemetary. The Ulster Rifles had fought here and hence the memorial.

Next step now would be do research on the Royal Ulster Rifles and perhaps find out about PJ himself and where his gilder landed on D Day.


Regards,


Mark

[Mark McShane]

Royal Ulster Rifles Memorial

Here is the memorial to the Ulster Rifles, this is at a crossroads as you drive into Cambes En Plaine. The British cemetary is just to the right of the memorial. The cemetary is very nice and quite small. Most of the headstones have very touching engravings from family.

[Mark McShane]

Me & Memorial

Myself beside the memorial.

[Harry]

Nice gesture Mark. It is worth mentioning here that although the Rep. of Ireland remained neutral during WWII ( a new nation that had just won its independance from the UK) many Irish men joined up to fight on land sea and air. Many paid the ultimate price. Eamonn de Valera, the Irish PM during WWII, came under fierce criticism from Churchill for Ireland's neutral stance. De Valera felt that having struggled for so long to become a nation in its own right, Ireland was not going to be bullied into a coalition. De Valera and Churchill had a relationship that went back a couple of decades to when the Irish war of Independance was raging. Churchill was instrumental in the British response to the Irish uprising, and in the eventual negotiations with Michael Collins in forming the divided state. Despite the political stances north and south of the border, ordinary Irish men have always felt duty bound to help fight for the greater good. It is a tradition that goes back centuries and young Irish men have voluteered their services in such great battles as the American War of Independance, and the Civil War, where they fought under Union and Confederate flags.

[mfh7200]

Mark...........Is good of you to visit and remember these men,Thanks for posting.

[Mark McShane]

Harry,

Yes there was many Irish in the British Armed Forces, during both world wars they signed up voluntarily. If I remember right the estimated number serving during the second world war was around 56,000, with another 150,000 men and women working in industry on the English mainland.

These large numbers of men joining up was a problem for the Irish Defence Forces. In 1942 when the second big recruitment drive was intorduced in Ireland to expand the Army, the numbers volunteering was much below what it had been in 1940. The British army was paying more and also you were actually doing some soldiering. This sense of doing nothing caused a major problem in the Irish Army, the inactivity and cutting turf for some young soldiers was enough make them desert. I think the numbers given for all Officers and men AWOL at the end of 1943 was about 5,000. Many deserted and simply got on the train to Belfast and signed up.

Its likely we'll never know why young PJ O'Connor signed up, sense of adventure, a decent paying job or to fight tyranny.


Regards,

Mark

[Daniele C]

Hi Mark,
I think also that you also have to see the thing that some of those irish who joined the british forces were british people that lived in ireland and were not real "irish blood".Other irish men that were actually real irish and joined the brits after the war could not come back to ireland anymore as they were called "traitors" (irish people know what i mean).
Anyway it s a nice gesture to honour all combatants

[behblc]

A Nice gesture.

That is a nice gesture Mark - I have done similar things myself .

[Napalm]

Hey Mark, I'm from Drimnagh and at the time ( 1944 ) it was only a small parish centered around The Long Mile area as most of the area was was cabbage fields and brick kilns with the exception of a few house's being built in the 30's. The building work continued into the 50's. I'll ask a friend of mine who Dad is 85 now and is very involved in the parish who may recall this young man and where he lived.

[Mark McShane]

Hey Mark, I'm from Drimnagh and at the time ( 1944 ) it was only a small parish centered around The Long Mile area as most of the area was was cabbage fields and brick kilns with the exception of a few house's being built in the 30's. The building work continued into the 50's. I'll ask a friend of mine who Dad is 85 now and is very involved in the parish who may recall this young man and where he lived.

That would be excellent, to help out with identifying PJ a bit easier here is some additional information from the CWGC website.

Son of John Joseph and Pruedentia Mary O'Connor, of Drimnagh, Dublin, Irish Republic.

Thanks for your assistance and help Napalm.

Regards,

Mark

[Napalm]

No problem Mark. I know a few O'Connors myself from Drimnagh so the names Pru and John should jog a few peoples memorys...

[Neeley91592]

A response to Harry about Eamon de Valera's neutral stance during the war and the bitterness between Churchill and Valera

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isNOQ3zQ2F0

Very intersesting broadcast.


Neeley

[Daniele C]

if you had another country invading and taking a part of your own country away you d be a bit bitter as well id say

[Tim O'Keefe]

I think its great honoring the fallen. The only way to prevent war is to remember how horrible it is, and to be prepared for another.
Lots of the best soldiers in the English Army have come from Ireland and Scotland. Wellington was Irish... born in Dublin, or the 88th Ft Connaught Ranger Regt, some rough and tumble guys....One of my DI's was named O'Connor, he really liked to "work" me too...keep up the good work.

Tim

[Neeley91592]

What would you say are some sites that I could look up irish soldiers who served during WWI or WWII I could look up there names as I am trying to find a little more of my family history, the commone problem is last name as what I have learned that it was either changed from McNeeley/Mceeley or maybe even O'Neil for all i know when the family came over. Thanks again guys.